A Writer Walks Into a Bar...
I chat with award-winning cocktail journalist Robert Simonson about his new book, The Encyclopedia of Cocktails, plus other food-related books to check out.
A couple of years ago, I wrote my first piece for Punch about liter wine bottles having a moment. The day it went live, I specifically remember seeing it alongside articles from two heavyweight drinks writers, one of which was
. I smiled as I realized I was in good company.Simonson knows booze, and he should. The James Beard Award-nominated author has been writing about cocktails, spirits, bars, and industry personalities for 16 years for a variety of outlets, including the New York Times, New York magazine, Imbibe, and Food & Wine. Along with his Substack newsletter, The Mix with Robert Simonson, he has published six books about martinis, old fashioneds, 3-ingredient cocktails, and more.
Now with his latest, The Encyclopedia of Cocktails, to say Simonson has written the book on cocktails is an understatement. This one reads a bit differently than other cocktail compendiums. The alphabetically organized book comprises 300-plus entries — with colorful illustrations — spanning the people, places, cocktails, and spirits that make the cocktail world what it is.
In Encyclopedia of Cocktails, Simonson features more than 100 cocktail recipes — everything from the Aviation and Corpse Reviver No. 2 to the Jungle Bird and Pimm’s Cup — mixed in among numerous entries of bars old and new that epitomize cocktail culture. They include American Bar at the Savoy Hotel in London, Chicago’s Aviary and Violet Hour, San Francisco’s Bar Agricole, Havana’s El Floridita, Venice’s Harry’s Bar, and New York’s Milk & Honey, which has been called the most influential cocktail bar in modern times. Countless bartenders make the cut to highlight the folks responsible for making us all a little happier, if not a little drunk.
I had hoped to meet up with Simonson when he was in Chicago over Thanksgiving weekend hosting a book party at the legendary Wicker Park dive Rainbo Club, but I had other commitments that prevented us enjoying a Manhattan together. Instead, he and I chatted over the phone a couple of weeks ago about writing this book (which would make an excellent holiday gift), his go-to cocktail (there isn’t just one), his favorite bars (again, not just one), cocktail trends, the one drink he wishes would go away, and more.
13 questions with cocktail writer Robert Simonson
Why did you want to write The Encyclopedia of Cocktails?
One, it was covid and I had a lot of time on my hands. So a new book project — an all-consuming one — was a welcome prospect. I knew I wanted to do it differently. When you hear the word encyclopedia you think of an academic dusty tome with no art. I didn't want that. I wanted it to be the people’s almanac: lively, fun, and informative. So I made sure the entries, which were all chosen by me and were all written by me. I wanted a unifying voice and I wanted it to be pretty and beautiful. The design is supposed to evoke leather bound books in libraries, but a modern spin on that with the deep purple colors. It took about two years and was a lot of fun.
How did you decide what people, bars, spirits and cocktails would make it in?
There are about 312 entries. Before the contract was signed [my publisher] asked me to send a list of about 200 things that would definitely be in the book. It’s almost like you’re not making the list, the list is making you. There would be an entry about the martini, Jerry Thomas, and the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel. If those weren’t in there it would be strange. The 200 wrote themselves. After that I had a little fun and got to choose whatever else I wanted. Some were personal choices of places I liked that were important. And some were quirky things. I wanted one-sixth of the book to be unexpected. There are a few curveballs and oddities.
Oh yeah, like what?
I’m from Wisconsin, as you know, and there is a Wisconsin bias in the book. You have at least five entries like Bryant’s [Cocktail Lounge], a separate entry for the brandy old fashioned, ice cream drinks and a woman named Helen Cromwell, who was a brothel owner and had a saloon called Dirty Helen’s.
How does this book differ from other cocktail encyclopedias?
