Welcome, welcome, welcome!
I love classic cocktails. From reading to researching to taste testing, I’ve spent a lot of time with this contemporary return to classic drinks and the ever-evolving craft cocktail revolution. I love a really good, balanced, and beautifully crafted cocktail.
The problem I see is a selfish one. The local options for finding classically crafted cocktails outside my kitchen are a bit narrow, but they are getting better. Author, cocktail guru, artful mixologist, and mindful bartender Gaz Regan (Ardent Spirits) reminds us that if people just want a drink, they can do that at home. But the reason people go to bars is not so much about the drinking as it is about the social experience. That means my homebound mixing has very serious social limitations.
In order to increase my odds of getting the kind of drinks I’ve come to love, I’m taking matters into my own hands. Like a contemporary Johnny Applejack, I’m spreading classically crafted cocktails throughout the countryside by planting these three seeds:
1. With my Five Archetypes of Classic Mixology and ingredients from a reasonably stocked bar, any moderately trained barkeep or home mixologist can whip up a tasty libation or two without resorting to hard-to-find ingredients, oddball homemade concoctions, or specialized equipment.
2. To prove point 1, above, armed with only these simple archetypes, I am conducting routine visits to local establishments where I’ll create Guerrilla Cocktails using only the resources immediately available.
3. And finally, I’m offering my research along with my kitchen to you at your house, your restaurant, your bar, or your little getaway in the Swiss Alps. Check out KISSing Classically Crafted Cocktails.
