The Comic Book History of the Cocktail: Five Centuries of Mixing Drinks and Carrying on (Hardcover)

A graphic novel history of the cocktail—from prehistoric wassail to our current boozy renaissance—featuring 20 recipes by drinks historian, Daily Beast columnist, and award-winning author David Wondrich.

There's no better writer to tell the colorful history of cocktails than David Wondrich, widely considered to be one of the world's foremost authorities on cocktails and a driving force behind the early-twenty-first-century revival in the classic American art of mixing drinks.

In The Comic Book Story of the Cocktail, Wondrich teams up with comics artist Dean Kotz to trace the evolution of the cocktail. Beginning with the ancient days of wassail and hypocras (mixed drinks based on wine and beer), they narrate a tumultuous and vibrant history that stretches through the Age of Exploration, the boozier parts of the Enlightenment and America’s hurly-burly nineteenth century, to the Disco years, the Cosmo years, and the modern Cocktail Revolution.

Kotz’s intricate, masterful drawings illustrate stories that have never been properly told and introduce key characters who haven’t yet received their due. Nearly thirty recipes round out this spirited account, featuring accurate versions of old classics and a generous selection of secret weapons from the mixologist’s vest pocket. So, settle in with your libation of choice and prepare to meet the good, the bad, and the boozy in this lively and jam-packed tale.

Reviews

“Another insightful and incredibly engaging read from Brooklyn’s resident superhero. David Wondrich has always been a brilliant storyteller, but this format really lends itself to the playful aspects of cocktail culture while honoring the richness and importance of its history. This book is a must-read for people who love history, mixology, and entertaining at home.”—Julie Reiner, co-owner of Milady’s and Clover Club, and judge on Netflix’s Drink Masters

“What a delight it is to follow the estimable David Wondrich as he weaves a spell of rich history, high spirits, dark truths, and beautiful flavors, all brought to life by his words and Dean Kotz’s vivid pen. It turns out that the magic wand of the cocktail spoon has passed through black hands, white hands, European hands, Asian hands, and American hands—all the hands, across the seven seas—and now into our hands. Here we discover that the past can be not only entertaining, but also a guide to a sportier future. Trust me that this is the only comic book that will have you thinking you really need a silver pocket nutmeg grater. And you know, maybe you do.”—Garrett Oliver, brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery and editor-in-chief of The Oxford Companion to Beer

“Illustrated and illustrative, this is probably the most coherent history of the cocktail in a narrative form. And like a great Daiquiri, it never fails to bring smile and delight.”—François Monti, journalist and author of 101 Cocktails to Try Before You Die

About the Author

As the drinks columnist for Esquire from 2000 to 2016 and the Daily Beast from 2016 to 2022, David Wondrich was perfectly placed not only to observe the modern cocktail revolution, but also to help push it along. A former English professor with a PhD in comparative literature, he turned his studies to good use in writing books such as the James Beard Award–winning Imbibe!, a biography-with-recipes of pioneering bartender Jerry Thomas, and editing The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails, which the American Library Association deemed the best reference book of 2021. On top of that, Wondrich has helped to train literally thousands of bartenders; been a television guest of Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, and Rachel Maddow; partnered in developing several award-winning spirits (plus his own line of barware); and been voted the #3 most influential person in the bar world by a thousand of his peers. He lives in Brooklyn, New York and Trieste, Italy.

Originally from Northeastern Pennsylvania, Dean Kotz studied painting at West Chester University and has been working professionally in comics since 2009.