The Working Glass

A course in cocktail craft

The Working Glass

25 lessons, from how a drink is tasted and why the ratios come first, through why people have kept alcohol and where the spirits come from, and on to the glass, the perfume, and a spec you can repeat.

Start with tastingOpen the bench

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01

Foundations

Taste, the jobs inside a glass, the ratios, and the curves that decide whether a drink is finished.

  1. 01How a drink is tasted
  2. 02The parts of a cocktail
  3. 03Ratios
  4. 04The curves

02

The bottle

How spirits are actually made, what to ask of each family, how to buy a bottle, and the bottles that are not the star.

  1. 05How spirits are made
  2. 06A map of the bottle
  3. 07How to buy a bottle
  4. 08Vermouth, amaro, and the rest

03

Origins

Why people have kept this drink, the plant, the place, and the bottles that disappeared.

  1. 09Why alcohol
  2. 10Materia prima
  3. 11What fell out of the glass
  4. 12The taste of a place

04

The pantry

Syrups, cordials, acid, shrubs, and bitters you make instead of assuming.

  1. 13Syrups, cordials, and oleo
  2. 14Acid
  3. 15Bitters, and how to make them

05

The craft

Ice, dilution, the hands, when a drink wants to be clear, what belongs on it, and the glass it is served in.

  1. 16Ice and dilution
  2. 17Hands
  3. 18Clarification
  4. 19Jewels
  5. 20Dressing
  6. 21Perfume

06

The drink

What “great” means, the templates worth knowing, a wider map of the drinks people ask for, and how to build from an idea.

  1. 22What makes a great cocktail
  2. 23Templates you can cook from
  3. 24A wider glass
  4. 25Building a drink from an idea