The New Craft of the Cocktail

Starred review from July 6, 2020
In this excellent update of bartender DeGroff’s seminal 2002 work, The Craft of the Cocktail, DeGroff serves up a whopping 500 recipes. He begins with a thumbnail history of drinking, from the invention of the mixed drink to the return of trendy “speakeasy” style bars. Next, he deconstructs the cocktail, analyzing the ingredients, tools, and techniques that contribute to its artistry, before getting into the recipes, a stirring mix of old classics and new twists, which borrow “both ingredients and techniques from the culinary world.” The drinks are presented alphabetically, usually several to a page, so the Michelada, the mimosa, and the mojito are all side by side. Readers can, however, browse by spirit in the index; under the gin listing, for example, there are more than 80 concoctions, from the Abbey Cocktail (Aviation American gin and Lillet Blanc) to the Yuzu Gimlet. DeGroff selects brands of liquor he likes best for each drink (Rittenhouse 100-Proof for a classic Manhattan, for instance) and peppers the pages with sidebar remembrances of his many years as a mixologist. He denies inventing the cosmopolitan (despite often being credited for it) and recounts his days at the Rainbow Room, where he made his own ice cubes (“I was like a missionary for the Kold-Draft machines”). Home bartenders will be thrilled by this authoritative and satisfying reference.

October 16, 2020

One of the leaders of the craft cocktail movement, award-winning author and former Rainbow Room bartender DeGroff was instrumental in saving the cocktail from premade sour mix and watery wine spritzers. Originally published in 2002, with DeGroff's take on 100 of the most important cocktails, this work quickly became a bartending bible. Almost 20 years later, DeGroff has completely revised his seminal work, now with 500 recipes plus new photography by Krieger. In addition to the canon of cocktails, there are DeGroff's own concoctions, plus "new classics" from other important mixologists, such as Audrey Saunders and Dick Bradsell. DeGroff offers specific brand recommendations for each cocktail, though he encourages experimentation when ingredients are hard to source. One common ingredient is his own Dale DeGroff Pimento Aromatic Bitters. There is also concise information on cocktail components, including how spirits are made, as well as service advice and a brief history of cocktails in America, including a beverage revival in the 1980s and 1990s. VERDICT A must for cocktail fans and aspiring mixologists.--Devon Thomas, Chelsea, MI

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