Our man in the liquor-soaked trenches.
The latest from Robert Simonson
Modern Classic Cocktails
60+ recipes culled from today's modern classics with entertaining backstories from the cocktail revival of the past thirty years, by a two-time James Beard Award–nominated author and New York Times… More
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By Robert Simonson
Mezcal and Tequila Cocktails
Mezcal and Tequila Cocktails
Indulge your thirst for new ways to drink tequila and mezcal with this collection of 60+ recipes for agave cocktails from New York Times spirits writer Robert Simonson. Artisanal mezcal… More
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By Robert Simonson
THE MARTINI COCKTAIL
The Martini Cocktail
Finalist for the 2020 James Beard Foundation Book Awards for "Beverage" category; a 2020 IACP Award; and a 2020 Spirited Award. The first book in decades to celebrate and explore… More
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By Robert Simonson
"Terrific"
The Washington Post
"This is a no-brainer for martini enthusiasts."
Publisher's Weekly
3-Ingredient Cocktails
3-Ingredient Cocktails
Finalist for the 2018 James Beard Foundation Book Awards for "Beverage" category A collection of the greatest drinks of all time, modern and classic, all of which conveniently feature only… More
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By Robert Simonson
The cocktail book you've always wished you had.
Food 52
A Proper Drink
A Proper Drink
A narrative history of the craft cocktail renaissance, written by a New York Times cocktail writer and one of the foremost experts on the subject. A Proper Drink is the… More
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By Robert Simonson
A brilliant new book anyone, anywhere calling themselves a bartender should feel duty-bound to read.
DRINK Magazine
The Old-Fashioned
The Old-Fashioned
A complete history of one of the world's most iconic cocktails--now the poster child of the modern cocktail revival--with fifty recipes for classic variations as well as contemporary updates. No… More
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By Robert Simonson
An excellent history of the Old-Fashioned.
The Wall Street Journal
About Robert Simonson

ROBERT SIMONSON has written about cocktails, spirits, bars, and bartenders for the New York Times since 2000. He also regularly writes for the Travel section at the Times. Since 2017, he has been a contributing editor at Punch. He is the author of The Martini Cocktail (2019) and 3-Ingredient Cocktails (2017), both of which were nominated for a 2018 James Beard Award, A Proper Drink (2016), the first chronicling of the current cocktail renaissance, and The Old-Fashioned (2014), a history of said drink. He is also a contributor to The Essential New York Times Book of Cocktails (2015) and Savoring Gotham. His writings have appeared in Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Saveur, GQ, Lucky Peach, Whisky Advocate, Imbibe, and many others. With Martin Doudoroff, he created the apps "Modern Classics of the Cocktail Renaissance" and "The Martini Cocktail." With the barware purveyor Cocktail Kingdom, he created a set of period-specific, 19th-century Old-Fashioned glasses. Nominated for two IACP Awards and 12 Spirited Awards, he won the latter in 2019. A native of Wisconsin, he has lived in Brooklyn since 1988.