I have the delight in introducing the legend, Gary Regan. He has kindly taken the time to talk to me about everything to do with gin. Enjoy.

You moved to NYC in 1973 and over the next two decades harnessed your spirit / cocktail knowledge and skills, in some of the cities most iconic bars.

What was it like? How is the cocktail culture different to the UK? Which people influenced and inspired you the most?

I mostly worked neighborhood joints, actually, but when I first came over hardly anyone in UK was doing cocktails, so although I’d been tending bar in pubs for over 5 years, I knew nothing about cocktails at all.

I learned by sitting at the service end of a bar called Drake’s Drum, and listening to orders come in, then watching the bartenders make the drinks.

What can we learn from the guys on the other side of the big pond?

These days the world is so small that asking what Brits can learn from Americans is like asking what Newcastle can learn from Blackpool. Certain cities do tend to lean this way or that, but it’s impossible to define “American” bartending in 2009.

Which bars would you say are a must to visit, if you go to NYC? Are their any mixologists you should go and say hello to?

Mayahuel: Phil Ward & Katie Stipe; Julie Reiner (Flatiron Lounge, Manhattan, and Clover Club, Brooklyn), John Deragon (PDT, Manhattan), Sammy Ross (Milk & Honey, Manhattan,), Giuseppe Gonzales (Clover Club, Brooklyn), Kenta Goto (Pegu Club, Manhattan), Jim Meehan & Don Lee (PDT, Manhattan)

What made you decide to put down your cocktail shaker and pick up your pen?

I never wanted to put in enough hours to make lots of money in the bar business, and when I started pro writing (1990), and kept getting more and more assignments, I saw a way to parlay my bar career into something different.

I love bartending, but writing is much easier on the feet.

Your latest offering, The bartender’s GIN compendium is described as a “book that’s fun, informative, and a delightfully good read, even if you don’t like gin”.

Why did you choose this category? What makes it different to other books on the market?

I chose gin when I was tidying my files on my computer and realized I had lots of info on gin. It’s different from other books because, although I think I packed lots of solid information in there, I also included lots of personal views, stories, pictures, trivia, quotations, and recipes from the world’s best bartenders.

Gin is in vogue at the moment? What did you thnk kick started this revolution?

Audrey Saunders

Do you think we will see yet more gin brands coming onto the market place?

Yes. Lots more. And lots more styles, too.

If you could use a signature botanical in your own gin, what would it be and why?

Sage: The cleansing herb. I love sage. I burn sage a lot in my house.

Mixologists are delving back into the golden era of cocktails, finding recipes that were created over a 100 years ago? Why were drinks so good back then?

I’m sure there were lots of bad drinks, too.

If you could ask Jerry Thomas a question, what would it be and why? Which drink would you order him?

I’d ask him how much was usually in his Friday night tip cup, and did lots of women hang at his bar waiting for his shift to end. I’d love to have him make me a Manhattan.

Which cocktail to you think encapsulates what gin is all about? Which gin would you use in it and why?

Sweet Martini with Angostura. 3:1 gin to vermouth. Plymouth, Tanqueray, Beefeater.

What bit of advice would you give to any budding mixologist?

Learn the classics first, then find your own direction and go with it.

Thanks once again to a living legend

John Collingwood – Want to impress