CHAPTER 1

THE ESSENTIALS

Just about any drinker who’s been to a craft cocktail bar knows the feeling: that sense of awe as a skilled bartender shakes together ingredients with a signature rhythm, pours a drink that crests right at the top of the coupe, and presents a cocktail as attractive as it will prove delicious. The best cocktails are more than the sum of their parts: They’re experiences unto themselves.

How do they pull off this wizardry? Years of practice, to be sure, aided by topflight ingredients, and obsessive attention to everything from garnishes to barware to ice—there’s a reason that cocktails from Brooklyn’s best bartenders are so exquisite.

But even though at-home bartenders might never quite achieve that level—at least, not without hundreds of hours of practice—they can get awfully close. Armed with basic knowledge and equipment, would-be home mixologists can refine their cocktail game, perhaps more quickly than they’d think.

While few of us will ever have the arsenal of spirits and ingredients that the best cocktail bars do, taking the time to learn the basics—and invest in the essential bottles and tools—will make an enormous difference.