It was very important for me to connect the old history of cocktails with the current history. Most books about the history of cocktails dwell on the origins – the 19th century, the 20th century and then they stop. I wanted it to go right up to 2023 because so much of the cocktail revival of the last 25 years is backwards looking. They’re trying to revive traditions that have disappeared. There’s a through line. It’s important to have a book that has both Harry Johnson and Audrey Saunders in it because they’re part of the same tradition. And like the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel and the Flatiron Lounge in New York. I wanted it to have a singular voice and personality and opinions. And I also wanted it to be accessible, something you might actually read for fun. Just pick it up, open it to a page and there’s the Oaxaca Old Fashioned and The Ohio. Maybe you’ll make that drink tonight.
You clearly enjoy a cocktail. Do you have a favorite or one you return to the most?
I’m very spoiled that I live in New York and live near a lot of bars. If I want an original or ornate cocktail I’ll go to one of those bars. If I’m home, I’ll stick to the classics. I wrote a book called Three Ingredient Cocktails and those are pretty much what I make. I’ll make Martinis, Manhattans, Old Fashioned, Daiquiris, Negronis, Gibsons, Boulevardiers. Every now and then I’ll get adventurous, but you don’t want to do that every day. These days, I’m not that different from the masses and we are liking Martinis a lot here. So Martini is number one on the list now. And gin, never vodka. I’m sorry, there’s just not a lot of character in vodka, like in gin. There are so many gins and so many fun dry vermouths out there. You can try variations and garnishes. I just had a pickled quail egg as a garnish at a bar in San Francisco and brought some home.
Any cocktail you dislike and never want to drink?
I wouldn’t go so far as saying never, but I don’t like espresso martinis and I almost never drink them. I think that’s a young person’s drink. It’s alcohol and caffeine and if you’re in your 20s your constitution can handle that. If you’re older, it’s stomach churning. It’s turbo charged. It’s too much excitement in one glass.
What do you find more interesting, classics or modern drinks with numerous ingredients?
I’m always very admiring of bartenders who can make something new from just a few ingredients, which is increasingly harder. There’s a bartender, Phil Ward in New York, who has an entry in the book who makes new cocktails. He limits himself to what’s on the back bar. Recently he created a cocktail called the Riddler, which is equal parts Cocchi Americano, Hayman’s Gin and 5 dashes of Angostura bitters. You wouldn’t think it would create anything different or remarkable, but it doesn’t taste like anything I’ve ever had and it’s a very good drink. I think with the complicated cocktails with seven or eight things, it becomes the law of diminishing returns. The things that get added is like a band-aid that fixes what doesn’t work with the drink. And it’s usually a liqueur like Absinthe or St-Germain, or sherry. I know a lot of bartenders and those I trust know what they’re doing. Certainly with tiki bartenders the sky’s the limit. Those are the most complicated drinks in the world. There aren’t any that have less than five ingredients. They’re not a danger sign, but if you’re going to a gin bar and all their drinks have seven ingredients, that’s weird. But it’s a case-by-case basis concerning both the bartender and the bar.
Do you have a favorite all time bar — anywhere?
Can I mention a few? I mentioned Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge in Milwaukee, which is one of my favorites. My favorites are frozen in time. They never change and they do things their own way. It looks like the 1950s in there. They don’t have a menu, but a Rolodex of like 300 cocktails that are original to the bar. Another is Harry’s Bar in Venice. A lot of people dismiss it as a tourist trap, but it’s very posh. They have strange glassware; they serve their martini in a shot glass. One I just discovered and automatically became one of my favorites. We were in Athens and someone said we should go to The Galaxy. We went looking for it. It was inside an office building, just between a barber shop and a gift shop. You stepped in and it felt like so many old bars. It was a railroad bar, one room. The bartenders were in jackets and did the classics. It could have been a setting from Mad Men. We liked it so much. It’s been open since 1972.
Who inspires you most these days in the drinks world and why?
