Raising the Bar

There’s a basic cocktail formula for building a bar that is anything but ordinary.Spirit + Sugar + Acidity/Bitterness = Tasty CocktailInstead of drawing on esoteric bottles of liquor, complicated syrups, and obscure sodas, this book takes readers through the home bar bottle by bottle, ensuring that every ingredient is versatile enough to be used to the last drop. Building on a very basic cocktail pantry (of Angostura bitters, sugar, citrus), each chapter thoughtfully introduces a new bottle and explains how it opens new possibilities for cocktails. Each chapter builds on the one before, so readers never encounter recipes calling for unfamiliar spirits or ingredients. RAISING THE BAR allows readers to set their own pace and maximize the usefulness of the spirits they bring home.This book will be a go-to reference for the home bartender that is practical enough for the day-to-day and special enough for a party. With handsome graphics and a smart focus on what’s already in stock, it’s what home mixologists can turn to when they want creative and delightful drinks without a bar cart full of single-use bottles.

Jacob Grier is the author of Cocktails on Tap: The Art of Mixing Spirits and Beer (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2015), which was picked by Esquire.com as one of the fifteen best cocktail books for home bartenders. His writing has appeared at Slate, Reason, the Atlantic, Imbibe, Mixology, Distiller, and many other publications. He is the founder of the annual event Aquavit Week and co-founder of a series of beer cocktail events called Brewing Up Cocktails.Brett Adams is a bartender with nearly two decades of experience in restaurants and more than a decade spent behind the bar, including at Multnomah Whiskey Library, and as bar manager at the Hoxton, Portland, where he created all the cocktails, curated the spirit lists, and trained the staffs of its bars Lovely Rita, 2NW5, and Tope.