The very first conversation I had about Brad Thomas Parson’s new book was with my good friend Daniel Djang. He sat in front of me at Cole’s and as I made him a Rittenhouse Manhattan he brought up that Parson’s had an event at a nearby bar Redbird to promote his new book. What followed was Daniel and I trying to recall what the book was supposed to be about. I thought the book was asking bartenders what their desert island drink was, that whole thought exercise I’ve played with customers weighing the pros and cons of each drink if you were stuck on an island and could only have one drink forever. Where on this island would you be getting ice, bartending tools and glassware I couldn’t tell you.

Daniel was closer to the mark, he thought it was asking bartenders what their death bed drink would be. I proceeded to muse that it was a pretty morbid subject, and although I couldn’t make the event, I was intrigued enough to pick up a copy on the day it came out and begin to thumb through it.

On its face the book is a collection of interviews with (some) well known bartenders about what their deathbed drink would be and what the ritual of closing the bar at their particular bar (or restaurant) is.
In reality the book is so much more than that. What it is actually, is a collection of interviews with bartenders who largely speak in a very candid, sometimes sentimental way about not only their favorite drinks but also their thoughts on everything from hospitality, the execution of service, personal credos which they’ve built their singular style of service and cocktails around and thoughts on the meaning of life.

Each chapter starts with a small bio of the bartender and how they relate to the bar they work in and ends with an interview and two recipes; one original popular drink recipe from the bar and the recipe for whichever drink the bartender in question chose as their deathbed drink.

It is a very intimate look inside some very very interesting bars and the people who run them. Parson’s traveled the U.S. to give a very wide variety of different establishments. This is a book I’ll go back to over and over again, the subjects all share such interesting ideas which I found inspiring and the photography is absolutely stunning.
You will find a lot of the bars and bartenders we’ve covered here on Barfly such as Damon Boelte, Ezra Star and Martin Cate and you’ll find a lot of new ones (as have I) that don’t get as much press.
I’m happy that a few LA bars made it into the list and I even know a couple of the featured bartenders personally. It always makes me happy to see my talented friends and acquaintances get noticed for all their hard work.

What this book gets at is something far deeper than just closing rituals and theories on hospitality. It’s something that I’m struggling to articulate at this moment. A funny thing happens when you ask someone to muse about what the last drink they’d want before they die would be. The conversation switches to thoughts on legacy, mortality and what’s really important in life.

This book is much more than a cocktail book and it’s a must read.

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