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

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.

Toby Maloney is a James Beard Award-winning bartender with over twenty-five years of experience in the bar industry, from dive bars to Milk & Honey, Flatiron Lounge, and Pegu Club, as well as spots in Nashville, Minneapolis, and beyond. He is currently the head mixologist at The Violet Hour in Chicago, and partner and beverage director at Mother’s Ruin in Chicago.

Emma Janzen is a journalist, editor, and photographer specializing in all things drinks and design. Currently the digital content editor for Imbibe magazine, she co-authored The Way of the Cocktail with Chicago bartender Julia Momosé, and received a James Beard Award nomination for her first book, Mezcal: The History, Craft & Cocktails of the World’s Ultimate Artisanal Spirit.