Lesson One: Mixology
Courtesy of Dr. David Wondrich, the Historical Oracle
A proper cocktail is one of the few things that make being a grown-up, with all its anxieties, responsibilities, and disappointments, almost worthwhile; those of age ought to possess ought to possess the skills to make proper, adult cocktails, one after another, without unnecessary fuss or bother. Mixology isn’t microbiology; when all is said and done, mastering it is a comparative cinch. You’ll see.
This website isn’t a professional bartender’s guide, with thousands of drinks and handy tips for controlling your inventory and your unruly customers—but then again, you don’t need that, do you? You’re probably not running a bar in your living room (I hope), and just how often does someone drop in and ask you to mix up an Irish Car Bomb or a Dirty Girl Scout? Exactly. What you need are some mixologically- inclined friends to quickly walk you through the fundamentals, show you a few drinks that’ll impress whoever you want to impress, and then get out of your way. DrinkSkool wants to be that friend. It is, however, a friend with an agenda. The drinks you’ll find in here avoid novelty products, artificial flavors, and colors not found in nature. They’re heavy on tradition and light on trendiness. If it were an art book, it would be the kind that teaches you how to draw, not the kind that teaches you how to make installations out of milk cartons, fingernail clippings, and bark.