World's Best Cocktails

500 Signature Drinks from the World’s Best

Bars and Bartenders

TOM SANDHAM

World of Cocktails

My Cocktail Life

World’s Top 30 Cocktail Bars

History of the Cocktail

Around the World in 500 Cocktails

Cocktail Styles

Aperitifs

Classic Aperitifs

The Negroni

Pick-Me-Ups

BAR PROFILE: Harry’s Bar Venice

The Bellini

Modern Aperitifs

BARTENDER PROFILE Charles Vexenat Bar 1805, Ibiza Town, Ibiza

BARTENDER PROFILE Ago Perrone The Connaught

BAR PROFILE The Connaught London

BAR PROFILE Milk & Honey London

Digestifs

Classic Digestifs

Modern Digestifs

Coffee Cocktails

BARTENDER PROFILE Alex Kratena Artesian Bar

BAR PROFILE Artesian Bar Langham Hotel, London

BAR PROFILE Beaufort Bar The Savoy, London

Punches

Classic Punches

BARTENDER PROFILE Al Sotack The Franklin Mortgage & Investment Company,

Philadelphia

BARTENDER PROFILE Soulshakers London

Flips & Friends

Disco Drinks

Mocktails

Modern Mixing

Modern Mixing

BAR PROFILE Employees Only New York

Seasonality

BARTENDER PROFILE Jim Meehan PDT (Please Don’t Tell)

