A Chronicle of Closing Time at Bars Across America
Raising a Glass to the 5th Anniversary of My Book, "Last Call"
A Chronicle of Closing Time at Bars Across America
Five years ago last night, I was at The Long Island Bar for the book party for Last Call. The bar was packed with friends, family, my publisher, my agent, colleagues, bartenders, spirits producers, publicists, writers, and restaurateurs, all gathered together to raise a glass on the publication eve of my fourth book. There were Martinis, Negronis, Gimlets, and iced buckets of Miller High Life ponies along with baskets of fried cheese curds, smoked trout spread with Triscuits, deviled eggs, and double-patty cheeseburgers with fries. David Wondrich was kind enough to make an impromptu and very moving speech and I signed several cases of books for attendees.
The next day, on the book’s official publication day, I stopped by a number of my favorite bookstores in Brooklyn and Manhattan to sign copies of my new book. Back at my apartment I packed my bag, updated itineraries, spent some quality time with Louis, and worked my way through my to-do list to prepare for an early morning flight to Seattle to kick off what would turn out to be a marathon book tour with 23 events across 17 cities that would keep me on and off the road through early December.
I had spent most of 2018 visiting countless bars with photographer Ed Anderson, chasing last calls from Seattle to Oxford, Mississippi, chronicling the late-night culture and asking bartenders what they would want for their final drink. After its October 2019 publication, Last Call took on an unexpected layer of poignancy several months later with the arrival of the pandemic. With bars across America closed, and many featured in the book gone forever, the book transformed into a time capsule of sorts, telling a story of how things used to be.
While Bitters and Amaro remain my most popular and bestselling titles, many readers tell me that Last Call is their favorite book of mine. The book was named one of the best books of the year by The Chicago Tribune and went on to be a James Beard Award Finalist and won a Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Award.
It’s my most personal and I’m very proud of it, but the grueling process of writing and traveling and photographing the book across the country took a physical and psychic toll on me. But by embedding myself for so many late nights and closing times at neon-soaked dive bars, taverns, restaurant bars, corner bars, and cocktail dens around the country, I experienced first-hand that there’s a lot more to “last call” than the final drink of the night.
My everlasting thanks to the team at Ten Speed Press, Aaron Wehner, David Black, Emily Timberlake, Ed Anderson, all of the bar owners and bartenders who shared their stories and helped bring this book to life, the many bookstores who continue to stock and support my books, and every reader who turns the page. I owe each of you a drink, and so much more.
“For Whom Last Call Tolls”
This story I wrote about the existential toll of writing and photographing Last Call first appeared on PUNCH on September 27, 2019.
Late on a sticky summer evening, the photographer Ed Anderson and I walked into yet another bar. Or at least we tried to, as the bouncer at Robert’s Western World, the famous Nashville honky-tonk, blocked our way, informing us that there was a “situation” inside.