There are plenty of great cocktail books out there—old and new—filled with pages of recipes and carefully researched historical references. But when we set out to write our own, we realized that very few bar books actually teach readers how to make and create a tasty, well-balanced cocktail and explain why certain tools, ingredients, and techniques are best for any given drink.
These two questions—how? and why?—are the secrets to Death & Co’s success, and our bartenders ask them constantly: How can we make drinks more efficiently and consistently? Why should we use this kind of ice over that one? How can we make a better Manhattan? Why are four rums better than one? When we opened the bar, we scrutinized every norm, convention, and lesson we’d been taught and threw out anything that didn’t hold up. And as soon as we figured out a better way to make a drink—or found a better bottle of gin—we put it to the test. Before any drink earns a place on our menu, it’s subjected to numerous rounds of tasting, tweaking, substitution, collaboration, and improvement. This book contains the collective knowledge of the Death & Co staff, amassed over seven years and tens of thousands of hours of practice and introspection, and we’re excited as hell to share it with you.
This book is intended for anyone with a passion or curiosity for cocktails, from seasoned professionals to novice home bartenders. We want to share our enthusiasm for our craft and the ingredients, tools, techniques, and creativity essential to it. Each chapter builds upon the previous chapter’s lessons. In chapter 1, “A Night at Death & Co,” we show you what goes into creating and running a world-class bar. In chapter 2, “Building a Bar,” we’ll introduce you to many of the key ingredients we use at our bar. Chapter 3, “Building a Drink,” covers the tools and techniques that help us do our job consistently and efficiently, night after night. Chapter 4, “Creating New Classics,” demystifies the process of inventing new cocktails. Then, once you’ve learned how to work and think like a Death & Co bartender, we give you hundreds of original recipes in chapter 5, “The Specs,” along with recipes for our favorite classic cocktails. Throughout the book, you’ll be introduced to a handful of our favorite regular customers and hear their stories from the other side of the bar.
We can’t guarantee that you’ll love every Death & Co cocktail you try; after all, not every drink fits every person or every mood. But we do believe there’s a perfect cocktail (or many) for everyone. Also, don’t feel as though you need to follow every recipe to the letter. Personal preferences and the ingredients available vary from person to person and place to place. If you improvise on—and perhaps improve upon—our recipes, we’ll be even happier.
Most of all, we hope this books inspires you to seek out better cocktails, to create your own concoctions, and to start asking your own hows and whys. And if you have any unanswered questions after you finish this book, we welcome you to stop by the bar, pull up a stool, and ask away while we mix you a drink.