Session Cocktails: Low-Alcohol Drinks for Any Occasion

A cocktail book introducing a new cannon of low-proof drinks that highlight fresh flavors and facilitate conviviality, featuring 65 inventive and delicious recipes.

Bartenders are increasingly moving away from strong, spirituous cocktails toward a lighter canon of low-alcohol drinks that you can drink all day. These drinks provide an occasion for more leisurely socializing through their "sessionability"—you can have a few at a time without having to go down for a nap. Driven by a renewed interest in aperitifs and the increasing availability of liqueurs and amari in the U.S., these drinks provide new creative opportunities for professional bartenders and home hosts alike. Session Cocktails explores this trend through the history and evolution of low-proof drinks, tips on building a low-ABV (alcohol by volume) bar, and 65 recipes appropriate for occasions ranging from brunch to the end of the night, contributed by some of the industry's best-known mixologists including Jeremy Oertel, Will Elliot, Dale DeGroff, and Thad Vogler. In addition to drinks like the Mermaid Parade (Aperol, raspberry liqueur, grapefruit juice, and egg white), the Day Drinker (white vermouth, aged tequila, and peach bitters), and Between the Wars (Scotch, Campari, lemon, and pear cider), the book also features low-proof versions of your favorite classic cocktails.