Collection: Black-Owned Cocktail Books & Bar Guides

Black Food brings together stories, art, essays, and recipes from across the African Diaspora.

It is a good fit for cookbook collectors, home cooks, food-culture readers, coffee tables, and meaningful gifts.

About the Book

The collection explores Black food traditions through recipes, visual art, personal stories, and cultural essays.

Great For

• Cookbook collectors
• Home cooks and chefs
• Readers interested in food and culture
• Kitchen or coffee-table display

Product Details

• Product Type: Book
• Format: Cookbook, essays, art, and food culture
• Curator: Bryant Terry

Meet the Curator

Bryant Terry is a chef, author, and food activist whose work connects food, culture, memory, and creative practice.

Why We Like It

It functions as both a cookbook and a cultural collection, giving readers several ways to engage with Black food traditions.

Love & Whiskey tells the remarkable true story of Jack Daniel, master distiller Nearest Green, and the rise of Uncle Nearest.

Fawn Weaver blends history, whiskey, entrepreneurship, and cultural recovery into a story that matters to anyone interested in American spirits.

About the Book

A nonfiction whiskey history book about Jack Daniel, Nearest Green, and the rise of Uncle Nearest.

Great For

• Whiskey lovers
• History readers
• Entrepreneurship and brand-building readers
• Gifts for Uncle Nearest fans

Product Details

• Format: Book
• Category: Whiskey history and nonfiction
• Author: Fawn Weaver

Why We Like It

It tells an important spirits story that connects Black history, American whiskey, and one of the most important modern Black-owned spirits brands.

Danni's Juke Joint Comfort Food Cookbook brings Southern-inspired home cooking together with modern-day recipes and old-school flavor.

It is a good fit for home cooks, comfort-food fans, family gatherings, and gifts for cookbook collectors.

About the Book

The cookbook focuses on approachable comfort food designed for joyful, familiar, family-style meals.

Great For

• Comfort-food fans
• Home cooks
• Family gatherings
• Gifts for cookbook collectors

Product Details

• Product Type: Book
• Subject: Southern-inspired comfort food
• Author: Danni Rose

Meet the Author

Danni Rose is a cook and food personality known for approachable recipes with bold flavor and a warm, celebratory style.

Why We Like It

The recipes are designed around familiar food that home cooks can make for everyday meals and gatherings.

Appetizers & Cocktails - Bite Your Tongue brings together Chef Martine Courtney Clark’s favorite appetizers and cocktail recipes.

It is a useful pick for hosts who want flavorful bites, drink ideas, and an easy way to build a menu around conversation, celebration, and good company.

About the Book

A cookbook focused on appetizers and cocktails for home entertaining.

Great For

• Home entertainers
• Cocktail lovers
• Gift baskets with spirits or barware
• Hosts planning parties, brunches, or game nights

Product Details

• Format: Book
• Category: Appetizers and cocktail recipes
• Author: Chef Martine Courtney Clark

Why We Like It

It pairs naturally with the UFC catalog by giving shoppers food and cocktail inspiration they can use with the bottles, mixers, and glassware they already love.

Wine Pairing for the People is Cha McCoy's approachable guide to wine, food, and culture from Africa and beyond.

It is a good fit for wine learners, home entertainers, food-culture readers, and gifts paired with wine or glassware.

About the Book

The guide connects wine pairing to foods from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, the United States, and other regions.

Great For

• Wine learners
• Home entertainers
• Food-culture readers
• Gifts with wine, glassware, or cookbooks

Product Details

• Product Type: Book
• Subject: Wine pairing, food, and culture
• Author: Cha McCoy with Layla Schlack

Meet the Author

Cha McCoy is a sommelier and wine educator whose work makes wine pairing more approachable and connected to a wider range of food traditions.

Why We Like It

The book makes pairing practical for the foods people actually cook, share, and celebrate.

Harlem Brew Soul brings beer-infused soul food recipes from Celeste Beatty, founder of Harlem Brewing Company.

The book blends brewing culture, soul food, and home cooking into a unique cookbook for people who love flavor, history, and creative pairings.

About the Book

A beer-infused soul food cookbook rooted in Harlem brewing culture.

Great For

• Beer lovers
• Soul food fans
• Home cooks looking for creative recipes
• Gifts for food and beverage enthusiasts

Product Details

• Format: Book
• Category: Soul food and beer-infused cookbook
• Author: Celeste Beatty

Why We Like It

It connects Black brewing, food culture, and home cooking in a way that feels distinctive and giftable.

Tiki: Modern Tropical Cocktails is Shannon Mustipher’s guide to modern tropical drinks, fine rums, and tiki-inspired cocktail craft.

With original recipes and tropical technique, it is a strong pick for anyone who wants to build more expressive rum cocktails at home.

About the Book

A modern tropical cocktail book focused on rum, tiki-style drinks, and home bar creativity.

Great For

• Rum lovers
• Tiki cocktail fans
• Home bartenders
• Gifts with rum, bitters, mixers, or glassware

Product Details

• Format: Book
• Category: Tropical cocktail recipe book
• Author: Shannon Mustipher

Why We Like It

It is one of the best fits in the catalog for shoppers who love rum, cocktail culture, and visually fun home entertaining.

The Infused Cocktail Handbook is a practical guide to homemade spirit infusions, syrups, shrubs, blends, and signature cocktails.