Thad Vogler who owns Bar Agricole in San Francisco. He’s so principled on the provenance of spirits so he made his own vermouth, gin and mezcal made to his own specifications. And the old founder of the cocktails revival Dale DeGroff. I admire him because he’s still out there doing cocktail dinners, seminars, etc. Every movement needs figureheads and people to look up to and he provides that very important service.
What’s your favorite city to bar hop?
New York (laughs). We’ve got everything here. We have modern bars, wine bars, beer bars, dive bars. We don’t have great hotel bars. But there’s so much variety and history. Chicago is a great town, too. I always want to spend more time there. I feel there’s so many old neighborhood bars that I never have time to get to. New bars keep opening.
It’s stomach churning. It’s turbo charged. It’s too much excitement in one glass. — Robert Simonson on espresso martinis
What cocktail or spirits trends do you see emerging for 2024?
It seems like we’ve cycled through all of them. Mezcal and tequila continue to be hot. Rye keeps getting bigger. Non-alcoholic stuff. Mixologists and modern bar owners have been trying for like 15 years to get Americans into sherry and vermouth, but it hasn’t been a tidal wave. I’ve seen some hints that might be happening, but I think that has to do with the desire for more low-ABV drinks by the public. Rosevale (Kitchen + Cocktail Room) just opened here and has a great vermouth program. And lately I see sherry in so many drinks. So maybe that.
Any trends or fads you want to see go away and hopefully never return?
Like I said, I would like the espresso martini not to be so dominant. It’s just everywhere. I think the trend of Instagram worthy cocktails. I understand why it exists to draw people to your bar, but I think it’s become a troublesome trend because often these cocktails are designed to get on Instagram. That becomes the primary concern and the taste becomes secondary. It’s fun, but the primary concern should always be flavor. So maybe a little less of that? And I understand the non-alcohol cocktail trend and it’s good for everyone to feel welcome in a bar. But they keep claiming new months. I’m a big fan of moderation throughout the year as opposed to not drinking for one month. I think that’s unhealthy.
Anything in the N/A space that interests you?
I think the Athletic beers are excellent and taste great. They taste like beer. As far as spirits, Pathfinder is an amaro out of Seattle that makes a great highball and is delicious. Those are my two favorites and I hope we see more like that that have a real character of their own as opposed to trying to imitate a spirit.
SG LIST — Things I’m high fiving this week
Lula Cafe Cookbook
One of Chicago’s most-beloved restaurants, Lula Cafe, finally has its own cookbook. Nearly 25 years after opening the Logan Square farm-to-table restaurant, chef-owner Jason Hammel delivered this beautiful tome. It features many favorite recipes with stories, which all follow a lovely introduction where Hammel chronicles Lula’s earliest days. I interviewed Jason for my friend Paula Forbes’ wonderful cookbook newsletter
A Very Chinese Cookbook: 100 Recipes From China and Not China
I love the story behind this book. Kevin Pang, who I’ve known for at least a decade, was a prominent Chicago food writer, working at the Chicago Tribune for years. He eventually took a buyout, launched The Onion’s The Takeout, won a James Beard Award, and is now editorial director of digital at America’s Test Kitchen. It was here he teamed up with his dad, Jeffrey, who secretly had a viral YouTube channel where he cooked Chinese recipes. The two collaborated on this charming, fun, entertaining, and educational cookbook and also have their own YouTube cooking show, Hunger Pangs. Pick up a copy from ATK and go cook with your family.
Boka: The Cookbook
It’s hard to imagine a modern Chicago dining landscape without the Boka Restaurant Group (Momotaro, Swift & Sons, Girl & The Goat, GT Prime). But there was a time — 20 years ago this year — it didn’t exist. But Rob Katz and Kevin Boehm launched their partnership with Boka, which has become one of Chicago’s best restaurants and holds a Michelin star. The duo, along with Boka chef partner Lee Wolen, chronicle the restaurant through Wolen’s culinary tenure with 75 recipes. Gorgeous photography from Huge Galdones helps bring the dishes to life. Snag your copy now.
<3