In 2025, The Double Strainer reinforced a clear mission: publish service-ready cocktail knowledge and bar systems designed for real venue execution, and make them completely free for the global bar community.

Most bartenders today meet Kevin Kos on a screen before they ever meet him at a bar. You’re between shifts, scrolling, and a calm Slovenian voice starts explaining how to get more juice from one lemon, or how to batch an Old Fashioned so it pours perfectly every time.

I started The Double Strainer because too much know-how lives in back offices and paywalled PDFs. This project exists to keep the craft open, practical, and free — from milk washing to menu engineering — so you can bring clarity to prep, service, and training. Today’s post is both celebration and instruction: a precise recap of the year, the people who inspired us, and the practical guides, worksheets, and recipes you can put to work tonight.

This tropical cocktail combines the exotic flavors of passion fruit-infused light rum, coconut liqueur, fresh lime juice, ginger syrup..

In the field of modern bar innovation, the search for unique, concentrated flavors has led many beverage programs to adopt artisanal seasonings and custom rim blends. Orange Salt is a functional fusion of dehydrated citrus zest and quality sea salt.

Mocktails represent a significant frontier in modern mixology, offering complex flavor profiles without the presence of alcohol. Among the most innovative combinations is a blend featuring sweet corn, margarine, pineapple, honey, and sweet basil.

In the realm of modern mixology, creativity is driven by the exploration of texture and mouthfeel. The Avocado Margarita, a sophisticated evolution of the classic Mexican Margarita, serves as a perfect example of this technical innovation.

The Angelo Azzurro, or Blue Angel, is a defining cocktail of the late 20th-century Italian bar scene. Often misunderstood as a mere "disco drink," its origins and high alcohol content mark it as a significant spirit-forward creation.

The Zombie Punch is not merely a cocktail; it is the cornerstone of the exotic drink movement. Created in 1934 by the legendary Donn Beach (born Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt), this recipe represents the pinnacle of complex mixology—a sophisticated balance of high-proof spirits, sharp citrus, and deep, spiced undertones.