Where to Start with Gary Regan
Gary Regan (1951-2019) was a British-born, American bartender, drinks writer, and educator who became one of the most influential figures in the modern cocktail revival. He moved to New York in the early 1970s and spent decades behind the bar before turning to writing and teaching full-time. His column in the San Francisco Chronicle, his newsletter “The Cocktailian,” and his many books made him one of the most widely read cocktail experts in the world. Regan is best known for The Joy of Mixology (2003, revised 2018), which introduced the concept of organizing cocktails into families based on their structure rather than their primary spirit. This framework changed how bartenders think about drinks and remains the standard teaching approach in many bar programs. He also created the Negroni variation known as the Regan’s Orange Bitters No. 6, which became a widely used bar staple. Regan was known for his generous spirit, mentoring countless young bartenders and championing the professionalization of bartending as a craft.
Start here
The Joy of Mixology
Gary Regan · 352 pages · 2018 · Easy
Themes: cocktail theory, drink families, classic cocktails, bartending fundamentals
The definitive guide to understanding cocktails as a system rather than a collection of recipes. Gary Regan first published this book in 2003 and revised it thoroughly in 2018 for its 15th anniversary, incorporating a decade of cocktail culture evolution and a complete overhaul of the recipe section.
Why Start Here
Regan’s genius was organizing cocktails into families based on their structure: sours, old-fashioneds, Martinis, champagne cocktails, and so on. Instead of memorizing hundreds of individual recipes, you learn to recognize that a Margarita, a Sidecar, and a Cosmopolitan are all variations on the same template. Once you internalize these families, you stop needing recipes and start understanding how drinks work.
The book opens with cocktail history, moves through essential techniques and tools, and then presents recipes organized by family. Regan writes with the authority of someone who spent decades behind the bar and the clarity of someone who genuinely wanted readers to succeed. His tone is warm, opinionated, and occasionally funny. He tells you which drinks he thinks are worth making and which are not, and he explains his reasoning.
What to Expect
A 352-page hardcover that functions equally well as a teaching manual and a reference book. The first half is education: history, technique, ingredients, and Regan’s drink family system. The second half is recipes, organized so you can see the relationships between drinks. The writing assumes no prior knowledge, making it accessible to complete beginners while offering depth that experienced home bartenders will appreciate.