“Gabriel is amongst the few cocktail bloggers that led me to what a cocktail blog could be. He then was the linchpin in showing us what a cocktail blogging community should be.”
- Craig Hermann, Tiki Drinks and Indigo Firmaments
Gabriel Szaszko, creator and author of cocktailnerd.com, refers to his creation as “a child of equal parts anger, hubris, and self-regard.“ For the past two years Gabe has used his small corner of the Internet to explore the world of cocktails, to preach good drinks and good ingredients, and to needle and ridicule the saccharine and the mundane often found coming from behind the bar. During that time, this unrepentant and self-proclaimed nerd has covered topics ranging from absinthe to ginger beer, general mixology to why the appletini is evil incarnate. The resident of Tulsa, OK also managed to earn himself a monthly column in Oklahoma Magazine, covering spirits and cocktails.
The site exudes an air of snarky superiority, simultaneously taking its topics very seriously while refusing to do the same for itself. An article on cocktailnerd.com is generally full of interesting history and mixological detail, and also swimming in references to general geekdom. Monty Python, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and other hallowed geek topics appear in Gabe’s writing quite frequently, along with a sharp and somewhat venomous wit that has often been unleashed on those topics that he considers absurd, annoying, or offensive.
In regard to the light-hearted and often snarky feel to the site, Gabriel says,
The tone of cocktailnerd comes primarily from two sources: having an older and mean-spirited brother, and a deep disdain of over-wrought, precious writing about something as enjoyable, simple, and universally human as drinking. I don’t suffer fools gladly – except myself…and it has come across in my writing at times.
Of course, Gabriel didn’t start out as a cocktail nerd. As is the case with most cocktailians, Gabe’s eyes had to be opened to the wide world of cocktails. At one point, Gabe found himself drinking little other than champagne for over two years. Eventually he decided that there had to be a better, more enjoyable way to have a drink, and bought his first bartending guide: The Bartender’s Black Book. When his wife gave him a bottle of Green Chartreuse for Christmas shortly thereafter, Gabe turned to his new book to find a great recipe and was introduced to the Green Dragon cocktail – a mix of 2 oz of vodka and 1 oz of chartreuse. “I happily and proudly shook my way to horror. I knew something was wrong, and it wasn’t the chartreuse.”
His geekish curiosity piqued, Gabe set out on a quest to learn how to make quality cocktails with quality ingredients. He armed himself with a copy of Gary Regan’s Joy of Mixology and set about improving his knowledge and mixological skills.
I put myself on cocktail-making hiatus until I understood the principles and families of drinks and ingredients described in the book. And then, intrigue [with the discovery of] maraschino liqueur. I was completely fascinated by its [limited availability] and how frequently it was used in vintage cocktails. I finally acquired a bottle, made my first Aviation, and was lost. [F]inally I had a subject that all-at-once inspired, provided endless rabbit holes of exploration, and satisfied my need to collect esoteric and challenging ingredients. In other words, I could geek out on something cooler than cards for building my Buffy the Vampire Slayer collectible card game deck.
Gabriel now had a new passion in life about which he could obsess, but he wanted more. He took it upon himself to “change the world of drinking one blog post at a time.” Keyboard in-hand, Gabriel introduced the world to cocktailnerd.com, where he was free to hop from rabbit hole to rabbit hole, to create new drinks and explore classic recipes, and to provide a place that was hopefully more interesting and informative to cocktailians than blogs about “what [someone] had for breakfast, or the last pointlessly cryptic, uneven, and inconsistent episode of LOST.”
It has been two years since Gabriel drank that magic potion and plunged down the rabbit hole of Mixology. Says Gabriel of his blog’s tenure and success, “250+ bottles, 50+ cocktail books…and 15 pounds later, I blame Gary Regan. The bastard.”
The Prodigal (created by Gabriel Szaszko of cocktailnerd.com)
2 oz Carpano Antica
.5 oz Absinthe
.5 oz Cinnamon Syrup
Build in an Old Fashioned glass with ice and stir. Garnish with a lemon twist.
What’s your favorite thing about cocktailnerd.com?
___________________________________________________
Matt Robold is a rum connoisseur and writer for RumDood.com.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
FIRST!
My favorite thing is the feeling I get when I close the tab where I’m reading it.
Just kidding! I admire his usage of footnotes, even if most of them I can’t really read because of the font size.
I like all the wealth of information and how he goes into depth with certain things, all that mixed with great photography and heartical writing seasoned with good humour..and sometimes a pinch of healthy anger.
i appreciate that Gabe doesn’t give in to the temptation to post filler. After 2 years, coming up with compelling new content has to be a challenge at times, but the posts all remain interesting and worthwhile.
The thing I like best is YOUR MOM.
Damn. I can’t follow that.
fyi…your link to thebartendersblackbook.com has some incorrect characters in it