"Proof that simplicity is best . . . it’s useful, straightforward and will take your cinq à sept to new heights." —The Kit

From the co-founder of Ampersand Distilling Company, a collection of cocktail recipes that relies on just five bottles to build your bartending style with ease and confidence.

Think of it as the capsule closet for cocktails. Five bottles around which your inner bartender can emerge with skill, savvy and a little flare for the dramatic when it’s called for.

Playwright, columnist, and co-founder of Ampersand Distilling Company, Jessica Schacht knows we all contain multitudes and believes with a little curation and mastery of the basics, we can succeed at elevating the everyday and cultivating a good cocktail hour.

The bottles: gin, whiskey, sweet and dry vermouth, and Campari (plus bonus recipes for bubbly). The setting: living room, backyard, window seat, and the wild beyond. The mixologist? Oh, that’s you.

In this beautifully photographed collection, Jessica Schacht, co-founder of Ampersand Distilling Company, presents her take on classics (like the G & T, the Old Fashioned, the Martini, and the Negroni), collections (sours, punches, and such), and contemporaries (a few inventive new drinks to pique your creativity). There’s a chapter of zero-proofs in part inspired by the abundance of new alcohol-free spirits on the market now, and another dedicated to keeping your vacation drinks game classy, from the airplane to the B&B to the beach.

In addition to the recipes The Five-Bottle Bar supplies a solid foundation in bartending basics (tools, techniques, thoughts on glassware and garnishes), the condensed history of spirits, and tips for setting up your minimalist bar cart.