For Men’s Journal, I wrote about the choice of sparkling water for your whiskey highball.
Read it here.
Category: cocktails
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How To Highball
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Did the Original Cocktail Sauce Contain Angostura Bitters?
I am researching Prohibition and a search for “cocktails” in the San Francisco Chronicle turned up a story from 1920 on the origin of the “oyster cocktail” that I think is what today we call “cocktail sauce” that is used more on the shrimp cocktail. (I am a 30+ year vegetarian so I could be wrong it though!)
I just noted the part about Angostura Bitters and ketchup – see the second image. If you give that recipe a try… let me know how it goes.
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September 2025 Drink Book Releases
Here are new cocktails and spirits books being released in September 2025.
To see all the New Drink Books of 2025, visit this link.
- American Whiskey Master Class: The Ultimate Guide to Understanding Bourbon, Rye, and Other American Whiskeys
- The Comic Book History of the Cocktail: Five Centuries of Mixing Drinks and Carrying On
- The Whisky World Tour: A curated guide to unforgettable distilleries and their whiskies
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Bartender’s Ketchup is Back on the Menu in SF
I wrote a story for the SFStandard about elderflower liqueur making a huge comeback. It was so popular when the brand St. Germain first launched in 2007 that it was given the nickname “bartender’s ketchup.”
It’s so back, but now bartenders are using a wide range of products. Read the story here.
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All of the Olives’ Brine Time to Shine
My latest story for the San Francisco Chronicle is about all the ways bartenders are liquifying olives in their Martinis – in the vermouth, gin, vodka, brine, leaf tinctures, oil-washing everything, and even an “olive turducken.”
Here’s a gift link so you can read it.
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How to Stretch a Lime – My Story in the SF Chronicle
I wrote about oleo citrate and super juice for the San Francisco Chronicle.
These are techniques for increasing the yield from citrus fruits by eight times or so, using a touch of citric and malic acid powder in a specific way to bump up the flavor and texture of citrus to extend it over a large volume.
Bartenders in the Bay Area have begun experimenting with the technique, not because our locals love high-tech processing of natural ingredients (our locals very much do not) but because threatened tariffs on imports from Mexico would make limes more expensive- as well as tequila and agave nectar.
The story may be paywalled, but check it out here:
Tariffs could make Bay Area cocktails more expensive. This ‘super juice’ may be a solution
By Camper English
Unless bartenders figure out something soon, margaritas could soon cause sticker shock on cocktail menus across the Bay Area. The tequila, limes and agave syrup used in them may all come from Mexico, and imports on them will face tariffs if President Trump follows through with his threats.
Eric Ochoa, partner at the bar Dalva in San Francisco’s Mission District, has been weighing his options and not finding any great ones. He could increase the price of the drink, or take the “shrinkflation” route, reducing the quantity of tequila or mezcal from 2 ounces per drink to 1½. Or he could swap out fresh-squeezed lime juice for “super juice” to cut costs on one ingredient at least. A citrus juice preparation resulting in six to eight times the liquid of regular juice from the same amount of fruit, it’s a technique that bartenders around the region and the country are testing out to squeeze their fruit for all it’s worth.
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Don’t Drink and Send Telegrams – and Other Advice from 100 Years of Cocktail Etiquette Books
My first story for Food & Wine just went live.
I took advice from 95 years of cocktail etiquette books, beginning in 1930 and ending with the publication of How to Be a Better Drinker last week [amazon] [bookshop].
I had fun going through my cocktail book collection to find other etiquette books, including The Official Preppy Handbook, to cite.
Anyway, check out the story here!
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Esquire’s Best and Worst Cocktails of 1934
Esquire magazine printed an article with the Ten Best Cocktails of 1934 – the year after Prohibition was repealed. They included at the end a list of the Worst cocktails as well.
Esquire’s link to the story is here, but it requires a subscription to view.
DiffordsGuide has the list of best and worst, but not the entire article it comes from.
