Robert Simonson

Contributing Editor

Robert Simonson writes about cocktails, spirits and bars for the New York Times. He is the author of The Old-Fashioned: The Story of the World's First Classic Cocktail (2014), A Proper Drink (2016) and 3-Ingredient Cocktails: An Opinionated Guide to the Most Enduring Drinks in the Cocktail Canon (2017).

Places

Liz Pounds Taught Tulsa How to Drink

For half a century, the Oklahoma bartender has witnessed her town go from Prohibition to cocktail Renaissance—with a star-studded Hollywood pit stop along the way.

story: Robert Simonson
photo: Jeremy Charles

Cocktails

In Search of the Ultimate Jungle Bird

We asked 10 of America's best bartenders to submit their finest recipe for the Jungle Bird—and then blind-tasted them all to find the best of the best.

story: Robert Simonson
photo: Lizzie Munro

Places

If You Went to Elaine’s, You Knew “Duffy”

After it closed in 2011, Kevin Philzone landed at Neary’s where he’s been tending bar for nearly a decade.

story: Robert Simonson
photo: Eric Medsker

Cocktails

In Search of the Ultimate Piña Colada

We asked 10 of America's best bartenders to submit their finest recipe for the Piña Colada—and then blind-tasted them all to find the best of the best.

story: Robert Simonson
photo: Lizzie Munro

Cocktails

Paradise Found

Until it was rediscovered in the 1990s, falernum was the missing piece of the tiki puzzle. This is how a group of fanatical pre-internet enthusiasts revived it.