BAR PROFILE PDT (Please Don’t Tell) New York

BARTENDER PROFILE George Nemec Lost Heaven, Shanghai, China

Gin

Gin History

Gin Styles

Gin Classic Cocktails

Genever

BARTENDER PROFILE Timo Janse Door 74, Amsterdam

BAR PROFILE American Bar The Savoy, London

BARTENDER PROFILE Erik Lorincz American Bar

The Speakeasy

BARTENDER PROFILE Nick van Tiel Beefeater Gin

The Martini

Martini Relations

Modern Martini Mixes

PROFILE Javier de las Muelas & DRY Martini Barcelona

Gin Modern Mixes

BAR PROFILE Portobello Star London

BARTENDER PROFILE Jake Burger Portobello Star

BARTENDER PROFILE Wayne Collins Maxxium UK

Simple Serves

Vodka

Vodka History

Vodka Styles

Vodka Classic Cocktails

The Cosmopolitan

The Bloody Mary

BAR PROFILE King Cole Bar The St. Regis, New York

Vodka Modern Mixes

BARTENDER PROFILE Bek Narzibekov City Space Bar

BAR PROFILE City Space Bar Swissôtel Krasnye Holmy, Moscow

BAR PROFILE Chainaya Tea & Cocktails Moscow

BARTENDER PROFILE Jordan Bushell Libation Consulting

BARTENDER PROFILE Claire Smith Belvedere Vodka

Akvavit

PROFILE Nick Kobbernagel Hovind & Ruby Copenhagen

Rum

Rum History

Rum Styles

Rum Classic Cocktails

The Mojito

The Daiquiri

BAR PROFILE El Floridita Havana, Cuba

The Piña Colada

Rum Modern Mixes

Simple Serves

PROFILE Julien “Papa Jules” Gualdoni & The Cliff St. James, Barbados

Rum Classic Tiki

The Mai Tai

The Zombie

Tiki Modern Mixes

BARTENDER PROFILE Martin Cate Smuggler’s Cove, San Francisco

BARTENDER PROFILE Jeff Berry, drinks author

BARTENDER PROFILE Julie Reiner Lani Kai, New York

BARTENDER PROFILE Brian Miller Lani Kai, New York

Cachaça

The Caipirinha

BARTENDER PROFILE John Gakuru Think Spirits

Whiskey

Scotch/Whiskey History

Scotch/Whiskey Styles

Scotch Classic Cocktails

Scotch Modern Mixes

BAR PROFILE Bramble Bar Edinburgh

PROFILE Julián Díaz & 878 Bar Buenos Aires, Argentina

BARTENDER PROFILE Max Warner Chivas Regal

Classic Bourbon Cocktails

The Mint Julep

The Old Fashioned, & The Sazerac

The Classic Manhattan

Modern American Mixes

BARTENDER PROFILE Jeffrey Morgenthaler Clyde Common, Portland

BAR PROFILE Death & Company New York

Japanese Styles

BARTENDER PROFILE Zoran Peric Suntory Whisky

BARTENDER PROFILE Manabu Ohtake BelloVisto, Tokyo

BAR PROFILE High Five Tokyo

Sake & Shochu

BARTENDER PROFILE Kenta Goto Pegu Club, New York

Tequila

Tequila History

Tequila Styles

Tequila Classic Cocktails

The Margarita

Tequila Modern Mixes

BARTENDER PROFILE Zahra Bates Providence, Los Angeles

BARTENDER PROFILE Tomas Estes Cafe Pacifico

BAR PROFILE Cafe Pacifico London

BAR PROFILE La Capilla Tequila, Mexico

PROFILE Julio Bermejo & Tommy’s San Francisco

Brandy

Brandy History

Brandy Styles

Brandy Classic Cocktails

The Sidecar

BAR PROFILE Harry’s New York Bar Paris

Brandy Modern Mixes

Simple Serve

Brandy Modern Twisted Mixes

BAR PROFILE Curio Parlor Paris

Armagnac, Calvados

Pisco

Absinthe

Absinthe History

Absinthe Styles

Absinthe Classic Cocktails

Absinthe Modern Mixes

BAR PROFILE Experimental Cocktail Club Paris

Grape & Hop

Grape History & Styles

Wine Classic Cocktails

Champagne Cocktails

Wine Modern Mixes

BARTENDER PROFILE Tim Philips Merivale Group

BAR PROFILE Black Pearl Melbourne, Australia

BARTENDER PROFILE Alex Day Proprietors LLC

Beer Cocktails

Cocktail Essentials

Basic Kit

Glassware

Syrups, Mixers & Infusions

Bitters

Liqueurs

Garnishes

Techniques 1, Shaking & Throwing

Techniques 2, All the “ings”s

Techniques 3, Special Techniques, Terms & Tips

Cocktail Index

Index

Acknowledgments

Opening page Yellow Submarine, created by Ago Perrone of The Connaught,

London, from Aperitifs, page 30.

Title page, left Sidecar 2010, from Brandy Modern Twisted Mixes, page 244.

I’ve been lucky enough to spend the last ten years traveling the

world in search of quality cocktails. It’s been a pretty good gig.

Along the way I’ve met a host of talented and passionate

bartenders and visited plenty of extraordinary bars, all of them

providing a proper night out. This book is a compendium of the

cocktails I encountered on the journeys. Some are historic and

classic, others fresh and modern, but all are from menus in the

best bars around the world.

Fans of the mixed drink will know cocktail culture is on the

rise right now—in fact, it’s a global phenomenon and historic

classics are creaking out of ancient books as modern mixing

minds simultaneously embrace innovative ingredients. London

and New York remain creative hotspots for this action, but other cities, from

Stockholm to Sydney and Bratislava to Berlin, are now providing inspiring

imbibing terrain. So this seemed like the perfect moment to reflect the

international diversity in one trusty tome, and to encourage you to experiment in

the comfort of your own home.

If this is the only cocktail book you’ll ever own, then rest assured it contains

the faithful classics you’ll want and expect to find. But it also includes modern

drinks from the best bartenders working today and a mix of recipes that vary in

complexity, in both the making and the tasting. It’ll serve the beginner bartender

and also challenge the advanced mixologists among you.

The recipes have the occasional hard and fast rule, but there’s plenty of

flexibility. Some of you won’t have time to source or create every single

ingredient, others will want to commit to detail, and both approaches are

welcome. Taste is subjective, so if you need to add a bit more sugar or a bit more

lime to satisfy your tongue, then do add a bit more sugar or lime. However you

take it on, simply remember mixing drinks is supposed to be fun and fresh fruit,

quality glassware, decent ice, and superior spirits are vital.

As you work through the pages you’ll see the best bars in the world also get a

mention and you should try them for yourself; there’s nothing quite like a

cocktail served up by a professional after all. Become a have-a-go hero in the

home, and if at first you don’t succeed, head to the bar. And then go home and

try again.

So, there we are: this is a book about great cocktails and you’re still stuck in

the introduction. Sort it out, stop reading this, and go and make a tasty beverage

already.

World’s Top 30 Cocktail Bars

Everyone loves a list—best movies, best books, best things to buy in the

supermarket. Yep, lists are endless fun. Here then is a list of cocktail bars

that I implore you to seek out. I’ve compiled it, but as ever I’ve asked a top￾notch bartender for a view. Among those assisting with recommendations

was the well-traveled Angus Winchester, who looks after Tanqueray gins

around the world and Philip Duff, drinksmith extraordinaire and the man

behind Amsterdam’s imbibing institution Door 74. This list is not exclusive

and there are equally impressive venues throughout the book. Visit them all.

1 . . . . . . . Buck & Breck Berlin

www.buckandbreck.com

More than a bar, the bartending here is a piece of cocktail

theater.

2 . . . . . . . Aviary Chicago

www.theaviary.com

Pushes the boundaries of science and cocktails, without being

afraid to serve a simple drink should you want one.

3 . . . . . . . Eleven Madison Park New York

www.elevenmadisonpark.com

The restaurant takes plenty of plaudits, but I’d say the bar

deserves the credit.

4 . . . . . . . La Descarga Los Angeles

www.ladescargala.com

Rum’s the word, in hyper homage to Havana.

5 . . . . . . . Stitch Bar Sydney

www.stitchbar.com

Burgers, sausages, and beautiful beverages to wash it all down.

6 . . . . . . . Rickhouse San Francisco

www.rickhousesf.com