10/16/2026
Hi, all! Tonight, I want to make a couple of book recommendations for those of you who want to improve your home cocktail experience. Let me begin by saying no publisher or author has paid me to speak positively about these books. Heck, these publishers and authors don't even know I exist. Nevertheless, I'd like to direct your attention to "Mastering Classic Cocktails" by C. Townsend Brady and "The Madrusan Cocktail Companion" by Michael and Zara Madrusan. These are the books I have found most helpful as a bartender.
C. Townsend Brady is a home bartender who has taken the time to learn from the best, and his "Mastering Classic Cocktails" is unique because it was not written by a professional bartender. The entire purpose of the book is to help home bartenders improve their craft through knowledge of technique, equipment, history, and ingredients. This book take you from uncertainty to competence in a hurry. It also contains a good collection of classic recipes. If you're only going to buy one cocktail book as you get started making drinks at home, this is the one. It's about $38 online.
Michael Madrusan spent many years tending bar in New York City and London before moving to Australia to open several of the country's finest bars, including The Elk Room and The Everleigh. His wife Zara is an author. Together, they have created "The Madrusan Cocktail Companion," which I believe to be the most complete collection of cocktail recipes ever published. This formidable book contains over 2800 recipes, collected from sources as recent as current menus in the world's best bars and as distant as the very earliest books ever written about cocktails. It is sorted into families of drinks, and each family is further sorted by each recipe's primary ingredient. Honestly, it's a bit overwhelming. I consult it often when I'm looking for something new to try at home. After you gain confidence with the techniques, tools, and ingredients involved in home bartending, this is the single book you need for recipes. It's priced about $45 online.
As always, I'd love to hear from you about hosting a cocktail party, a guided tasting, or a cocktailing lesson. I'll even bring my copies of the books, if you like! Feel free to reach out via Facebook message or email.
