The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks understands the basic components of each type of drink, new cocktails can be created by substituting a different base or modifying agent or by adding a special flavoring or coloring agent. A daiquiri, for example, is nothing more than a whiskey sour with rum substituted for whiskey as the base and lime juice substituted for lemon juice as a modifying agent. An entire chapter of the book ("Roll Your Own") is dedicated to this premise. Embury's six basic drinks are the Daiquiri, the Jack Rose, the Manhattan, the Martini, the Old Fashioned, and the Sidecar. Embury's preferred recipe for each
Performance and Cocktails a pleasant throatiness to it that adds emotion to even the simplest lyric." Brent DiCrescenzo from "Pitchfork Media" had a generally negative review of the album, comparing Stereophonics to Oasis and by summarising the album as, "Basically, what "Performance and Cocktails" boils down to is loud music engineered and crafted for Britain's summer festival circuit that practically guarantees a perennially muddy experience." Similarly, Barry Walters of "Rolling Stone" also compared the band to Oasis, stating, "[they] sound like Oasis trying to be Radiohead." "Performance and Cocktails" gave Stereophonics three straight top five singles in the British charts with "The Bartender