Last year I drove up to Seattle to take the BarSmarts Advanced Class from the legendary BAR (Beverage Alcohol Resource). BAR brings together some of the brightest luminaries in the industry—including Paul Pacult, Dale DeGroff, David Wondrich, Doug Frost, and Steve Olson—into an intensive spirits and training program.

BarSmarts Advanced combines a three-DVD set that takes you through a four-week home study program, along with a live and in person full-day workshop. With BarSmarts, you not only learn the history and make-up of all the spirit categories, but how to properly taste them. You’re also required to learn 25 core cocktails and be able to make them in person, under the clock, in front of an all-star panel of judges. It sounds slightly intimidating, but it’s an amazingly rewarding experience. While the program is mainly geared at bartenders, it’s open to almost anyone with a passion for spirits. BarSmarts travels throughout the country doing their full-day intensive in many of the major markets.

This year, the BarSmarts program rolled into Portland, and along with it came many of the amazing people connected with it. The visit also coincided with the launch of Jim Meehan’s “The PDT Cocktail Book,” which, of course, meant a book release cocktail party.

The drinks all came from the book, including: the Weeski, a Jameson-based cocktail with Lillet Blanc, Cointreau, and orange bitters; Green Deacon, with Plymouth Gin, grapefruit juice, and Plymouth Sloe Gin; Apple Malt Toddy, with apple cider, Chivas Regal, Drouhin Pommeau, Allspice Dram, and maple syrup; and, one of my favorite Beefeater 24 cocktails, The Statesman.

The Statesman

• 2 oz Beefeater 24
• 1/2 oz Rothman & Winter Orchard Pear
• 1 barspoon Green Chartreuse
• 1 dash Regan’s Orange bitters

1. Stir with ice and serve in a chilled coupe with a twist of lemon.

“The PDT Cocktail Book” itself is quite comprehensive, with over 200 pages of some of the most popular classic and modern cocktails. It also has sections on technique, making mixers, basic bar set up, and using seasonal ingredients. PDT (aka Please Don’t Tell) is one of the most buzzed about speakeasies in the country, and the cocktail book shows why people are buzzing. “The PDT Cocktail Book” is an essential book for anyone interested in making cocktails, and it’s an absolute treasure trove of some of the very best drinks being served in bars today.