Baker and longtime cookbook author Kim Laidlaw took a leap into unfamiliar territory when she took on an ambitious project: to craft a cocktail cookbook ahead of the United States’ 250th birthday. The vision? To find one classic cocktail and invent a signature “modern” cocktail for each of the 50 U.S. states.
The resulting product, “” by Kim Laidlaw with photos by Ken Carlson (Weldon Owen, $28), takes readers on a booze-filled adventure exploring the quirky and delightful flavors and ingredients that shape the diverse drinks we imbibe across the U.S.
Whether testing out the Alaskan Duck Fart shot (made up of Kahlúa, Baileys and whiskey) or re-creating Florida’s Key Lime Daiquiri, Laidlaw says she tested each recipe in her book — and recently caught up with us to talk about the experience.
Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Q: Tell me a little bit about you and your background.
A: I have been in the cookbook publishing world for probably 25 years. I started in publishing, but not in cookbook publishing, and then I went to culinary school, and I became a baker. I worked at La Farine in Oakland. I was doing some editing on the side and ended up being hired at Weldon Owen, which did branded cookbooks for Williams-Sonoma. I worked there as an executive editor for about 11 years, then I went out on my own. I still primarily do branded cookbooks, with lots of different publishers. I wear lots of hats.
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Sometimes I am the author, the co-author, or the ghostwriter. Sometimes I’m doing recipe development, or testing, or both. And sometimes I’m managing the whole project. I think I’ve written, co-authored or ghostwritten 20 books at this point.
Q: What inspired this cocktail cookbook?
A: The publisher actually approached me and asked if I’d be interested in doing this cocktail book. My passion is baking, but I’ve done cookbooks in all different areas, and I had never done a cocktail book. So I thought that would be a fun challenge for me. They explained that they had this idea to do a cookbook that had cocktails from every state in the U.S.
We decided we would do one recipe that was classic, and one that was contemporary and something new and different. It involved a lot of research, particularly for the classics. Some were super obvious, like the Manhattan for New York, or the Sazerac for Louisiana. But then some states were really difficult to come up with something that really defined the state, that felt really classic. But we managed to do it.
Q: What was that research like?
A: It was all online research. I looked at forums, at what people were talking about; at various bars in the area and their menus; and in online newspapers and magazines.
If there was history, I tried to put a little of that into the book, and talk about the background or where the drink comes from, especially if it came from a specific bar or bartender. I tried to give people acknowledgment on that. The contemporary ones were built on herbs, fruits and spirits that come from that particular state.
For the ones that were not obvious, I really had to do a little more digging to come up with something I thought represented the state in a classic way. I’m sure I didn’t get it right every time. But I tried!
Q: What are some examples?
A: The funniest one was the Alaska Duck Fart. I kept trying to find something else because I didn’t want Alaska to get mad at me for putting the Duck Fart in, but itap funny. And itap also really good. Itap a layered shot.
Others were a little easier. Massachusetts has a big cranberry thing going on there. Or peaches and Georgia.
It was about trying to find those flavors and then interesting combinations that would maybe not be something you would just find anywhere. And that were original. That involved a lot of tinkering in my kitchen.
Some recipes could fit in multiple states, and I had to choose. I think the hardest cocktail to place was the Margarita. Because, obviously, the Margarita originated in Mexico, but Texas and California have robust Margarita cultures. Texas won the Margarita because the frozen Margarita was invented in Dallas. And I could’ve put the Whiskey Sour in many different states, but somebody had to win (it was Virginia).
Q: Did you develop recipes yourself?
A: Yes, all the modern ones were mine. All the classics — for instance, there aren’t that many recipes for a Negroni — I would try to make sure that the balance was correct. So I made every single cocktail in this entire book, and I would only take a sip! Sometimes I was doing 10 cocktails a day.
Occasionally, my husband, who works at home, would be in his office, and I’d bring something in for him to taste, and he’d be like, “Oh, I love that. I’ll just keep that.” But then I couldn’t really bring him another one, because he was working.
Q: So you had some tasting help. Did you have a favorite recipe coming out of this project?
A: I have a lot of favorites. And there were some real surprises. I created a High Country Negroni from Wyoming with huckleberry, which I love. And then I discovered a classic North Carolina drink called Cherry Bounce. You steep cherries in bourbon or brandy for three months, and then you can use them as cocktail cherries or just eat them. You can drink the brandy or bourbon because it has that lovely cherry flavor, and you can put a tiny bit of allspice and some cinnamon in it. Because it sits for so long, you really get those flavors.
The other way I differentiated a lot of the more contemporary cocktails was to come up with different simple syrups that had unique flavors. I did 26 simple syrups and five shrubs. Even though itap a cocktail book, you could make so many of these things into mocktails very easily, or even just drink the shrubs — they’re alcohol-free. Itap versatile in that way.
Q: This book celebrates the 250th birthday of the U.S. What were some of your takeaways about cocktails across the U.S. after completing the book?
A: Itap such a huge nation, with so many climates and different things that are grown. I was trying to figure out all that diversity throughout the United States and celebrate that.
Q: What were your personal takeaways from the project?
A: I mean, I enjoy cocktails a lot more now. You can create something thatap really unique and interesting. There was one recipe in there that uses mushroom-infused rye. Knowing that you can create something really unique and personal based on your own likes and dislikes was fun. Hopefully, people who buy the book will make the cocktails, but then they’ll take it as a starting point and mix and match based on their tastes.
Q: What are some tips for people if they’re trying to create their own cocktails?
A: Simple syrup is key, and flavoring it is a really good way to add flavor and adjust the sweetness of a cocktail. Play around with the flavor. And start with the spirit that you like. So, if you like bourbon, then there’s a whole world of bourbon cocktails. Or there are a lot of gin and vodka cocktails that are lighter and brighter. And think about ingredients that you like. I love cucumber in anything, so if you put cucumber and pineapple in a cocktail, I’m there. Also, shrubs are nice because they add that vinegary element to it. That adds a nice sharp bite, and they’re not very hard to make.
Five cocktails from ‘Spirits of ’76’
To start your own journey of drinking your way across the U.S. to celebrate its 250th birthday, we selected five recipes from Laidlaw’s book.
