New Drink Menu at Heaven's Dog in San Francisco

Trevor Easter is the new bar manager at Heaven's Dog. The menu there has traditionally been drinks from Charles H. Baker's The Gentlemen's Companion, aka Around the World with Jigger, Beaker and Glass. I wrote about that for the San Francisco Chronicle a few years back.

 

 

Easter has changed the menu, but tried to keep it in line with its previous theme. He says, "Some of the drinks on there are cocktails that I've come up with but my goal was to do two things:  The most important thing was I wanted the transition of me taking over the bar program the be seamless and almost unnoticeable, and also for the modern cocktails to seem old in the name and ingredients.  I used to fly up here from San Diego to get drinks from Erik Adkins at Heavens Dog and I really wanted to make sure I didn't change that feeling you get when you get a cocktail here... There is a sense of tasting history that I love."

Below is not only the menu, but more information from Easter - the drink background stories. 

Hot Buttered Rhum
Barbancourt 8yr Rhum, Fresh Pressed Spiced Apple Cider, Brown Sugar Butter, Cinnamon

Elks Own
Quinta De La Rosa Porto, Rittenhouse Rye, Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice, Sugar, Egg Whites 

Daisy De Martinique
Neisson Rhum Agricole Blanc, Fresh Lime Juice, Yellow Chartreuse, Mint 

 Bermuda Swizzle
The Swizzle Inn, Bermuda” Swizzle Inn, Swagger out”
Goslings Black Seal Rum, Wray & Nephew White Rum, Lime juice, Pineapple juice, Velvet Falernum, Angostura 

None But the Brave
Delord Armagnac, Fresh Lemon Juice, Allspice Dram, Ginger 

Oaxacan Firing Squad
Mezcal Vida, Tequila, Fresh Lime Juice, Small Hands Grenadine, Angostura Bitters 

Chantilly Lace
Plymouth Gin, Fresh Lime Juice, Small Hands Pineapple Gum, Apricot Brandy, Peychauds Bitters, Mint

 Wall Street
Old Bardstown Bourbon, Della Christina Nocino Liqueur, Punt e Mes, Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur, Winter Bitters

 Yankee Clipper
Beefeater Gin, Carpano Antica, Luxardo Maraschino, Bitter Truth Orange Bitters, Duplais Absinthe Verte 

Some Menu Notes:

Elks Own: This Chicago Fizz variation that won St. Paul bartender Peter Sindar the 1901 National Police Gazette bartender's medal is one of my all time favorites. For a little nod to Sam Ross and Milk and Honey we are shaking this drink with one large ice cube which is essential for drinks like this, it takes the texture to new heights.

Daisy De Martinique: This one is a slight twist on a drink straight out the Charles H. Baker playbook..  The Daisy De Santiago is as Charles H. Baker Jr. would refer "along with immortal Daiquiri, this is the best Bacardi drink on record".  We like to think if he would have ever encountered our creation he would have felt the same about it..  

Bermuda Swizzle: This being the national drink of Bermuda I learned two key things while doing research on it... 

1. Every single bar in Bermuda Claims they make the original and best one on the island  

2. Every single bar Makes the drink completely different

I took what I saw to be the most consistent ingredients and did one of my favorite bartender moves and snuck a little Wray and Nephew in there.  With the rich history of Chinese restaurants making tiki cocktails this one just made sense.  It's also being served in a tiki mug which is becoming a Charles Phan restaurant signature.  p.s. On the front of the Swizzle Inn in Barbados it has their incredible catch phrase "Swizzle Inn, Swagger Out."

None But The Brave: I've always loved Patrick Gavin Duffy's book The Official Mixers Manual not just for the cocktails but his ridiculous bar rules...  In the first print of this book one of the ingredients in this cocktail was Jamaica Ginger, in the second printing it for some reason changed to Jamaican Rum which are two very different things..  According to Darcy O'neil Jamaica ginger was a ginger liqueur that was banned during prohibition and ultimately banned for good after the makers uses a chemical that cause paralysis in place of the alcohol..  This poor drink has been overlooked for years because of the typo in the second edition that makes for a confused cocktail... We hope to change everyone's opinion about it.

Oaxacan Firing Squad: This is simply a Mexican Firing Squad with Mezcal..  No bells Whistles just a smoky Tequila Ricky with Grenadine

Chantilly Lace: There are two drinks from Jigger, Beaker, and Glass that always catch my eye.  Those two are the Pendennis Club and the Hotel Nacional, both very similar one Rum one Gin..  I wanted to take the two and push them together so I did..  The name sounded old enough to had been in his book and when I was 5 I modeled at a mall opening in San Diego to the song Chantilly Lace by The Big Bopper and I can still sing every word... By the way it's all on video

Wall St.: You may remember this drink from the menu at Rickhouse but this was my winter Brooklyn variation..

The Yankee Clipper: This is a variation on the Turf cocktail from CHB Jigger, Beaker, and Glass...  The only substitute is the sweet for the dry vermouth.  There is an incredible conversation about the turf cocktail from 2006 on egullet, check it out