The Cocktail Seminars

“One of the better drinks books published this year . . . The recipes are solid; the drink histories credible; the seminars deliver what they promise.”—Eric Felten, Wall Street Journal As a senior at Yale, Brian Hoefling realized that his classmates were about to enter the real world with an imperfect knowledge of how to prepare and enjoy cocktails. To remedy this dangerous deficiency, he devised and taught The Cocktail Seminars. In his subsequent career as a cocktail teacher and writer, Hoefling has developed and refined The Cocktail Seminars into the present book. Each of the five seminars herein (from beginner to advanced) covers thirty different drinks, which are arranged so as to progressively introduce the ingredients and techniques of mixology, as well as its eventful history. In each seminar, an exercise and examination challenges readers to apply what they’ve learned to the creation of new and variant drinks. Hoefling’s seminars are founded on the principle that all cocktails consist of a base spirit modified in certain fundamental ways, such as sweetening, souring, bittering, aromatizing, aerating, lengthening, and thickening. Each cocktail is illustrated by a color-coded wheel that shows how the base spirit is modified by the other ingredients. Those who are less serious about their cocktail education may also consult The Cocktail Seminars for drink recipes as needed, or display this handsome volume, bound in faux leather, on their bar cart—but they are only robbing themselves of a brighter future through the gift of education. The Cocktail Seminars will make an excellent gift for all but teetotalers.

CurriculumEach seminar covers thirty drinks. Quizzes and final exams challenge you to create your own variant drinks.Seminar 1: The Survivors Drinks that persisted through dark age of mixology in the mid-twentieth century and formed the core of the early Cocktail Renaissance.For example: the Old Fashioned, Martini, Manhattan, and Sidecar.Seminar 2: The Hidden Patrimony Drinks that could still have been made during the dark age of mixology, but weren’t, either because the recipes had fallen out of public consciousness or because they relied on ingredients (e.g., Campari, Chartreuse, maraschino) that, although available, were not familiar to most drinkers and bartenders.For example: the Hemingway Daiquiri, Vieux Carré, and Negroni.Seminar 3. Renaissance Revivals Drinks that could not have been made before the Cocktail Renaissance, because essential ingredients (e.g. absinthe, orange bitters, creme de violette) were no longer available and had to be revived.For example: the Aviation and Corpse Reviver #2.Seminar 4. Contemporary Creations Drinks that were invented in the Cocktail Renaissance, whether they rely on newly available ingredients (e.g., mezcal, elderflower liqueur) or not.For example: the Oaxaca Old Fashioned, Trident, Penicillin, and Old Cuban.Seminar 5. Tiki and Tropical The parallel path of mixological history typified by the “tiki” style developed in the 1930s, whose revival came at a later stage of the Cocktail Renaissance and paved the way for the Cocktail Baroque period; drinks from the whole sweep of tiki history will be included, including recent creations.For example: the Singapore Sling, Mai Tai, Zombie, and Jungle Bird.