The goal in bartending is not to please everyone, but rather, to please the one in front of you. Following the simple rules of cocktail creation and following your - and the guest’s - bliss will yield incredible results. Though, taste is highly subjective, and creation of any kind will invite criticism. Just remember, innovating means doing what others thought couldn’t be done.

A liquor does not a cocktail make, but there are simple techniques to create fine beverages. They include the integration of sweetness, saltiness, bitters, and even carbonation. With delicate balance and careful technique, we can work to improve our cocktails. When we master these techniques, we get closer to creative innovation.

Cocktail chemistry is an inexact science and has room for a lot of creativity. Our modern relationship with alcohol comes from millennia of experimentation. By learning trusted techniques, we can more effectively and more knowledgably play with these techniques and create our own. What we do today adds to the long history of creation, and paves the way for the drinks of tomorrow.

We can learn a lot from our bar brethren in the Far East. Their commitment to craft excellence and rigorous training has made them some of the best bartenders in the world. They extoll technique, but know that skill is meaningless without heart. By mastering the basics, we can advance further than we have ever imagined, but with heart, we get ever closer to perfection.