Julie Reiner

Cofounder of Clover Club, Leyenda, and Social Hour Cocktails

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Book Recommendations:

Recommended by Julie Reiner

The Bartender’s Manifesto is the best thing to happen to cocktail lovers since Dale DeGroff’s The Craft of the Cocktail! Toby Maloney has worked behind the stick at some of the most respected cocktail bars in the United States and has dedicated his life to hospitality—in this comprehensive guide, he brilliantly explains the techniques used by the best bartenders to create award-winning drinks. This book should be required reading for both up-and-coming bartenders and home enthusiasts alike who want to know the secrets behind crafting impeccable libations. (from Amazon)

The Bartender's Manifesto: How to Think, Drink, and Create Cocktails Like a Pro book cover

by Toby Maloney, Emma Janzen, The Bartenders of The Violet Hour·You?

JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER • Offering a foundational approach to cocktails, this manual from a James Beard Award-winning trailblazer will have you understanding and creating original drinks like a seasoned barkeep. Take a raucous romp through the essential stages of fashioning cocktails and learn the hows and whys of bartending with acclaimed mixologist Toby Maloney and the team from The Violet Hour. When the pioneering cocktail bar opened in Chicago in 2007, it set a high standard with an innovative training program that teaches not just how to replicate classic cocktail recipes flawlessly, but how to embrace ingenuity, make smart decisions, and create original, inspired recipes from rote. Like cooks who can peer into their pantry and whip up dinner on the fly, no recipe needed, those who follow the methods in The Bartender's Manifesto will have the technical foundation and confidence to take their cocktail skills to the next level and fabricate a drink from any ingredients at hand. First, dive deep into the mechanics of creating cocktails with the right balance, texture, aroma, and temperature. From there, Toby goes well beyond the fine-tuned mechanics of the craft, covering how to kickstart the creative process and bring professional-level complexity and sophistication to drinks. Additional essays offer insider intel on how to offer top-notch hospitality (at the bar and at home), find comfort in the everyday rituals of the craft, and spark surprise and curiosity in the process. With detailed insights into The Violet Hour’s greatest recipes, expert tips from bar alumni, and helpful step-by-step illustrations and photographs, readers will come away with a deeper understanding of what makes the bar’s training program so legendary, plus the superpower of creating imaginative cocktails that reflect their personal style and creativity.