Where to start
Learn to make cocktails, in a sensible order
Everything below already exists on this site. What was missing was any statement of what to read first.
These are routes through the site, not courses bolted onto it. No path here holds teaching content of its own: each step points at a guide that already exists, says why it comes at that point, and names a drink to practise on.
The ordering is the whole value. Balance comes before technique because a perfectly shaken drink with the wrong ratio is still a bad drink, and buying bottles comes fifth rather than first because it is the step that is worth least until you know what you like making.
Making good drinks at home
BeginnerSix steps from an empty worktop to drinks that taste like they were made on purpose — using the equipment you have and the guides already on this site.
- Get the three tools that matter
- Learn what balance means
- Shake, stir, and know which
- Treat dilution as an ingredient
- Buy bottles in an order that pays off
- Rescue a drink that has gone wrong
If you already own a shaker and know why a Daiquiri needs shaking rather than stirring, start on the intermediate path instead.
Start the beginner path →Understanding why drinks work
IntermediateStop learning recipes one at a time. Six steps through the family structures, the spirits and the flavour logic that let you predict a drink you have never made.
- See the families
- Learn the sour template
- Learn the spirit-and-sugar template
- Learn to like bitter
- Know your base spirits properly
- Write your own
If you are still working out why your drinks taste harsh, the beginner path fixes that first and this will make more sense afterwards.
Start the intermediate path →Bar techniques worth the trouble
AdvancedClarification, carbonation, clear ice and service — the techniques that need equipment, patience or both, and an honest account of which are worth it.
- Clarification, carbonation and fat washing
- Make clear ice
- Garnish as an ingredient
- Serve drinks like a restaurant does
- Build a menu around a season
None of this improves a drink whose balance or dilution is wrong. That is what the earlier paths are for, and no amount of clarification hides it.
Start the advanced path →Making alcohol-free drinks that stand up
Alcohol-freeThe problems specific to drinks without alcohol — thin body, missing bitterness, too much sweetness — and the guides that solve each one.
- Understand what alcohol was doing
- Fix the sweetness and acidity
- Put the body back
- Get bitterness without alcohol
- Decide whether you need an alcohol-free spirit
- Make your own syrups and shrubs
If you are looking for a specific recipe rather than the reasoning behind them, the alcohol-free catalogue is the faster route.
Start the alcohol-free path →