Note: Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Celebrate for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

I was intrigued by the premise of this book, especially considering the group of friends I have who enjoy drinking and trying new drinks. The idea that each President of the United States could inspire a drink seemed like a great idea, but sometimes the hook doesn’t deliver once I open the book. In this case, it delivers in an excellent way.

Each President from George Washington to Joe Biden has a drink inspired by them, along with several bonus cocktails at the end of the book for political parties, or independent voters. The drinks aren’t that difficult to make. Even going back almost 250 years, the recipes don’t include ingredients that would be hard to come by. George Washington? Of course, it’s a drink called a Cherry Nelson, even though the story about Washington and the Cherry Tree has been debunked. It’s explained where the idea for each recipe came from and how it ties into each president. In this case, it also includes rum which Washington was apparently quite fond of. The Nelson part comes from Washington’s favorite horse.

These factoids are generally stories about each president or something that was happening at the time of their presidency, and they explain how the drink is tied to that president for inspiration. There’s a gorgeous picture of each drink as well, which makes it easy to see if I’m on the right track when I mix them. Many of the recipes include a way to make it non-alcoholic, especially in the case of several Presidents who were known to be teetotallers. It’s a good idea to approach this book with a sense of humor. I was almost dreading getting to the drink for Donald Trump, and it ended up being funny as a “wrong” take on a traditional screwdriver, heavy on the orange.

No matter which side of the political spectrum you fall on, United We Drink can be a lot of fun. I would buy this for my friends of all political persuasions and could see us having fun making some of the recipes. It’s a great addition to any home bar and will get people talking and trying something new and different.