I’m not afraid to say it. The Martini is a pretentious drink. A lot of pretentious people have been drinking them for a long time. They have very specific ways they want the drink made and they’ve come up with names for each one. That means that you have to figure out which one you’re looking for.

Because Martinis have a lot of options, bartenders will need to know the answer to quite a few questions… Vodka or Gin? Vermouth? Sweet or Dry? Shaken or Stirred? Up or Down? Bitters? Garnishes? It seems like a lot, but don’t worry. We’ll have you sounding like a spy in no time.

So, you’ve decided you want to know more about martinis... that elusive, complicated, contentious martini.  Maybe you’re new to drinking and you’ve decided you’re going to be a classier kind of booze hound than your plebeian friends with their long islands and vodka red bulls.  Perhaps you’ve just started bartending and realized that hell hath no fury like a martini drinker who didn’t get exactly what they wanted (even though you made it like your bar book said!).  Or maybe you just love spirits and want to know more about this drink people rave about.   No matter what your reason, you’ve opened a whole new can of worms with this one…

If you've been drinking at all before, you've had a sour before. If you've had a Margarita, a Daiquiri, a Mojito, or a Gimlet... then you've had a Cocktail Sour. If you've had any cocktails at all, it's very likely that it's base was a sour. It's the simplest recipe in the world, it makes incredible drinks, and it's easy to add a little pizzazz to create a really impressive (but easy) cocktail…

Whenever you are playing with a drink and you want to make something new, you have to identify the key factors that make it what it is. The Long Island Iced tea is defined by the use of four different liquors. That leaves for interpretation and boy have people run with it. AMF, Tokyo Tea, Grateful Dead and more have come from this basic idea. Let’s see how they did it…

The Long Island Iced Tea is a victim. A victim of it's own fans... people who had no idea what to order at a bar so they got this and then they never ever changed their order again. Okay, it's not quite so bad. It is a good drink, or rather, it can be a good drink, if your bartender actually takes the time to make it…