Imbibe! author David Wondrich and King Cocktail Dale DeGroff were shuttled into a conference room in the basement of the Gansevort Hotel for their booze-fueled demo. Dull environs notwithstanding, the pair put on a show worthy of their reputations.

For those with the good grace to have already sat through one of Wondrich’s lectures, this 101-level course didn’t offer much in the way of new material. You’ve heard, for example, of the claret snap—the red wine float that tops a classic New York Sour—and you’ve seen the manufacture of a Blue Blazer (the Jerry Thomas-created cocktail that requires the transfer of flaming gin between two stainless steel mugs).

But watching the cocktail titans match wits was sort of like the liquor equivalent of DeNiro and Pacino’s diner scene circa Heat. Blame it on the four drinks I tossed down the gullet, but I see myself whispering DeGroff’s nineteenth century recipe-cum-nursery rhyme, "1 sour, 1 sweet, 3 of strong, 4 of weak" over the cradle. He toned down the flair when Wondrich credited DeGroff’s early work at the Rainbow Room as the tipping point for the return of the quality cocktail. "That was the most visible bartenders’ job in the world," he said. "No one had seen what Dale was doing in 50 years."

The artisan drink has returned, and with it comes a new breed of bars. But Wondrich says they have a ways to go. "The sad thing about the new cocktailian bars is that they are so focused on the flavor and authenticity of the drink that they lose a little bit of the art of old-time bartending." Said DeGroff, "You’re supposed to hear some good stories and have a damn good time."

So where do they go when they want to have a stiff drink? "McSorley’s and PJ Clarke’s have great old school bartenders," offered Wondrich. "For great cocktails, Pegu and Clover Clubs. And that Jim Meehan has some great stories."