Speakeasy: Makes Drinks Easier?
Speakeasy the new book by Jason Kosmas and Dushin Zaric explores the revived art of the cocktail. In this book, the authors present a collection of 160 cocktail recipes interwoven with their short histories. The introduction tells the story of the authors, two bartenders whose lives changed drastically after September 11th.
During 1998 to 2001, Kosmas and Zaric say, ”New York was an exciting city with an air of perpetual adolescence.” However, night life in New York after the attacks waned as bars started closing at 12 am instead of 4 am. This sort of transformation caused them to open their own “employee” bar in 2004.
I have to confess, I am less of a beer girl and more of a cocktail girl. It does sting a bit to go to to a bar and pay $10+ for something that has the strength of Draino and none of the style or finesse that’s expected. I know it might be silly, but cocktails, I imagine are supposed to capture an era. An era where people would dress for dinner and dance to live bands into the wee hours of the morning.
Forget the contemporary vibrancy of New York. I want a good drink.
With this in mind, I’m curious to read this book and try these recipes out–although I’m a little worried about my ability to assemble any of these professional drinks successfully.
Are you?
Drinks from "Employees Only" Bar in NY, owned by authors
