A Proper Drink The Untold Story of How a Band of Bartenders Saved the Civilized Drinking World [A Cocktails Book]

A narrative history of the craft cocktail renaissance, written by a New York Times cocktail writer and one of the foremost experts on the subject.

A Proper Drink is the first-ever book to tell the full, unflinching story of the contemporary craft cocktail revival. Award-winning writer Robert Simonson interviewed more than 200 key players from around the world, and the result is a rollicking (if slightly tipsy) story of the characters—bars, bartenders, patrons, and visionaries—who in the last 25 years have changed the course of modern drink-making. The book also features a curated list of about 40 cocktails—25 modern classics, plus an additional 15 to 20 rediscovered classics and classic contenders—to emerge from the movement.

ROBERT SIMONSON is a cocktail and drinks writer for the New York Times, a six-time Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Award nominee, and the author of The Old-Fashioned. One of the leading authorities on spirits and cocktail culture in the United States, he also writes for Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, Imbibe, Edible Manhattan, Edible Brooklyn, Saveur, Eater, PUNCH, and more.