Congratulations are in order for Nick Kokonas, who won the award for best self-published cookbook from the International Association of Culinary Professionals this month. If you’ve ever sipped a gin and tonic and wondered why you’re drinking something that once was used to ward off malaria, “Something and Tonic: A History of the World’s Most Iconic Mixer” is for you.
Of course, you might be thinking of the Nick Kokonas who co-owns multiple restaurants with Grant Achatz and who also publishes cocktail cookbooks. Instead, this Nick Kokonas has been a bartender and manager at a number of bars and restaurants around the city and suburbs, including Michelin-starred Longman & Eagle.
He got the idea while working as beverage director at The Heritage in Forest Park. “It started as a weekly rotating tonic-based cocktail,” Kokonas said. “The owner at the time said, ‘After we get a year of recipes, we’ll put out a book.’ I had never considered or thought about writing a book.”
