Robert Simonson is the author of six previous books about cocktails and cocktail history, including The Old-Fashioned (2014), which kicked off an ongoing cottage industry of single-drink cocktail books; A Proper Drink (2016), the first-and so far only-history of the current cocktail renaissance; 3-Ingredient Cocktails (2017); The Martini Cocktail (2019); Mezcal & Tequila Cocktails (2021); and Modern Classic Cocktails (2022). Both 3-Ingredient Cocktails and The Martini Cocktail were nominated for James Beard Awards; Mezcal & Tequila Cocktails won a 2022 IACP Award; and The Martini Cocktail won a 2020 Spirited Award.

Simonson is also the recipient of a 2019 Spirited Award for best cocktail and spirits writer and a 2021 IACP award for narrative beverage writing. He writes about cocktails, food, and travel for the New York Times, where he has been a contributor since 2000. He is a primary contributor to The New York Times Essential Book of Cocktails. Simonson is the co-author, with Martin Doudoroff, of two apps, "Modern Classics of the Cocktail Renaissance" and "The Martini Cocktail." He is also the author of the prominent Substack newsletter "The Mix with Robert Simonson." He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Mary Kate, and their children, Asher and Richard.