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Al Sotack head shot - Epicurious

Al Sotack

Contributor

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 & Menus

Maple Frostbite

This soda shop classic helps maple and vanilla shine.
Recipes & Menus

Razzle Dazzle

This nonalcoholic drink—a soda fountain classic—pairs pineapple, lemon, and an easy homemade raspberry vinegar.
Expert Advice

The Myth of the Margarita and Its Many Inventors

For a simple combination of tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice, and salt, this cocktail has a winding history.
Recipes & Menus

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 & Menus

Blackberry Margarita

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

The Negroni Isn’t the Only Equal-Parts Cocktail Worth Memorizing

Inventing a cocktail with this symmetrical ratio is hard to pull off, but when it works, it really works.
Recipes & Menus

Player Piano

This delightfully floral and fruity cocktail is made with rhum agricole, elderflower liqueur, Aperol, and lime.
Recipes & Menus

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 & Menus

Blood and Sand

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

Last Word Cocktail

The Last Word, a classic gin cocktail, balances nutty, herbaceous, sweet, and tart flavors. It’s one of the most successful examples of the equal parts game.
Expert Advice

Make a Better Manhattan—and Then Make Its Neighbors

This rye cocktail is a classic for a reason. But that doesn’t mean you have to make it the same way every time.
Ingredients

Bénédictine Doesn't Need the Mysterious Backstory to Be Great

It's not made by monks, but it is brilliant in cocktails.
Recipes & Menus

Greenpoint

The Greenpoint cocktail is a rye manhattan, made with sweet vermouth and yellow Chartreuse.
Recipes & Menus

Tipperary

A bold, herbaceous Irish whiskey manhattan.
Recipes & Menus

Jersey Lightning

The Jersey Lightning is so easy and so excellent. Whatever you call it, a manhattan simply made with apple brandy is a wonderful thing.
Recipes & Menus

Kensington

The Kensington cocktail is a riff on the perfect manhattan, made with bourbon, sweet and dry vermouth, and a spoonful of bitter orange marmalade.
Recipes & Menus

King Kong

This fragrant gin sour with hints of almond dates back to 1934, a year after the movie King Kong was released.
Happy Hour

Yes, Scotch Belongs in Cocktails

Scotch whisky can add caramelly, nutty, savory, or smoky character to a mixed drink. Start with these recipes.
Recipes & Menus

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 & Menus

Cowboy Killer

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