Testimonials
DeGroff has mixed
Caipirinhas for Martha Stewart, Planters Punch for The Today Show’s Ann
Curry, and sour apple martinis for Natalie Cole at Rupert Murdoch’s 70th
birthday party... he makes no bones about what began the country’s current
cocktail craze, which single handedly converted the Chardonnay crowd into
Cosmopolitan drinkers, and spawned
lines of barware and accessories from Pottery Barn to Target. "Well", he
says, "I'll take some credit for it.
--Ellise
Pierce, Spirit Magazine
"Dale
DeGroff is the Oracle--the Yoda of mixology. The absolute final word on
the subject of alcoholic beverages."
-Anthony Bourdain, ‘A Cook’s Tour’
Upside
is Dale DeGroff himself, America's pre-eminent cocktail-meister/historian
and the decades of bartending savvy, insight and wisdom that he brings to
the table. DeGroff's grasp of cocktail lore and history makes this the best
record of mixed drinks that I know of.
--Spirit Journal
“If
bartenders have yet to discover their great writer, they may have found
their lore keeper in Dale DeGroff... he is three parts Stork Club, two parts
Las Vegas and one part scholar of the trade.”
– Alan Feuer, New York Times
"Dale DeGroff' is the Billy Graham of the holy spirits. He came to London
to speak to his followers- nearly 200 bartenders who packed a Sunday gathering,
to promote the word. And the word is: Martini."
– London Tribune
"Dale DeGroff is more than a bartender: he's a master mixologist."
– Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart Living
"DeGroff is quite simply, the god of all bartenders…"
– Amy Douthett, CitySearch.com
"Dale DeGroff's cheflike approach to cocktails turned the Rainbow Room Bar
into holy ground for the Martini set..."
– William Grimes, The New York Times
"DeGroff is the James Bond of Booze... swarthy, smooth, mysterious. A
man who carries a trademark weapon (the Martini Kit), possesses an unparalleled
knowledge of the field...and effortlessly slaughters the ladies– I defy
anyone to remain erect after three Flame of Love Martinis...."
– Angela Tribelli, Paper Magazine
"Not
that a barman needs to be conversant on the history of the Golden Age
of cocktails (though DeGroff could give a lecture on drinks conceived
between 1860 and 1919)... and not because it's necessary to memorize every
drink recipe on record (though DeGroff could stir up 400 from memory including
a hundred or so of his own invention)... you might as well know everything,
DeGroff says, "because that's the way your life should be anyway." – Adam
Sachs, GQ Magazine
“Much of the credit for building a cocktail the old-fashioned way must go
to Dale DeGroff, who pioneered the revival of the (Professor Jerry) Thomas
approach in the mid 1980's when he worked at Aurora, and most memorably
at the Promenade Bar at the Rainbow Room” – William Grimes, New York
Times
