Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Toby is a respected bartender of some 40 years, and the author of Cosmopolitan which remains the best memoir on the life of a bartender, but is perhaps best known for inventing the drink by the same name, which defined an era and still attracts love and hate from consumers and bartenders alike. With a storied career spanning decades at some of New York City's most iconic bars, Toby's insights into bar culture, drink creation, and hospitality continue to influence bartenders around the globe.
I revisited Toby’s memoir, "Cosmopolitan: A Bartender's Life," ahead of our conversation. It captures a raw and candid snapshot of the New York bar scene of the late '80s and '90s. We being the conversation talking about his shifting perceptions of the book—and the industry itself—over the past two decades.
We also address the shifting role of bars as vital social spaces, we discuss cocktail batching, the guest bartending phenomenon, and the blurred lines between bartenders and chefs. Toby also shares some anecdotes from the 80’s including some brutally honest takes on Andy Warhol.
Sharp, direct, and refreshingly unapologetic, Toby offers a much-needed perspective for anyone interested in the real nuts and bolts of cocktails and hospitality. From a personal point of view this was a conversation I have been wanting to have for years and it was one of the must fun ones I’ve had on the podcast to date.
🙏 This episode is sponsored by Fever-Tree
📷 Follow me on Instagram - instagram.com/tristanstephenson
📚 I've written quite a few books on spirits and cocktails - thecuriousbartender.com
00:00 Cosmopolitan the Book - Toby’s Relfections 21 Years Later
04:46 The Bar as a Third Place - Purpose, Function, Niches, Democratisation, Performance, Money, Japanese Bars, Hotel Bars
15:45 Bartending Then & Now - Staff, Problem Solving, Working the Floor
*18:56 The Myriad Problems with Guest Shifts
*21:47 Batched Cocktails vs. A La Minute - Changing perception of a Bartender’s Function, Chef vs. Bartender
33:43 Split Basing Cocktails, Rum, Bourbon, Scotch
37:34 Creating Unsettling Atmospheres in Bars - 10 Second Theory, Vibes, Music
43:48 The Changing Nature of Bartending, Cocktail Renaissance, New York, Public Perception of Cocktails, Nerds
50:56 The Psychology of New Yorkers vs. Brits
*58:18 Reminiscing the 80’s & 90’s Bar Scene - Getting Old, Sering Artists (Warhol, Haring, Basquait)
1:00:20 Treatment of Hospitality Staff by Famous People, Treatment of Guests by Bartenders, Hospitality
*1:06:30 Inventing the Cosmopolitan cocktail, The Odeon, Other Claims, Absolute Citron, Formulas & Garnishing
1:23:01 Revisiting Cosmopolitan the book
1:25:46 The Story of Long Island Bar
Toby is a respected bartender of some 40 years, and the author of Cosmopolitan which remains the best memoir on the life of a bartender, but is perhaps best known for inventing the drink by the same name, which defined an era and still attracts love and hate from consumers and bartenders alike. With a storied career spanning decades at some of New York City's most iconic bars, Toby's insights into bar culture, drink creation, and hospitality continue to influence bartenders around the globe.
I revisited Toby’s memoir, "Cosmopolitan: A Bartender's Life," ahead of our conversation. It captures a raw and candid snapshot of the New York bar scene of the late '80s and '90s. We being the conversation talking about his shifting perceptions of the book—and the industry itself—over the past two decades.
We also address the shifting role of bars as vital social spaces, we discuss cocktail batching, the guest bartending phenomenon, and the blurred lines between bartenders and chefs. Toby also shares some anecdotes from the 80’s including some brutally honest takes on Andy Warhol.
Sharp, direct, and refreshingly unapologetic, Toby offers a much-needed perspective for anyone interested in the real nuts and bolts of cocktails and hospitality. From a personal point of view this was a conversation I have been wanting to have for years and it was one of the must fun ones I’ve had on the podcast to date.
🙏 This episode is sponsored by Fever-Tree
📷 Follow me on Instagram - instagram.com/tristanstephenson
📚 I've written quite a few books on spirits and cocktails - thecuriousbartender.com
00:00 Cosmopolitan the Book - Toby’s Relfections 21 Years Later
04:46 The Bar as a Third Place - Purpose, Function, Niches, Democratisation, Performance, Money, Japanese Bars, Hotel Bars
15:45 Bartending Then & Now - Staff, Problem Solving, Working the Floor
*18:56 The Myriad Problems with Guest Shifts
*21:47 Batched Cocktails vs. A La Minute - Changing perception of a Bartender’s Function, Chef vs. Bartender
33:43 Split Basing Cocktails, Rum, Bourbon, Scotch
37:34 Creating Unsettling Atmospheres in Bars - 10 Second Theory, Vibes, Music
43:48 The Changing Nature of Bartending, Cocktail Renaissance, New York, Public Perception of Cocktails, Nerds
50:56 The Psychology of New Yorkers vs. Brits
*58:18 Reminiscing the 80’s & 90’s Bar Scene - Getting Old, Sering Artists (Warhol, Haring, Basquait)
1:00:20 Treatment of Hospitality Staff by Famous People, Treatment of Guests by Bartenders, Hospitality
*1:06:30 Inventing the Cosmopolitan cocktail, The Odeon, Other Claims, Absolute Citron, Formulas & Garnishing
1:23:01 Revisiting Cosmopolitan the book
1:25:46 The Story of Long Island Bar
