Recipes from some of these storied properties will inspire enthusiasts to re-create timeless cocktails at home. Plus, anecdotes supplied by barkeeps and hotel and design personalities will enliven the recipes and reveal why so many hotel bars have endured through the years or have made an impact on the modern world.

The clandestine speakeasy has been glorified countless times for its mix of sex appeal and transporting décor but the hotel bar should also be recognised for its sophistication, grandeur, or showmanship.

Behind the Bar does exactly that but also transcends the cocktail crowd niche. It is just as much a book for the traveller with a strong appreciation for design as well as the fantasy-filled armchair traveller charmed by illustrations and nuggets of history.