Discover Handcrafted Cocktails in “Alchemy in a Glass”

By Ann Binlot Published July 5, 2014

discover handcrafted cocktails alchemy glass alchemyinaglass — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The past few years have seen a proliferation in handcrafted cocktails, from the number of bespoke cocktail bars to the recipes we see in food magazines. For mixologist Greg Seider, his passion for creating handcrafted cocktails started early in life. As a child Seider has terrible allergies, so he used to have to use his palate to make up for his lost sense of smell in his congested nose. Seider also had the luck of growing up in a family that filled their Rhode Island garden with herbs, fresh berries, grapes, peaches and a bounty of vegetables. Living so close to the water also granted him easy access to clams, mussels and fish. The access of fresh flavors gave him what he calls, “the cornerstone of gustatory greatness.”

When he was young his father would let him have a sip of Bartles & Jaymes wine coolers. One day, Seider snuck past his parents, and filled a glass with ice, poured some wine into it, topped it with a splash of ginger ale and garnished it with an orange slice. That became the beginning of what would be an accomplished career in the art of turning ordinary ingredients into a wonderful cocktail. Seider went on to become a bartender and some of New York’s finest establishments, including the Mercer Kitchen, Asia de Cuba, The Box, Minetta Tavern, and The Standard Hotel in Miami. Finally Seider opened his own bar, The Summit Bar in New York. Lucky for the rest of us, Seider put all his knowledge into a new book, Alchemy in a Glass: The Essential Guide to Handcrafted Cocktails, where he shares with us how to craft the ideal cocktail with four essential layers: the foundation, dimension, finish and the X-factor. If you want to learn more, pick up a copy of his new book!

Recommended Videos

Alchemy in a Glass: The Essential Guide to Handcrafted Cocktails, $24.95 at rizzoliusa.com.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Ann Binlot is a New York-based freelance writer who contributes to publications like The Economist, Wallpaper*, Monocle…

Food & Drink

Wow your guests with these seasonal cocktails for Thanksgiving

From cranberry juice to warm apple, these are cosy flavors for the season

Thanksgiving dinner table at home.

The guests are on their way, you've made the cranberry sauce, the turkey is in the oven -- there's just one thing left to make a Thanksgiving party a success, and that's some seasonal themed cocktails. While you might find it easiest to batch your Thanksgiving drinks if you're hosting a large crowd, if you have a smaller gathering or you're just very ambitious then you can wow your guests with specialty cocktails.

Flavors for the season include nods to food with options like cranberry and maple syrup, but you can also go a bit unexpected by trying out drinks like a flip, which uses egg yolk, or a blend of warm apple juice and the wine-based spirit Metaxa. This selection of cocktail ideas has something for everyone, from the easy fruity sippers to the spicy warming comfort drinks, so you can pick a cocktail for each of your guests and enjoy some more unusual seasonal options for your festivities.
The Thanksipping

Food & Drink

We love these classy cognac cocktail recipes

Don't be intimidated by mixing with cognac

classy cognac cocktails courvoisier old fashioned landscape

Cognac is a delicious French spirit, a type of brandy that is made from selected grapes and has a fine, nuanced flavor. As a luxury spirit, though, it can be a little intimidating to work with -- especially as it is most often sipped neat, in its own special cognac glass no less.

However, cognac also makes for great cocktails. Its grape base makes it a natural fit with Champagne, but you needn't be too fussy when creating a mixed drink using cognac. Instead, the brand Courvoisier offers two dead simple cognac cocktails which highlight the classy sophistication of the spirit but don't require a lot of fuss to prepare.

Food & Drink

The sweet toothed with love these easy batched holiday cocktails

Create big batches of up to 32 servings, then kick back and enjoy your party

sweet batched holiday cocktails skrewball 6 2020 241 1

Here at The Manual we're big fans of batched cocktails, especially when you're hosting a large group. Being able to mix your cocktails in advance leaves you free to attend to all the other business of hosting, like greeting people, preparing food, and having some fun yourself instead of running back and forth to the kitchen all night as you frantically try to make more drinks.

That's especially useful during the holidays, when you might be hosting a more elaborate gathering and you'll benefit immensely from having drinks pre-prepared and ready to go. But it's important to pick the right cocktails for batching if you're hoping to please all of your guests. If you're a cocktail enthusiast, you might enjoy bitter or complex drinks the most, but your average guest may well be happier with something sweet, tasty, and festive. So embrace that and lean into the sweetness for holiday drinks -- and remember that sweet things can be delicious as well.