Here’s the Worst list:
I’ve seen this list in a lot of places online, but never the full article, so I went to the San Francisco Public Library yesterday and took it out of the archives.
I didn’t realize that not only was Esquire huge in size something like 11 x 17 back then, but also had a ton of pages. It was basically a book every month.
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The Cocktail is the International Alcoholic Esperanto
Here’s a fun excerpt:
The American Mercury 1924-09: Vol 3 Iss 9
CLINICAL NOTES
BY GEORGE JEAN NATHAN AND H. L. MENCKENThe cocktail, once observed George Ade, follows the American flag. That was twenty years ago. The flags of all nations today follow the cocktail. Its fame has spread over the globe, and justly. It has captured the English and the French, the Danes and the Italians. Five o'clock in Piccadilly brings its gin and vermouth and dash of bitters as five o'clock along the grand boulevards brings its iced brandy and gum syrup and dash of Byrth. It is the gift of smiling America to lackadaisical Europe. It is the international alcoholic Esperanto.
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New Drink Book Releases in 2025
I keep a close eye on new books on drinks (mostly cocktails and spirits rather than beer/wine), and I read most of them that come out every year.
On this post I’ll keep track of them. I probably won’t include every cultural franchise tie-in cocktail book (Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc) but some. If you want to see books from 2024, check out:Thirty Four New Drink Books for Fall 2024 and The Best Drinks Books of 2024
November and December 2025 Books
- The Invention of Rum: Creating the Quintessential Atlantic Commodity
- Cocktails Illustrated: 400+ Recipes for the Home Bartender, from Spirit Forward to Zero Proof
- Savour: A guide to tasting and exploring whiskies of the world
- Cosmic Cocktails: Master the Mixology of the Zodiac
- Cocktails for the Apocalypse: Celebratory Libations for the End of the World
- In Session: Low-Proof Cocktails for High-Quality Occasions
- Mocktail Hour: 70 Sips for Anytime Delights and Hangover-Free Nights
- The Mocktail Hour: Deliciously different zero-proof drinks for the sober-curious
- Diablo: Drinks, Potions & Elixirs: Cocktails and Provisions from Sanctuary
- Celebration Cocktails: Outstanding Batch Cocktails and Individual Drinks for Holidays, Parties, Birthdays, Weddings, and Other Festive Occasions
- Sex and the City Cocktails: Fall in Love with 60 Fabulous (and Official) Cocktail Recipes Inspired by the Show
- Romantasy Cocktails: 60 Spicy and Sweet Cocktails to Fall For
- Everyday Elixirs: Mocktails, Matchas, and Seasonal Drinks to Inspire Wellness
- Bookshop
- Amazon
Here’s another one I missed:
- Cognac, Dissecting The World’s Most Famous Brandy
October 2025 Drink Books:
- The Botanical Bar: 50 Intoxicating Ingredients and Bespoke Cocktails
- Behind the Bar: Tequila: 50 Tequila Cocktails from Bars Around the World
- House of Whisky and Bourbon: Over 40 Cocktails to Shake, Muddle and Stir at Home
- Make Myna Double: Cocktails for Bird Lovers
- The History of Whiskey: in 100 Bottles, Barrels, and More
- Three Cheers: Cocktails Three Ways: Classics, Riffs, and Zero-Proof Sips
- Home Bartending Mastery: Iconic Cocktails to Build Skills and Drink Better
- Uneasy Elixirs: 50 Curious Cocktails Inspired by the Works of Edward Gorey
- The Madrusan Cocktail Companion: 2800+ cocktails with contributions from 100 of the world’s best bartenders
September 2025 Drink Books:
