The Basics

Tips & Tricks

Turning out top-notch drinks at home takes more than good intentions. There are the techniques to master and methods to apply the next time you start mixing cocktails.
Cocktail books
12 Cocktail and Spirits Books to Read in Spring 2021
Grenadine bottle
How and Why to Use Grenadine in Your Drinks
Agave bar books
3 Agave-Centric Books Every Bartender Needs to Read
Bright Lights by Ivy Mix incorporates a syrup made with rosé cava.
How to Use Wine Syrups in Your Drinks
Ways to open a wine bottle
6 Ways to Open a Wine Bottle Without a Corkscrew
Cocktail books
5 Cocktail Books to Give You a Taste of Your Favorite Bar
Hazy Daze, made with hazy beer syrup and created by Ivy Mix
How to Use Beer Syrups in Your Drinks
Cocktail books
3 Books About Low-ABV Cocktails Every Bartender Needs to Read
Pimm's bottle illustration
What the #$@! Do I Do with This? Pimm's: What It Is and How to Use It.
Science bar books
3 Bar Books to Channel Your Inner Mad Scientist
Squeezing citrus juice
How to Use All of Your Citrus, Not Just the Juice
Hotel bar book covers
3 Hotel Bar Books Every Bartender Needs to Read
Vitamix photo composite
The Oddball Tool Bartenders Love to Use: Vitamix
Mixing a cocktail with Fords Officers’ Reserve, a 109-proof navy-strength gin
How to Use High-Proof Spirits in Cocktails
Making a clear ice sphere
How to Make Clear Ice Cubes for Your Cocktails
Cocktail books
3 Books to Help Bartenders Take Stock and Look to the Future
Anarchist’s Pop Shoppe at Blue Bloods Steakhouse in Toronto
Bartenders Are Getting on the Hard Seltzer Bandwagon
Hacienda, made with lacto-fermented carrots run through a juicer, at Kwãnt in London.
How to Use Lacto-Fermented Ingredients in Cocktails
Book covers
3 Books on Building a Brand Every Bartender Needs to Read This Month
Pickled fruit
Pickled Cocktail Garnishes: How to Make Them and How to Use Them
Book covers
3 Books Every Bartender Needs to Read This Month to Jump-Start Your Creativity
GN Chan shakes a cocktail at Double Chicken Please in New York City
Cocktail Shaking Methods: How to Use Them Properly
Peach and Pineau Shrub
How to Make Perfect Cocktail Shrubs
Cocktail books
10 Cocktail Books to Read in Fall 2020
Book covers
3 Educational Books Every Bartender Needs to Read This Month
Flavour Blaster
The Oddball Tool Bartenders Love to Use: Flavour Blaster
Cocktail cherries
7 Great Alternatives to Luxardo Maraschino Cherries
Spirits bottles
How to Sell Uncommon Spirits at Your Bar
Wine drinking illustration
How to Drink Wine Mindfully
Book covers
3 Irreverent Books Every Bartender Needs to Read This Month
The Dizzy Delight, created by Samantha Montgomery for Bardstown Bourbon Company
The Oddball Tool Bartenders Love to Use: Handheld Milk Frother
Ryan Clark’s Heilo Verde Margarita
The Oddball Tool Bartenders Love to Use: Pacojet
Wine terms illustration
How to Order Wine: The Most Important Terms to Use
Mai Tai at Smuggler’s Cove in San Francisco
Rum Blends Belong in Your Mai Tais. Here's Why.
One Last Midnight at Dear Irving in New York City
Split Your Vermouth to Make the Best Cocktails. Here’s Why.
Cocktail
The 11 Best Cocktail Books of 2021, According to Experts
Agent Chi at SafeHouse Chicago
The Oddball Tool Bartenders Love to Use: Syringe
The orange-hued Paper Plane cocktail in a modern coupe glass with a blue mini paper airplane garnish
6 Things You Should Know About the Paper Plane
Thai Old Fashioned
How to Put a Thai Twist on Classic Cocktails
Photo of knives and Champagne bottles
How to Saber a Champagne Bottle Perfectly Every Single Time
Optimistic Cocktails book cover, dark seventies orange with light pink retro text
The Book Every Bartender Needs to Read This Month
Negroni with lacto-fermented plums at Mother in Toronto
How to Ferment Your Drink Ingredients
Champagne glass illustration
Why a Champagne Flute Often Isn't the Best Choice for Your Bubbly