Text copyright © 2002 by Dale DeGroff Photographs copyright © 2002 by George Erml All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, New York, New York Member of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. CLARKSON N. POTTER is a trademark and POTTER and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data DeGroff, Dale. The craft of the cocktail / Dale DeGroff.—1st ed. 1. Cocktails. 2. Bartending. I. Title. TX951 .D39 2002 641.8’74—dc21 2001057791 eISBN: 978-0-30776227-6 v3.0 My life has unfolded like a day behind the bar. The regulars, the unexpected guests, the solitary drinker methodically working toward his end, the group spontaneously celebrating another day on the planet. I fell in love with bars because of the uninhibited, disordered, and surprising way life unfolds at the bar. The only logical progression in my life has been the wealth of characters who have crossed my path, leaving their sweet, sour, strong, and weak for me to ponder. I dedicate this book to all the friends and strangers who took a moment to tell a great story and send me on my way. INTRODUCTION The History of the Cocktail The Ingredients of the Cocktail The Tools, Techniques, and Garnishes of the Cocktail PRODUCTS, SERVICES, AND SOURCES MEASURES BASIC RECIPES PROOF IN THE NUMBERS: STANDARD ALCOHOL CONTENT MIXING TERMS AND TECHNIQUES GLOSSARY BIBLIOGRAPHY SPECIAL THANKS INDEX By age twelve, I knew exactly where I wanted to live when I grew up: Big things happen in big places, and New York City was the biggest. Luckily, my father had instilled in me an unreasonable supply of optimism, which buoyed me through learning a city that could swallow you up without a trace. This optimism, along with a few good friends and dumb luck, was about all I had when I arrived in New York in 1969. Within a year, I went to work for my best friend’s brother, Ron Holland, a principal in a small creative ad agency called Lois, Holland, and Callaway. Everyone’s favorite account at the agency was Restaurant Associates. Besides affording Ron and his partners the golden opportunity to work with the legendary restaurateur Joe Baum, it also enabled them to dine and entertain their clients at the very best restaurants in town. In short, a dream account. My chief occupation at the agency was to get in on as many expensive free meals as was humanly possible, which was easy given Ron’s generosity. It did not take long to get hooked. Every Sunday we’d meet for brunch at Charley O’s at Forty-eighth Street and Rockefeller Plaza in the heart of Manhattan, assembling just before noon. The old blue laws forbade serving alcohol before noon on Sundays, so the stroke of midday was much anticipated. Ron Holland and his partner, the legendary art director George Lois, had worked closely with Joe Baum creating Charley O’s. It was a terrific room, full of dark mahogany and leaded glass, with a long bar along the east wall and a beautiful oval window looking out on Rockefeller Plaza. On the walls hung photographs and quotes from great writers and great drunks; Ron’s own Grandma Holland, who pronounced on her death bed, “I’ll keep drinking them as long as they keep making them,” was on the wall too, her wisdom right alongside Robert Benchley and Errol Flynn. Charley O’s was a bar for everyone from writers to gamblers, secretaries to politicians, all drawn there by solid drink, hearty food, and tremendous good cheer. Charley O’s was where Pat Moynihan threw his yearly St. Paddy’s-day breakfast; it was where Bobby Kennedy announced his candidacy; and it was the beginning of my love affair with the New York Bar & Grill. If there was one single pivotal day in my life that determined my future, it was when I volunteered to fill in for a bartender who failed to show up for a party that Charley O’s was catering at Gracie Mansion, the home of New York City’s mayor. The manager was frantic and asked whether anyone knew how to tend bar. None of the old-time barmen wanted to work a thankless, tipless gig; I lied and said I was a bartender. But before dashing off to the mansion, I rushed over to Mike Flynn, the head bartender, and asked, “By the way, how do you tend bar, anyway?” There was very little time, but Mike was a kind and sympathetic soul. He wrote out a list of common drinks and how to make them, and gave me some pointers on how to pour. In what seemed like seconds later, I was behind the bar at Gracie Mansion. Mayor Abe Beame was presenting the keys of the city to Rupert Murdoch, so all the top people in the Beame administration and a number of other prominent New Yorkers were attending. All of a sudden, it dawned on me that I was center stage and this was a captive audience. It was only a makeshift, poorly stocked bar, and I never really had to make anything that fancy, but there was something about being behind that bar that felt just right. I don’t know how Muhammad Ali felt the first time he climbed into a ring, or how Louis Armstrong felt the first time he picked up a trumpet, but for me, I knew I was standing in a very familiar and cozy place. I was home. In 1987, when Joe Baum opened the Promenade Bar in the newly restored Rainbow Room, I was offered the unique opportunity to create a classic bar in the old style. I was ten years into my bartending career with two great bars on my résumé, the original Charley O’s and the Hotel Bel-Air. I had an intuitive understanding of what a great bar could be, but I still had much to learn about what made a great drink. What followed was a journey back in time to learn how to re-create the classic cocktails in the classic style. There wasn’t anyone around who remembered how to do it. Using only fresh and natural ingredients meant doing away with fast and easy pre-made mixes and figuring out how to achieve just the right amount of sweet and sour, strong and weak. It meant searching for out-of-print cocktail books and experimenting with hundreds of recipes, adjusting them to a modern palate and today’s larger portions. And so began my quest for just the right cocktails with just the right recipes. What I learned while rediscovering the lost art of bartending is what I will share in this book: a treasure of recipes that will tantalize your palate, enliven your parties, and inspire you to embark on your own journey to discover new and exciting ways to mix drinks. Cheers!