- Savory and Sweet Shrubs: Tart Mixers for Delicious Cocktails and Mocktails
- American Whiskey Master Class: The Ultimate Guide to Understanding Bourbon, Rye, and Other American Whiskeys
- The Whiskey Bible: A Complete Guide to the World’s Greatest Spirit
- Get Lit: Cocktails That Bring Your Favorite Books to Life
- Soju Party: How to Drink (and Eat!) Like a Korean
- Classic Cocktail Revival
- Tequila, Mezcal & More: Discover, Sip & Mix the Best Agave Spirits
- The Mixology Way: Classic cocktail recipes to master the art of mixology
- The Japanese Way of Whisky: Japan’s Whiskies and how to Enjoy them
- Both Sides of the Glass: Paired Cocktails and Mocktails to Toast Any Taste
- The Comic Book History of the Cocktail: Five Centuries of Mixing Drinks and Carrying On
- The Whisky World Tour: A curated guide to unforgettable distilleries and their whiskies
- Booze & Vinyl Country: 100+ Spirited Music-and-Drink Pairings
New Finds:
- THE RUM NEVER SETS: 300 YEARS OF ROYAL NAVY & LONDON DOCK RUM
- Bar Design-Principles, Practices, Dimensions
- Mezcal in Oaxaca: A Craft Spirit for the Global Marketplace
- Mother of Bourbon: The Greatest American Whiskey Story Never Told
June, July, and August New Drink Book Releases 2025
- Behind the Home Bar: The Essential Guide to Making Cocktails
- Spooky Cocktails: 100+ Spirited and Wickedly Delicious Drinks
- Totally ’80s Cocktails
- The Cocktail Bar: Perfectly mixed drinks from London’s iconic hotel bars
- The Eras Pour: The Unofficial, Ultimate Taylor Swift Cocktail Book
- The Obituary Cocktail
- The Ramos Gin Fizz
- Be a Beverage Expert: A Guide to Understanding Wine, Beer, Spirits, and Cocktails
Additional April and May Books
- Drink and Democracy: Alcohol and the Political Imaginary in Colonial Australia
- HYPER drinks
April through May 2025 Drink Book Releases
- The Official Barbie Cocktail Book: 50 Dreamy Recipes for Inspired Entertaining
- Mood Drinks: Alcohol-Free Cocktails to Create the Perfect Mood
- Hard Seltzer, Iced Tea, Kombucha, and Cider: How to Make Your Own Boozy Fermented Drinks
- Tequila Wars: José Cuervo and the Bloody Struggle for the Spirit of Mexico
- The Curious Bartender’s Agave Safari: Discovering and appreciating Mexico’s tequilas, mezcals & more
- Casablanca Cocktails: We’ll Always Have Aperitifs
- The Unauthorized Court of Cocktails: Recipes for your Romantasies
- The Brandy Milk Punch
- The Unofficial A Court of Thorns and Roses Cocktail Book
January Through March 2025 Drink Book Releases
- Spirited Women: Makers, Shakers, and Trailblazers in the World of Cocktails
- Lessons in Mixology: A graphic guide to making the perfect cocktail
- MockTales: 50+ Literary Mocktails Inspired by Classic Works, Banned Books, and More
- How to Be a Better Drinker: Cocktail Recipes and Boozy Etiquette
- Tokyo Bar: 65 recipes for Japanese-style cocktails and izakaya snacks
- Tiny Cocktails: The Art of Miniature Mixology: A Cocktail Recipe Book
- Pour Together: A Cocktail Recipe Book: 2-Ingredient Cocktails to Meet Every Mood
- Margarita Time: 60+ Tequila & Mezcal Cocktails, Served Up, Over & Blended
- Sleepless in Sangria: 60 Rom-Com Cocktails for Movie Night
- Drink Your Garden: Recipes, Stories and Tips from the Simple Goodness Cocktail Farm
- The Art of Cocktails: By the Legendary Bartender at the Ritz
- The Forgotten Sense: The New Science of Smell―and the Extraordinary Power of the Nose
- Sours: A History of the World’s Most Storied Cocktail Style
- This is a Cocktail Book
- Citrus: A World History
- Guide to Tropical Potions & Exotic Elixirs
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