The Curious Bartender's Vodka Chronicles: Discovering and Celebrating the History of the World's Most Versatile Drink

By Tristan Stephenson

From the newly crowned WINNER of the Drink Book category at the 2026 Fortnum & Mason Food & Drink Awards comes the latest book by MASTER MIXOLOGIST, best-selling author, AWARD-WINNING bar owner, popular podcaster and emerging distiller TRISTAN STEPHENSON. This time he turns his gaze to VODKA.

His journey begins in the home of vodka, the so-called "Vodka Belt" of northeastern Europe, where he uncovers the extraordinary history of a spirit inextricably linked to the identity of these heartlands. Technological advances stripped vodka of its flavor, color, and history, but its evolving form found a new home in North America. By the middle of the twentieth century, vodka had been reinvented once more, fueling the cocktail renaissance and becoming the most widely consumed spirit on the planet. Vodka seems destined to continue its march onward and upward, adapting and evolving to suit consumers' changing tastes. But one thing that hasn't changed is vodka's versatility as a cocktail base. And neither have Tristan's skills as a mixologist. In this book, he conjures up 15 classic and modern vodka cocktails drawn directly from the stories and discoveries from within these pages.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1788797663
• ISBN13: 9781788797665
• Release Date: October 2026
• Publisher: Ryland Peters & Small
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 1.26 lbs.