Members' Club

About The Museum of
the American Cocktail

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The Museum of the American Cocktail, through its seminars, permanent exhibits, publications, and outreach, actively involves professionals, scholars, and visitors in the American Cocktail's history and continuing lore. Exhibits, collections, and programs attuned to the rapidly changing, multicultural population will be ever-evolving.

Museum Collections & Exhibitions

The Museum of the American Cocktail™ leads visitors through the fascinating two hundred year history of the American Cocktail. With exhibits both in Las Vegas and New York, The Museum of the American Cocktail™ contains a mind-boggling collection of rare spirits, books, Prohibition-era literature and music, vintage cocktail shakers, glassware, tools, gadgets and all manner of cocktail memorabilia and photographs from the outstanding collections of our founders and patrons. Larger-than-life reproductions enliven the presentation and beckon visitors into the subject.

The museum also features multimedia presentations that bring cocktail history to life with film clips, interactive displays, sounds, and songs.

Research Projects and Publications

Specifics of the cocktail's rich history and lore are being explored in depth on an ongoing basis by the museum's founders, guest curators, outside researchers, writers, and historians. The results of this research see publication on a regular basis in Museum publications such as "Mixologist: The Journal of The Museum of the American Cocktail," exhibition catalogues, and in original works written by the world's top cocktail authorities.

A library of rare and out-of-print literature as well as modern titles on the subjects of cocktails, spirits, and drinking in both paper and digital form, will be made available for writers and researchers by subscription on the Museum's website.


The Museum's Mission & Goals

The Museum of the American Cocktail is a nonprofit organization which seeks to celebrate a true American cultural icon, the American Cocktail. Having roots in New Orleans, the American cocktail has influenced music, theater, art, film, and politics around the world during its two-century-old history. Founded by Dale DeGroff, and a host of the world's most passionate cocktail authorities and historians, the Museum of the American Cocktail seeks to elevate both professional and consumer knowledge of mixology through exhibits, classes and tasting sessions, as well as publications and multimedia presentations. Our charter is:

  • To maintain a non-profit museum and tourist attraction that celebrates and preserves a rich aspect of American culture; the American cocktail, in an environment reminiscent of the great cocktail palaces that flourished toward the end of the nineteenth century.


  • To establish a permanent exhibition space that will discover, collect, and preserve original and source materials illustrative of the American Cocktail and its influence on the world's beverage industry.


  • To undertake an education program to promote and stimulate public interest in the appreciation of American Cocktail, while sampling artisanal classic cocktails at participating restaurants and bars.


  • To educate both professionals and the public in the fine art of crafting the cocktail through a series of mixology seminars conducted by the world's foremost authorities on cocktail history and American cocktails.


  • To disseminate knowledge about the Cocktail and mixology through the preparation, editing, and publication of historical materials descriptive and illustrative of these areas, especially through an annual journal, newsletter, annotated reproductions of classic cocktail books, and original works written by the world's authorities on the subject, many of whom are the museum's founders.


  • To acquire and offer for research purposes a library of literature on the subjects of cocktails, spirits, and drinking in both paper and digital form, housed in the museum's permanent location.


  • To reach out to the community through activities and events which will enlighten the public about the cocktail's integral place in American history.


  • To broaden career opportunities for young people who are interested in careers in the bar service or spirits industry and encourage more participation from women and members of under-represented groups in the mixology field.

The Museum Seminar Program

The Museum of the American Cocktail™ will also serve as an association of the nation's most accomplished mixologists, who will come to the museum to share their knowledge and talent to aspiring professionals and cocktail aficionados. An essential component in this role are The Museum of the American Cocktail's Mixology Seminars.

Mixology Seminars will offer educational bar and cocktail oriented presentations about cocktail history, food pairings, mixing techniques, trends and concepts conducted by the foremost authorities on cocktails and beverage preparation. This is a valuable opportunity to share with them their individual styles, their cocktails, and advice, as well as an enhanced understanding of how current trends developed. These seminars benefit neophytes and professionals alike, while cementing the museum's reputation as a forum for the continued development of the art of mixology on a foundation of past wisdom.

You can view a list of our currently scheduled Mixology Seminars on our Events & Seminars page.


The Museum Founders

The Founders of The Museum of the American Cocktail are also its greatest asset. They contribute their expertise as well as artifacts from their outstanding and varied research and collections. Given their diverse talents, the Founders have created an environment in which ongoing research, professional and consumer mixology education keep the Museum fresh, alive, and dynamic.


 The Founders

(Left to right): Robert Hess, Ted Haigh, Anistatia Miller, Chris McMillian, Laura McMillian, Jill DeGroff, Dale DeGroff, Jared Brown, and Phil Greene.

  • Get to know our Founders, Board of Directors, and Distinguished Board of Advisors.

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