Brian Hoefling

Brian Hoefling is a Cambridge-based cocktail educator and the author of three books: Distilled Knowledge, an illustrated guide to common scientific questions about alcohol and drinking; Classic Cocktails, a pocket-sized guide to 150 essential recipes; and, most recently, The Cocktail Seminars, a five-part curriculum intended to give the home bartender a comprehensive grounding in the art and tradition of the cocktail.

In 2012, he founded the Herzog Cocktail School, which runs classes on classic cocktails for people outside the hospitality industry. His lessons have ranged from intimate engagement parties to large institutional events for Marriott and Yale University. He has also given lectures at Thirst Boston and the San Antonio Cocktail Conference on topics ranging from the pairing of gins and oysters to the mid-century crystallization of the canon of classic cocktail recipes and the science of safety in making mixed drinks.