Lesson 4: Recipes & More

Introduction

This lesson is both the most enjoyable as well as the most cautionary. We’re going to look at some drink recipes – not only the classics but the newly fashionable and some of my personal favorites. The recipes are divided into my personal categories: the martini, the exotics, the sophisticates, after-dinner, brunch, and infamous. We’ll conclude with some recipes for non-alcoholic drinks along with advice on how to deal with over-indulgence.

I’ve used recipes from both of my recommended bartending books, as well as other sources. If you’re looking to buy one of these books, recipes from Gary Regan’s The Bartender’s Bible, are generally easier for a home bartender to make and require more commonly available ingredients. Cunningham’s recipes in The Bartender’s Black Book are more sophisticated, and appropriate for a professional or for a very well-stocked home bar. I do find Cunningham’s book easier to use as: 1) all the recipes are arranged alphabetically, while Regan’s are grouped by primary liquor, and 2) the book is on a spiral backing so it lays flat.

One recipe before we start. Should you use Cunningham’s book or other professional drink books, they often call for something called a “sour mix” which can be bought or made. To make fresh sour mix, mix together: