Inside: Never-Before-Heard Breakup Stories from Ariana Madix's New Book, "Single AF Cocktails"

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If any name was in the news this year...it was Ariana Madix. The bartender-turned-reality star lived damn near an entire lifetime in 2023 alone, with (what feels like literally) the entire world rallying around her after news broke in March that her longtime partner and Vanderpump Rules costar, Tom Sandoval, had been cheating on her with one of her good friends. Months of drama, aptly named Scandoval, ensued (the entire timeline is here, should you need it), and Ariana has undeniably come out stronger on the other side, with a Dancing With the Stars run (that's still not over!), several high-profile partnerships, and a juicy new cocktail book, Single AF Cocktails, out Tuesday, December 5.

Cosmo got an exclusive sneak peek at the book, which features dozens of juicy, often never-before-told stories about her breakup, each paired with a drink recipe she concocted as a way to channel her pain into creativity, and reclaim her strength as one hell of a mixologist. Trust us when we say she goes there, spilling secrets about the beginning of her relationship with her ex, her *true* thoughts on her friend-turned-boyfriend's-mistress, which people helped pick her back up after heartbreak, and so much more.

The book is split into five relationship-inspired sections—Honeymoon Phase, Betrayal, Devastation, Resilience, and Ad Astra—and each and every cocktail comes with insight into her life (and various relationships), so you know you're going to be getting plenty of tea alongside the booze.

To celebrate the upcoming launch, we're exclusively sharing three must-read new stories from Ariana, and the delish cocktail recipes that go along with them, ofc, below. One goes in-depth on a (passive! aggressive!) nickname her ex used to call her. Another explains an ugly scene her friend walked into post-news of the affair. And the last details the night she met her new man, and the hope he gave her for the future. So, yeah...you're going to want to dive in (and grab your cocktail shaker).

Dead Weight

FOR LEAVING THE WORST BEHIND
Serves 1

Right after the news of the affair broke, I went to Mexico for my friend’s wedding, still in shock from it all. That first night I had a cathartic conversation with some of my oldest friends, and when I got back to my hotel room, my Los Angeles neighbor texted me and asked if I could keep the music down at the house. I realized my ex was having a party while I was out of town. My friend went by the house the next day to check on my dog and cat, and found my ex passed out on the couch, still in his clothes.

In that moment, something finally shifted in me. I decided I would no longer let his behavior get me down. I started to think about everything in a different way, like maybe it was the perfect time to start shedding dead weight. In this Dark and Stormy-inspired highball, I top with bitters and swap the traditional dark rum for light as we emerge from the wreckage.

RECIPE:

• 2 oz. light rum

• ¾ oz. fresh lime juice

• ½ oz. simple syrup

• Ice cubes

• Ginger beer, to top

• Angostura bitters, to float

1. Shake the rum, lime juice, and syrup together in a shaker tin with ice.

2. Strain into a Collins glass over fresh ice cubes.

3. Top with the ginger beer.

4. Dash enough Angostura bitters over the drink so a thin line of bitters sits on top.

Information Booth

A SOPHISTICATED SHOW OF INTELLIGENCE
Serves 1

During our relationship, he used to refer to me as an “information booth” because I liked keeping up with the news and what was going on with the world and our friends. He was the opposite and just not the most aware person, so he would come to me for news and info. I always thought the nickname was a compliment, but in the aftermath of our breakup he has brought it up in interviews as an example of how I intentionally made him feel dumb. In retrospect, it feels like he was waiting to use it against me.

No woman should dumb herself down for anyone. Own your intelligence and power. Toast to yourself with this drink, a heavy pour of a badass spirit of your choice—for me, that’s going to be a really nice bottle of Japanese whisky.

RECIPE:

• 2 oz. of your favorite, most luxurious spirit

• Ice cube

• Citrus peel, to garnish (optional)

1. Pour your favorite spirit into the most beautiful glass you own.

2. Add a large ice cube.

3. If you’re feeling extra fancy, you could add a citrus peel garnish for a pop of color (I like orange peel paired with whisky.)

Oaxacan Flame

AN OLD FASHIONED FOR NEW BEGINNINGS
Serves 1

A few weeks after I found out about the affair, I traveled to Oaxaca, Mexico, for a friend’s wedding, and that is when the first mental shift away from all the horrible feelings began. I was there with a very old friend group—some of them have known me for 20 years, when I was fresh out of college. The conversations we had really helped me connect back to that person I used to be, before any of this stuff happened. They knew the true me.

While I was there, I met a really lovely, incredible man. We stayed up the entire night after the wedding just getting to know each other, talking about our families, dreams, and goals. It felt like divine intervention, the way he appeared during one of my darkest moments. He respected my request that nothing would happen beyond talking that night. He was excited to just spend more time together, getting to know the real me. That gave me the biggest feeling of hope for my future. This is not the end; it’s just the beginning.

RECIPE:

• 2 oz. mezcal

• ½ oz. Nixta Licor de Elote corn liqueur

• ¼ oz. agave nectar

• 1 dash chocolate bitters

• Ice cubes, including 1 large ice cube for serving

• Orange peel, to garnish

1. Combine the mezcal, liqueur, agave nectar, and bitters in a mixing glass with ice.

2. Stir to chill.

3. Strain into a rocks glass over 1 large ice cube.

4. To garnish, flame the orange peel over the drink (see Note). Garnish with the peel.

Note: Flex your bartending skills by flaming an orange peel. Here’s how you do it: Using an abundance of caution, hold the peel about an inch above the cocktail, with the skin side facing the drink. Light a match and hold it underneath the skin. Quickly and forcefully, squeeze the peel to press the oils into the flame.

Reprinted with permission from Single AF Cocktails: Drinks for Bad B*tches Only by Ariana Madix, copyright © 2023. Photographs copyright © 2023 by Kelly Puleio. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

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