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Al Sotack head shot - Bon Appétit

Al Sotack

After graduating from New York University in 2003, Al Sotack landed his first barback job. It took a few years of hustle on the dishwasher, but after a while, someone needed a bathroom break, and he was promoted to bartender. In 2009, he was picked to open Philly’s Franklin Mortgage and Investment Company, where he worked as head bartender until 2013. While there, Sotack was the recipient of an Eater Bartender of the Year award and StarChefs Rising Star. Back in New York, he served a long stint at Death & Co (many of his drinks can be found in their newest book Welcome Home), messed around at Pouring Ribbons and Donna for a second, wrote a lot about all kinds of stuff, and finally opened Jupiter Disco, Bushwick’s fancy cocktail meets nightlife venue in 2016, with partner Maks Pazuniak. He currently lives in Manhattan with his wife, Jade, their two daughters, and two huskies. His writing has appeared in Vice, Playboy, Plate, Fatherly, and others.

Recipes

Boulevardier

The boulevardier is a classic whiskey cocktail that requires just three ingredients.
Recipes

Bee’s Knees

The Bee’s Knees is a refreshing three-ingredient gin cocktail with a mysterious backstory.
Recipes

Blinker

Keep your coupes chilled and ready for this simple 3-ingredient rye whiskey cocktail.
Recipes

Breakfast Daisy

This variation on the mezcal margarita leans on a quick Earl Grey tea syrup and grapefruit liqueur to evoke the feelings of a cozy morning.
Recipes

Blackberry Margarita

Use juicy summer berries to make the ultimate easy blackberry margarita.
Recipes

Corpse Reviver No. 2

The classic Corpse Reviver #2 cocktail combines equal parts gin, orange liqueur, lemon juice, and Kina Lillet, an aperitif. It’s an easy drink for happy hour.
Recipes

Blood and Sand

The Blood and Sand is a classic equal parts scotch cocktail that’s rich and bold. 
Recipes

Bobby Burns

The Bobby Burns cocktail is a scotch manhattan from 1916, made fragrant with herbal and honeyed Benedictine liqueur. This Bobby Burns recipe is modernized, with a bit more whiskey than older versions.
Recipes

Cowboy Killer

The Cowboy Killer is a slightly smoky scotch-tinged riff on the Brooklyn cocktail from bartender Colin Shearn.
Recipes

Brooklyn

The Brooklyn cocktail is an original riff on the manhattan that sparked many modern variations.
Recipes

Bushwick Thirst Killer

An acid phosphate with coconut water and raspberry.
Recipes

Amethyst Sour

This twist on the whiskey sour adds blueberries—plus a touch of amaro and funky rum.
Recipes

Classic Whiskey Sour

The whiskey sour, a simple combination of whiskey, sugar, and fresh lemon juice is one of the most important developments in cocktails.
Recipes

Black Angel

Take a martini, but use bitter Averna instead of the vermouth.
Recipes

Clover Club

While the Clover Club cocktail may have originated in the 1890s at the Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia, where the social organization that lends the drinks its name would carouse, it’s very much a drink of the 20th century. It was then that the famously pink drink became a cultural phenomenon beyond a small set of Philly-area lawyers and business folk. It arrived in New York perhaps thanks to hotelier George Boldt, who operated both the Bellevue and the new Waldorf-Astoria. His other culinary cla.…
Recipes

Applejack Fix

This is a perfect sipper for a warm day. The boozy sour is tempered by lots of ice and brightened by tart and tender raspberry.
Recipes

Bizzy Izzy Highball

This cocktail with rye whiskey, pineapple, and sherry sits right at home with the way we drink now, but it dates back to 1917.