Florida Cocktails

Carrie Honaker was traveling abroad, on board a barge in Southern France, when she unexpectedly received an email from Cider Mill Press.  

The publishing company was looking to recruit Honaker to author a compilation of cocktails made at bars and restaurants throughout the Sunshine State. That initial conversation would eventually lead to Honaker’s first book, Florida Cocktails, but she wasn’t initially convinced.   

“I was going to decline, but another writer on the barge with me convinced me it would be fun—after a few bottles of wine,” Honaker recalls. “I accepted the next morning.” 

An Emerald Coast native, Honaker works as a food, lifestyle, and travel writer for local and national publications including Emerald Coast Magazine, Travel + Leisure, Southern Living, Bon Appétit, Condé Nast Traveler, and others. Naturally, her work has granted a wealth of knowledge of Florida’s food and beverage industry.  

“I have a deep background in food, but I’ve always been interested in beverages and the stories around them,” she says.  

In Florida Cocktails, Honaker does more than catalog the state’s best beverages, where to find them, and how to make them. She guides readers on an exploration of Florida’s cocktail culture, unpacking the origins of unique spirits and signature drinks while also taking a closer look at the businesses and bartenders keeping the classics alive and bringing new and inventive takes to the table.  

“Bar people are the best people,” Honaker says. “They take care of each other, are deeply committed to their craft, and welcome everybody into their world daily.” 

Honaker takes readers on a tour of Florida’s cocktail scene, sampling recipes from the state’s top mixologists at favorite and well-known bars from the Panhandle to Miami. She spent two months traveling the state as part of her research.  

“I love spending time with bartenders, distillers, artisan spirit producers, cocktail historians, and people out there doing cool things in the drinks sphere,” she says. “I felt it was essential to visit the bars and interview the bartenders in person as much as possible. Some of the best stories came out of those in-person interactions.” 

At Cafe La Trova in Miami, she came to know the “professionalism and pageantry” of Cuban cantinero culture. In St. Augustine, homemade Chartreuse, a rare and herbaceous liqueur, and datil peppers brought unique flavors to inventive cocktails. And on Marco Island, she found the recipe she sought from the start of Florida Cocktails, the Miami Vice. 

“Every corner of the state I visited made me appreciate the hard work bartenders, bar owners, and cocktail historians do every day to keep disappearing recipes and techniques alive while also constantly innovating and providing great service,” she says.  

At home along the Emerald Coast, Honaker highlights popular hangouts, including Sister Hen Speakeasy in Pensacola, Chiringo in Grayton Beach, Daytrader Tiki in Seaside, The Citizen in Alys Beach, and Distillery 98 and North Beach Social in Santa Rosa Beach. 

Fun, funny, and original, Honaker writes for the backyard host looking to up their game from grill master to mixologist and for the couple who renovated their patio to become an outdoor kitchen equipped for pool parties that last all day and through dinner time.  

Florida Cocktails offers readers a true guide to becoming a home bartender while leaning into Florida culture. Honaker provides playlists, taps into historical inspiration, and recommends “Optional (not really)” aesthetic and vibe additions for your bar style—her own home bar serving some inspiration. 

“I have a grand outdoor bar complete with blow-up flamingos, a pirate flag, and a suite of stylish acrylic drinkware,” she says. “I still have the portable blender we used to bring to Jimmy Buffett concerts, and it still cranks out frozen drinks three decades later. I have a bar cart outside as well that can be wheeled around the pool when we entertain. I also keep a nice set of stainless-steel bar tools inside that I break out for special occasions.” 

Most of her home bartending, she says, gets put to practice when “riding out Mother Nature,” aka hurricanes and hot temperatures she describes as Florida’s “seventh circle of hell.”  

If you’re not sure where to start with your own home bar, fear not, Honaker has the answers in Florida Cocktails, listing out bar essentials from ingredients to utensils and glassware.  

Her best advice for those new to the home bar scene: “Make what you like to drink out, and have fun with it. Sometimes a cocktail will not turn out the way you imagine, but sometimes, those mistakes become delicious new drinks you will make on repeat.”  

Where to find it

Florida Cocktails is available for preorder until its release date on June 17. Preorders and purchases can be made online and in person through Amazon, Bookshop.org, Target, Walmart, and Barnes & Noble. For updates on book signing events at bars included in the book, follow author Carrie Honaker on Instagram, @writeonhonaker, and on her website, CarrieHonaker.com.