115 | Why The Cocktail Renaissance Was Built Bottom-up: Author Robert Simonson on Documenting Cocktail History While It Happens

Happy 2026. This Episode is hosted by Chris Maffeo and brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS. A Deep-Dive Analysis of This Episode is Available at maffeodrinks.com 

Robert Simonson, author of seven cocktail books including "A Proper Drink: The Untold Story of How a Band of Bartenders Saved the Civilized Drinking World," joins to discuss how the modern cocktail revival actually happened.

This conversation explores how dead crafts come back to life through individuals rather than institutions, why certain innovations spread while others stay local, and the challenge of documenting history while participants are still alive. Simonson spent 18 months interviewing over 200 people across multiple continents to map how a small group of obsessives rebuilt an entire profession from scratch. The discussion reveals patterns about how quality movements emerge, scale, and risk being forgotten by the next generation.

Timestamps

• 00:00 Introduction and Welcome
• 00:26 Discussing 'A Proper Drink'
• 02:47 The Cocktail Renaissance
• 05:07 Global Influence and Cross-Pollination
• 12:23 Modern Classic Cocktails
• 23:22 Local Influences on Cocktails
• 32:37 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

This episode is brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS, an Advisory helping drinks leaders execute bottom-up growth while managing stakeholder expectations.