My enthusiasm for cocktails began when, sat in a Brighton restaurant one evening, my eye fell on a cocktail menu that boasted customers could have a martini made however they wanted...dry, perfect, sweet, dirty, straight up, on the rocks, twist, olive, shaken, stirred...and I realised I had no idea what any of this meant and I couldn't tolerate spending any more time on this earth with such an incomplete understanding of the noble art of cocktails. I've not looked back since.