It is a good fit for home bartenders, flavor experimenters, DIY drink projects, and gifts paired with bottles or bar tools.

About the Book

The guide gives readers a framework for building flavored drink components and turning them into personal cocktail recipes.

Great For

• Home bartenders
• Cocktail experimenters
• DIY infusion projects
• Gifts with bottles, bitters, or bar tools

Product Details

• Product Type: Book
• Subject: Cocktails, infusions, syrups, shrubs, and blends
• Author: Kurt Maitland

Meet the Author

Kurt Maitland is a whiskey and cocktail writer focused on helping readers understand spirits and build drinks at home.

Why We Like It

It moves beyond finished recipes and teaches readers how to create the flavored components behind signature cocktails.

Juke Joints, Jazz Clubs, and Juice explores Black mixology through 70 rediscovered and modernized cocktail recipes.

It is a good fit for home bartenders, cocktail-history readers, and gifts for people interested in African American food and drink culture.

About the Book

The book draws from two centuries of African American cookbooks to connect historic recipes with modern cocktail practice.

Great For

• Home bartenders
• Cocktail-history readers
• Readers interested in Black food and drink culture
• Gifts for spirits and cocktail fans

Product Details

• Product Type: Book
• Subject: Cocktail history and recipes
• Includes: 70 cocktail recipes
• Author: Toni Tipton-Martin

Meet the Author

Toni Tipton-Martin is a food and drink writer whose work documents African American culinary history.

Why We Like It

It places Black cocktail history in the home-bar conversation while giving readers recipes they can make.

Mezcal and Tequila Cocktails is a practical collection of more than 60 agave-focused drink recipes.

It is a good fit for tequila and mezcal fans, home bartenders, and gifts paired with agave spirits or glassware.

About the Book

The collection covers margaritas, palomas, mezcal drinks, tequila cocktails, and other serves built around agave spirits.

Great For

• Tequila and mezcal fans
• Home bartenders
• Cocktail recipe collectors
• Gifts with bottles, bitters, or glassware

Product Details

• Product Type: Book
• Subject: Mezcal, tequila, and agave cocktails
• Includes: More than 60 cocktail recipes

How to Use It

Choose a recipe based on the agave spirit and ingredients you have, then use the book as an ongoing home-bar reference.

Why We Like It

It gives shoppers a clear next step after choosing tequila or mezcal: make a wider range of drinks at home.

Free Spirit Cocktails is a refreshing collection of 40 nonalcoholic drink recipes with the look and feel of crafted cocktails, without the alcohol.

It is a helpful guide for anyone building a zero-proof bar, hosting sober-friendly gatherings, or looking for more interesting nonalcoholic drink ideas.

About the Book

A nonalcoholic cocktail recipe book with 40 zero-proof drink recipes.

Great For

• Mocktail lovers
• Sober-curious shoppers
• Hosts who want inclusive drink options
• Gift baskets with mixers, bitters, or glassware

Product Details

• Format: Book
• Category: Nonalcoholic cocktail recipes
• Includes: 40 drink recipes

Why We Like It

It gives non-drinkers and mindful drinkers a more elevated way to enjoy the ritual of cocktails without alcohol.

Dinks and Drinks is a playful cocktail book for pickleball fans, featuring 40+ drink recipes inspired by the game.

From casual gatherings to post-match hangs, it gives shoppers a fun way to connect sports, cocktails, and hosting.

About the Book

A cocktail recipe book built around pickleball culture and entertaining.

Great For

• Pickleball players
• Cocktail fans
• Host gifts
• Fun pairings with barware or mixers

Product Details

• Format: Book
• Category: Cocktail recipe book
• Includes: 40+ drink recipes

Why We Like It

It is light, giftable, and easy to pair with bottles, mixers, and glassware for a complete hosting moment.

American Soul is a richly illustrated food history and cookbook exploring how Black culinary traditions helped shape American cuisine.

Anela Malik traces the stories, ingredients, and cultural memory behind Black foodways while including 40 recipes that make the history feel alive and practical.

About the Book

A food history and cookbook centered on Black contributions to American food culture.

Great For

• Cookbook collectors
• Food history readers
• Home cooks interested in Black culinary traditions
• Thoughtful gifts for food lovers

Product Details

• Format: Book
• Category: Food history and cookbook
• Includes: 40 recipes
• Author: Anela Malik

Why We Like It

It connects food, culture, and history in a way that fits the UrFriendCharles mission: celebrating Black stories through products people can enjoy, share, and learn from.

The Barrister's Book of Old Fashioneds & Other Cocktails is a hardcover whiskey cocktail guide by Brandi Lowery.

It is a good fit for home bartenders, whiskey readers, cocktail-history fans, and thoughtful host gifts.

About the Book

The book combines approachable Old Fashioned and whiskey cocktail recipes with historical storytelling and “Bourbon & Bits.”

Great For

• Whiskey and bourbon fans
• Home bartenders
• Cocktail-history readers
• Father's Day and host gifts

Product Details

• Product Type: Book
• Format: Hardcover
• Subject: Old Fashioneds, whiskey cocktails, and cocktail history
• Author: Brandi Lowery

Meet the Author

Brandi Lowery is a licensed attorney and executive bourbon steward who brings legal-minded research and whiskey knowledge to the book.

Why We Like It

It gives readers recipes they can use while adding historical context to the drinks in the glass.