The Classic Cocktail Sessions is the prequel to The Bartender’s Manifesto, which I wrote with Toby Maloney. In this book, we invite you to join us behind the bar for a “session” with each cocktail—a captivating, in-depth tutorial on how to create good balance, texture, aroma, and temperature, how different brands of ingredients impact the outcome of a drink, and how to personalize the classic formulas with subtle adjustments and twists. I also took the photographs!
“The Classic Cocktail Sessions is the first new millennium cocktail book to set standards going forward.``
—Dale DeGroff, Bartender & Author, The Craft of the CocktailI co-wrote the The Bartender’s Pantry with renowned bartender and author Jim Meehan. The book is a professional guide that surveys and celebrates the culinary ingredients in mixed drinks, with more than 100 recipes from the world’s most creative bartenders.
In 2025, the book was awarded medals from the James Beard Foundation and Tales of the Cocktail Foundation for best beverage book. It was also named one of the best books of the year by Vinepair, The Washington Post, Food & Wine, and Times Union, and one of the best cocktail books by Bon Appetit.
“The Bartender’s Pantry is sure to become a classic. The fascinating collection of recipes combined with Jim’s expertise and Bart’s brilliant illustrations artfully simplify learning for experts and novices of mixology and people curious about flavor.”
—Nik Sharma, James Beard Award finalist, IACP Award winner, and author of Veg-TableThe Bartender’s Manifesto is an entertaining tome that explores the mechanics, philosophies, and flourishes of cocktails & hospitality through the lens of Chicago bar The Violet Hour. It celebrates author Toby Maloney’s wit and wisdom while serving up jokes by the jigger.
In 2023, the book was awarded medals from the James Beard Foundation and Tales of the Cocktail Foundation for best cocktail book. It was also featured in articles in The Wall Street Journal, Inside Hook, The Atlanta Journal Constitution and Tasting Table.
``If cocktails are art, as Maloney asserts, here’s your canvas.”
—Robert Simonson, cocktail writer for The New York Times and author of A Proper Drink
For this book, I teamed up with the brilliant Julia Momosé of Kumiko in Chicago to explore the history, traditions, and flavors of Japanese cocktails. It includes recipes inspired by Japan’s twenty-four micro-seasons.
The book won a James Beard Foundation Award in 2022, was nominated for a Tales of the Cocktail Spirited award, and was selected as one of the best cookbooks of the 2021 by Vanity Fair and Wired.
“A feast for the senses and a new benchmark for the bartending genre.”
—Jim Meehan, author of Meehan’s Bartender Manual and The PDT Cocktail Book“Through a mix of personal history, reporting, and an impressive collection of classic and original recipes, Julia Momosé, with writing support by Emma Janzen, has synthesized the craftsmanship, the harmony, and, perhaps most important, the ethereal magnetism of the Japanese approach to cocktails. The Way of the Cocktail is itself a reflection of the Japanese way.”
—Talia Baiocchi, founder and editor-in-chief of PUNCHMy first book details the history, production, and culture surrounding Mexico’s most storied and diverse spirit. With stories from Oaxacan palenques and American mezcalerias, the book covers production details, modern history, a tasting guide and a collection of crazy good cocktail recipes. I also shot the photographs for the book!
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``It's a really beautiful book that is very thoughtfully done. There are a lot of books about mezcal that have come to my attention over the last couple of years, but this one I think is the most thoughtful with a whole lot of interviews with the mezcaleros. I think that's a really cool thing.``
Rick Bayless, chef and host of Mexico: One Plate at a Time``Another historic spirit that’s made a splash among discerning drinkers is mezcal. It’s tequila’s raffish cousin, and consumers engaged in their restless search for authenticity have of late homed in on it. Emma Janzen helps make sense of why in her impeccably researched and colorfully illustrated book, “Mezcal: The History, Craft and Cocktails of the World’s Ultimate Artisanal Spirit”. It serves as an all-purpose introduction for those beginning to explore this fascinating liquor, with just enough background, leavened with a bit of myth-busting.``
Wayne Curtis, The Wall Street Journal
