The Advanced Guide for the Modern Bartender: The Cocktail Balance 2.0
The gorgeous handbook to bartending, from art to science,
from cocktail craft to hospitality.
BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA -The highly anticipated sequel, The Cocktail Balance 2.0 by Stanislav Harciník, is now ready to be released. The modern handbook for bartenders divided into three sections—theoretical, practical, and inspirational—covering all aspects of the profession over 290 pages.
In the theoretical part, Harciník dishes out the knowledge he has gained through his own experience. From creativity to calculating cocktail costs, he shares methods, processes and points to keep in mind. The guest experience is of utmost importance, and a number of chapters cover various aspects that influence it, including hospitality, design, neurogastronomy, and charisma.
The practical section first covers beginning and advanced tools and techniques in the cocktail-making process, from the finer points of a simple stir to carbonation science and how-to, from various ways to infuse ingredients to sous pression. Then, an overview of cocktail ingredients “Basics and Beyond” cover a range of ingredients that can go into a cocktail, from ice and organic acids to enzymes and ferments.
The finale to the practical section is the recipes. Highlighting 15 ingredients, each ingredient has three component recipes and two cocktail recipes, designed to utilise as much of the ingredient as possible, reducing waste and increasing efficiency. Harciník draws on well-known plants in innovative ways, such as stinging nettle, pumpkin, gooseberries, and black rice. For example, the flesh, seeds, and seed oil of the pumpkin each has its own recipe. The recipes include more involved processes such as lacto-ferments, complex infusions, and enzyme clarification in order to make the best cocktails.
In the last section, 12 Slovak bartending legends who have made an impact globally share their stories and message or philosophy to offer inspiration to each reader, such as Zuzana Červeň Kromková, Adrian Michalčík and Maroš Dzurus, among others. Finally, Notes at the back includes foundational recipes and processes to supplement the main section of the book.
Stunning photos by Adrián Chrzan accompany the text, the cocktails styled with bespoke glasses by Slovak glass designers. With simple but striking composition, the photos illustrate the beauty in a simple pour or garnish texture.
Stanislav Harcinik says, “With the first book my goal was to make bartending accessible to everyone. With The Cocktail Balance 2.0, I really get into the art and science of bartending. I’m always pushing myself to learn and grow, but most importantly to share so that everyone around me can learn and grow too. I’m really looking forward to how 2.0 can contribute to the bartending community, and to see how others can build upon it, achieving more together than what I ever could on my own.”
The Cocktail Balance 2.0 is available on The Cocktail Balance e-shop, available in English as a beautiful hardcover book. Additionally, it will be published as an ebook in the Slovak language and distributed for free to hospitality schools in order to elevate and push forward the bartending craft in Slovakia as a result of Stan’s philosophy of giving back to the local bar community.
About the author - Stanislav Harcinik is driven by a passion to share what he has learned with others, resulting in his books and The Cocktail Balance platform. From barback, Harcinik quickly became head bartender at a number of establishments due to his attention to detail, work ethic, and drive to innovate. His journey led to Mirror Cocktail Bar in the Carlton Hotel where he was head bartender and simultaneously also Content Director of Slovakia’s best print media bartender magazine Bar Magazine-Thinking and Drinking. Harcinik later on became Global Ambassador of Mirror Bar, and is one of the team responsible for the bar being ranked as No62 by The World’s 50 Best Bars in 2024, as well as being nominated for Regional Top 10 Honorees for two Spirited Awards in 2024.
