COSMOPOLITAN A Bartender's Life

As a world-weary bartender providing his version of a document for the ages, Cecchini functions as an apologist for the art and science of barkeeping. Read with disdain for just about everyone except fellow connoisseurs of fine food, drink, and (Cecchini implies) culture, COSMOPOLITAN walks us through the sticky pages of an unwilling bartender's career to date. While the author's tales are full of humorous anecdotes, some of which are meant to shock, this production falls flat as the author's pseudo-Gallic scorn (he wants us to know that he has lived in France) sucks the life out of his stories, deflating any humor or charm. Named after the drink he co-created, and grew to detest once it became popular, COSMOPOLITAN strikes a sour note in its depiction of a noble trade. D.J.B.
(c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 04]