As the cocktail authority Dale DeGroff has noted, the cocktail is “as American as jazz, apple pie, and baseball.” Classic cocktail bars are to the toper what the new crop of “classic” baseball stadiums are to the sports fan—places where we can cheer a return to our roots.…

I admire what Drink is doing in eliminating the cocktail menu: asking you to put yourself in the hands of a knowledgeable guide who can edge you beyond your comfort zone into a new experience. Still, I hope it eventually prints one up. Sometimes the bartender will be too harried to take a full patient history, and perusing a list of drinks and their ingredients is a great education. I also hope Drink might embrace another new trend, that of listing obscure classic cocktails interpreted by and credited to talented bartenders working today in other cities. Such a list is like a blog with links to other worthwhile blogs, except that the links are potable.