Steven Grasse - The Cocktail Workshop: An Essential Guide to Classic Drinks and How to Make Them Your Own

O h, you dont know anything about mixing drinks at home? Nice. You picked up the right book.

Oh, you already know a lot about mixing drinks at home? Nice. You picked up the right book.

Were publishing The Cocktail Workshop with the belief that learning is a lifelong pursuit, so whether you can launch a flotilla of Mai Tais with your eyes closed or dont know the difference between tequila and mezcal, this book will help you deepen your knowledge and up your game.

Heres how the book works: Weve collected the recipes, mythologies, and nerdy details of 20 classic cocktails, from the Mint Julep (). Each drink forms a self-contained chapter with three componentsthe Classic, the Riffs, and the Workshopa liquid curriculum, if you will. The goal is to nail what makes an iconic cocktail tick, then continue along to the variations.

Think of the riffs as cousins of the classicsrelated but independent. Each riff section contains a suite of three drinks. Some of these interpretations are well established cocktails that are considered classics in their own rights, like the Rob Roy (), but most are original cocktails developed expressly for this book. The riffs proceed up a ladder of increasing complexity. We call these ascending levels Apprentice, Journeyman, and Master, drawing from the spirit of workshops around the world and the talented craftspeople who make them hum.

The Apprentice level involves easy swaps and substitutions, such as replacing the gin in a Gimlet (), a sipper befitting a dignified evening.

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The Master level cocktails have multiple Journeyman modifiers, some of which require advance planning, plus what bartenders call an elevated serve: more intricate garnishes, specialty glassware, etc. Instead of crushed ice, the Home Stretch (). You wont get a diploma or pay bump for graduating to this tier, but your cocktails will be damn impressive.

The third section of each drink chapter is the Workshop. Each workshop presents a technique (Flaming Garnishes, ) thats germane to its classic cocktail and will lift your home mixology to a rarefied level.

The Cocktail Workshop meets you where you are. You can begin at the beginning with two- and three-ingredient bangers like the Martini () or cannonball into the deep end of fat-washed whiskies, fresh-fruit shrubs, and postmodern slushies. As the books name implies, The Cocktail Workshop is about learning, tinkering with, and mastering a craftthe craft of mixing cocktails. Lets get to work.

STEVEN GRASSE,

FOUNDER, ART IN THE AGE, TAMWORTH DISTILLERY, QUAKER CITY MERCANTILE

Hometown: Souderton, PA

Classic Cocktail: Rye Manhattan ()

The Cocktail Workshop Crush: Breakfast Manhattan, Reversed ()

Drink When Im Not Drinking: Bubbly seltzer water

Mixing Soundtrack: David Bowie

Cocktail Snack: Dry-roasted Planters peanuts

Dream Bar: Tokyos Old Imperial Bar, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1923

Hangover cure: Exercise

SONIA GRASSE,

COFOUNDER, ART IN THE AGE, TAMWORTH DISTILLERY

Hometown: Philadelphia

Classic Cocktail: Negroni ()

The Cocktail Workshop Crush: Rose Gimlet ()

Drink When Im Not Drinking: Structured water

Mixing Soundtrack: DJ Jake Rudhs weekly Transmission dance broadcast

Cocktail Snack: Cornichons, trashy barbecue chips, Mahina Mele macadamia nuts

Dream Bar: Chateau Marmont pool bar

Hangover cure: Federal Donuts fried chicken sandwich

LEE NOBLE,

HEAD MIXOLOGIST, ART IN THE AGE

Hometown: Philadelphia

Classic Cocktail: Negroni ()

The Cocktail Workshop Crush: The Home Stretch ()

Drink When Im Not Drinking: Ginger beer with bitters and a lime wedge

Mixing Soundtrack: A Tribe Called Quest

Cocktail Snack: Ordering from the raw bar

Dream Bar: Panda and Sons, Edinburgh, Scotland

Hangover cure: Middle Childs breakfast sandwich with black coffee

ADAM ERACE,

FOOD AND TRAVEL WRITER, COOKBOOK AUTHOR, RETIRED BARTENDER

Hometown: Philadelphia

Classic Cocktail: Bourbon Manhattan ()

The Cocktail Workshop Crush: 80-Proof and Sunny ()

Drink When Im Not Drinking: Pennsylvania Dutch Birch Beer

Mixing Soundtrack: Spotify Kitchen Swagger playlist

Cocktail Snack: