I've attributed recipes, acknowledged inspirations, and nodded toward those who have shared their resources with me throughout the book. Despite my trail of crumbs, there are many whose names haven’t been mentioned.
The Staff
I couldn’t ask for a better partner than Brian Shebairo, whose unconditional commitment to excellence sets the bar from the top down.
Kim Bucci, Jon Hochstat, and Jess Wood who allow me to focus on the drinks.
Emily Bock, Aïcha Cissé, Marjorie Cox, Amber Duarte, Anya Dubin, Ari Hardjowirogo, Jina Lee, Jena Mason, Sofia Present, Darine Sengseevong, Sarah Todd, and Tae Yoon for holding down the door: you’re our first and last impression.
Japhet Balaban, Luis Bravo, Nick Brown, Tony Cid, Hilario Gonzalez, and Avery Houser work behind the scenes to ensure that the bar runs smoothly.
Jeff Bell, Marian Beke, Edixon Caridad, Lurie De La Rosa-Jackson, Kerrin Egalka, Amanda Pumarejo, Nalini Sharma, and Liam Wager for their service.
The Book
Words don’t have the power to communicate my gratitude and admiration for Chris Gall. This book was a dream that he brought to life, page after page.
My agent, William Clark, patiently prodded me to put the proposal together and has been diplomatic and righteous during tempestuous times.
George Nicholson shepherded us to Carlo DeVito, who gave us the resources to bring the project to life.
Diane Abrams, Rodman Neumann, and James Rodewald handled the text with deft hands.
Chris Thompson and Jon Chaiet ensured that the design popped off every page.
Peter Meehan tested and wrote all the food recipes and provided timely advice throughout the writing process. He and Hannah have always inspired me.
Peter Huynh’s designs were adapted for continuity between the book and bar. Keith Geldoff’s technical drawings were the basis of the bar designs.
I am humbled by my friend and mentor David Wondrich’s foreword and grateful for the changes spirits samurai Paul Pacult made to the spirits primer.
Greg Boehm and Jeff Masson allowed me unabated access to their peerless cocktail book collections and shared their findings with me.
Melanie Asher, Jacob Briars, Jean-Louis Carbonnier, Dave Catania, Ron Cooper, Philip Duff, Tomas Estes, Giuseppe Gallo, Ed Hamilton, Bernie Lubbers, May Matta-Aliah, Peter Schaf, Eric Seed, Claire Smith, and John Troia all shared information about their areas of expertise in the spirits world.
David Chang, Tien Ho, Eugene Lee, and Christina Tosi of Momofuku, Wylie Dufresne and John Bignelli of WD 50, Will Guidara and Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park, and Amador Acosta and Sam Mason of Tailor provided us with brilliant hot dogs.
Friends & Family
Kate Krader and Anthony Giglio opened the door to the book business for me and have patiently guided me along the ropes ever since.
Lastly, I would like to thank the love of my life, Valerie Meehan, and our siblings and loving parents, especially Gregory Simi, whose struggle to recover from a stroke while I wrote this book put everything in perspective.
—Jim Meehan
Thanks to Jim Meehan, who was wise enough to be inspired by an odd fish on the New York subway. Also to George Nicholson for his enthusiastic and loyal guidance in all matters literary. And most of all to my wife, Ann, whose love and support has kept me going, even when I didn’t want to, for twenty wonderful years.
—Chris Gall