Radio Imbibe Episode 6: Dale DeGroff

The bartending legend talks about his career in cocktails and the recently released updated edition of his influential cocktail book.

Photo: Daniel Krieger

October 12, 2020

Dale DeGroff is one of the pioneers of the cocktail renaissance, and Episode 6 is devoted entirely to his stories of being a bartender in New York City and Los Angeles in the closing decades of the 20th century; his thoughts on the growth of the modern cocktail movement and the future of bars; and the release of The New Craft of the Cocktail, a revised and updated edition of his influential 2002 book. Check out the recipe for Harry Johnson’s Martini Cocktail 1888.

Smoky Martini #2

2 oz. Hendricks Orbium gin
1 oz. Reyka vodka
1 oz. Martini Riserva Speciale Ambrato vermouth
1 tsp. blended malt Scotch whisky (DeGroff uses Monkey Shoulder)
4 dashes Dale DeGroff’s Pimento Aromatic Bitters

Tools: barspoon, strainer
Glass: cocktail

Stir all of the ingredients with ice, then strain into a chilled glass.

Dale DeGroff