The Cocktail Hour: A Drinker’s Companion

Celebrating the magic and pleasure of the perfect cocktail, with recipes, stories and tips

It’s 6 o’clock: clear your mind of the cares of the day. Relax and fix yourself a drink. It’s The Cocktail Hour.

'A wonderful writer in his absolute element' Nigella Lawson

The moment Tim Hayward started mixing himself an 'attitude adjuster' at the end of the day, his life changed. He realised he was falling in love – with the taste, the image, the ritual and legend, of the cocktail.

The Cocktail Hour celebrates not just the recipes but the stories, feelings and nostalgia that a drink can evoke. You will learn how to make 50 classic and modern drinks carefully, with good ingredients and the right equipment. But more importantly, from Gimlet to Gibson, Manhattan to Margarita, you will be equipped to immerse yourself fully and appreciatively in the ritual.

Achieve inner peace and equilibrium, take pleasure in the glorious moment of that first sip, and join the innumerable artists, writers, statesmen, actors and intellectual titans who, across the centuries, have discovered the profound joy of The Cocktail Hour.