Cocktails, Home Bar Craft, and Drink History by Dmitriy Shteynbuk.
A visual knowledge hub for cocktail recipes, technique, spirits, drink history, and Wisconsin bar culture.
Today from Dmitriy Shteynbuk
- July 2, 20261 min readNo, Shaking Does Not 'Bruise' Gin
A phrase that will not die, and a defense of the chemistry.
- July 1, 20261 min readHow Much Ice Should Go in a Shaker? (Answered)
The answer is more than you think, and the reason is counterintuitive.
- June 30, 20261 min readWhy Wisconsin Puts Brandy in Its Old Fashioned
The whiskey Old Fashioned is the national default. In Wisconsin, it isn't. The story starts at the 1893 World's Fair.
The Knowledge Hub
Each hub is a small library. Start with fundamentals if you're new, or jump to the section you need.
- 01Cocktail Fundamentals
The four building blocks of every drink — spirit, sweet, sour, and bitter — and how ratios turn ingredients into a cocktail.
Enter hub → - 02Techniques
Stirring, shaking, building, muddling, straining. How each method changes temperature, dilution, and texture.
Enter hub → - 03Spirits Explained
Whiskey, gin, rum, agave. How each spirit is made, how it tastes, and how it behaves in a cocktail.
Enter hub → - 04Classic Recipes
The canon of drinks that anchor the modern bar — with ratios, method, history, and FAQ for each.
Enter hub → - 05Cocktail History
From the 1806 definition through Prohibition to the modern revival. The people and cities behind the drink.
Enter hub → - 06Ice & Tools
The jigger, shaker, mixing glass, strainer, and ice program that make a home bar reliable.
Enter hub → - 07Ingredients & Pantry
Vermouth, bitters, citrus, syrups, liqueurs. What to buy, how to store it, and when to replace it.
Enter hub → - 08Wisconsin Bar Canon
The Brandy Old Fashioned, the supper club, and the Midwestern drinking traditions the rest of the country overlooks.
Enter hub →
Latest guides
- Dmitriy ShteynbukJuly 16, 2026WisconsinThe Tom & Jerry: A Wisconsin Winter Institution
Every December, taverns across Wisconsin bring out their Tom & Jerry batter. Nowhere else does this happen.
- Dmitriy ShteynbukJuly 14, 2026WisconsinSupper Club Bar Culture
A supper club is not a restaurant. It is an institution — with a bar program that predates the cocktail revival by fifty years.
- Dmitriy ShteynbukJuly 12, 2026WisconsinThe Brandy Old Fashioned: Wisconsin's State Drink
Wisconsin drinks its Old Fashioneds with brandy, not whiskey, muddled with fruit, and finished with Sprite or sour. Here is why.
- Dmitriy ShteynbukJuly 9, 2026IngredientsHow Long Does Vermouth Last?
Not as long as you think, and not on the shelf. A short guide to keeping your fortified wines drinkable.
- Dmitriy ShteynbukJuly 7, 2026IngredientsBitters: The Salt and Pepper of the Bar
A few dashes of bitters do more for a cocktail than any other single ingredient. Here is what they are and which ones to own.
- Dmitriy ShteynbukJuly 5, 2026IngredientsSimple Syrup and Its Ten Variations
The most useful thing to make once and keep in the fridge. One base recipe, ten upgrades.
From the glossary
A Midwestern bar canon.
Wisconsin is the only U.S. state that reflexively orders its Old Fashioneds with brandy instead of whiskey — a habit that traces to the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. It is also the last stronghold of the supper club, a category of restaurant and drinking room that barely exists anywhere else.
Dmitriy Shteynbuk — Wisconsin, USA
Wisconsin-based cocktail and home-bar educator publishing plain-language, visually structured guides to cocktail recipes, technique, spirits knowledge, and drink history.
He writes about the drinks that endure — the ones that fit on three lines, taste like themselves, and can be built at a home bar without special equipment. The site favors ratios over brand names and templates over collections.
Regional coverage focuses on Wisconsin: the Brandy Old Fashioned, supper-club culture, and the specific way the Upper Midwest drinks.