Cocktails

More than 200 cocktail recipes every home bartender should know how to make—including classics, modern classics, and riffs on both—along with precise techniques and curated tool recommendations, from the James Beard Award–winning bar director of the NoMad Hotels.

Almost every great cocktail is a descendant of one of three ancestral formulas: the Old Fashioned (spirit + sugar + bitters + water), the Manhattan and Martini (spirit + fortified wine + bitters), and the Sour (spirit + citrus + sugar). From this foundation a family tree of sorts has grown, linking every cocktail you've ever loved together. A Daiquiri is a conversation with a Margarita. A Negroni is a cousin of the Manhattan. A Penicillin reveals itself to be a Sour wearing a very good coat.

In Cocktails, award-winning bar director Leo Robitschek presents more than 200 essential recipes that pair canonical and modern classics with creative riffs, not because the classics need fixing, but rather so you can understand how cocktails evolve and learn to build drinks that last. Together, this collection of recipes forms a lineage that stretches across generations, cities, bars, and people, and features evolutions such as:

Sazerac / Little Rascal
Gibson / Sichuan Gibson
Sidecar / Original Sin
French 75 / Anjou
Mai Tai / Tequila Mai Tai
Paper Plane / Satan's Circus V2
Espresso Martini / Vanilla Espresso Martini

Whether you're a home enthusiast eager to learn more or a working bartender seeking a framework to make you more confident behind the bar, Robitschek is here to share his knowledge and skills. In addition to copious information on choosing ingredients, making substitutions, wielding tools, and mastering techniques, in every recipe, Home Track advice skillfully nudges home bartenders toward cocktail fluency, while Bartender Tips teach advanced and professional mixologists to raise the bar in their bars.

This deftly curated and beautifully photographed reference will expand your know-how, delight your taste buds, and share a little history along the way. Sit down, have a cocktail, and welcome to the conversation.