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Random Notes on LA Cocktails from Bartenders who Work There

During Hawaii Cocktail Week, I attended a seminar called LA Confidential, held at Thirtyninehotel. Panelists were Julian Cox, Paul Sanguinetti & Cherish Mumme, all of Los Angeles.

The talk was meant to illuminate trends and techniques popular in Los Angeles today. Here are a few notes I took.

• LA has more molecular cocktail programs - and more people accepting of them- than other cities. Examples include The Bazaar by Jose Andres and Ink by Michael Voltaggio. 
• A good place to buy molecular mixology/gastronomy supplies is Modernist Pantry.
• Using goofy names for cocktails makes them less intimidating to guests. 
• Julian Cox measured the Brix level of the most popular cocktails, and found most of them to be around 14-15 Brix, so the perception of the more popular girlie drinks as being sweeter isn't quite true.
• Cox uses sous vide for infusions with fruit and/or herbs. He says to set it on 120 degrees Fahrenheit, and infuse it for four hours or so, making sure that it doesn't go above the boiling point of alcohol at 173F.
•  For tea infusions, blanche the tea first to eliminate harsh tannins. 
• In LA, orgeat is the top trendy sweetener.

 

(random drink pic that has nothing to do with LA)

 

Cocktail Menu: The Churchill in Los Angeles

Mia Sarazen has taken over the cocktail program at The Churchill in Los Angeles. Her introductory menu launched last week.

“The Grand Alliance” : Plymouth Gin, Carpano, Campari, Maraschino
“Hyde Park Fizz" : Nolet's gin, Bonal Quina, honey, lime, cucumber, basil, soda
“Thirsty in LA” : Correlejo Reposado, Aperol, Ciociaro Amaro, mezcal rinse
“The Iron Mule” : Russian Standard, ginger, lime, soda, bitters
“Norman’s Cable Car” : Sailor Jerry Rum, housemade curacao, lemon, cinnamon&sugar rim
“The Churchill Old Fashioned” : Old Fitzgerald bourbon, house bitters, sugar
“The Statesman" : Famous Grouse, apricot, lemon, baked apple bitters, sparkling
“Baby’s First Bourbon” : Bulleit Bourbon, orgeat, lemon, dashes house bitters
“The Bulldog" : Milagro blanco, passion, pineapple, lime, jalepeno
“Rye 2 Ways” : Bulleit Rye, dry vermouth, grenadine, lemon, up. Or add Allagash White for Fizzy & Tall.
“The Grapes of Wrath” : Kappa Pisco, lime, pineapple, whites, bitters, cinnamon
“Amelia” : Kettle One, lemon, St.Germain,violet, blackberries

Cocktail Menu: Summer Drinks at 1886 in Los Angeles

Though I haven't had the pleasure of drinking there myself, I love seeing each season's cocktail menu at 1886 at The Raymond in Los Angeles. 

I see: bottled cocktails, a rum-gin shrub drink, genever-basil collins, Battavia Arrack. 

See below for the menu.

Best Business Bars in Entrepreneur Magazine

I contributed a few write-ups to Entrepreneur Magazine's annual Best Business Bars story. It is the July issue, hitting newsstands now.

I wrote about Azucar Lounge in San Francisco, Drago Centro in Los Angeles, and ROOF at TheWit in Chicago. 

Pick it up at the newsstand or read it online here.

 

Cocktail Menu: Spring Drinks at 1886 in Los Angeles

I love the way this cocktail menu is written. It shows how the program is a collaborative effort by naming the bartender who has created each cocktail, and it names all the ingredients while describing the flavor of the drink in just a sentence. 

And the flight of Caprice cocktails made fresh, aged 4 months, and one year? Brilliant. Well done, Marcos Tello and team. 

1886 is the bar at The Raymond restaurant in Pasadena. 

Photo by acuna-hansen

1886
Spring Cocktails
2012

Regional

MacArthur Park Swizzle
In honor of Brian Miller’s Tiki Night at Lani Kai in NYC, Marcos Tello created this refreshing swizzle using a blend of XO and Agricole Rum, fresh lime juice and a secret Tiki mix topped with Allspice Dram and Nutmeg.

Pimms #5 – Family Pimm’s Recipe
Our next offering in our mission to create all 8 original Pimm’s Cocktails is this homemade recipe that uses herbal liquors and a strong backbone of Rye topped with refreshing Bitter Lemon Fever Tree Tonic.

20,000 Leagues
Peter Lloyd Jones’ first cocktail for 1886 is inspired by a request from the Pasadena Historical Society to honor the passengers from Pasadena who perished on the Titanic 100 yrs ago. Using homemade Organic Peach infused Rye, mint and a Yellow Chartreuse candy garnish made by our Pastry Chef, Jeff Haines, Pete’s refreshing Julep was based on a dessert served on that fateful voyage.

Shaken

Cinablossom
An easy drinking refresher, Lacey Murillo combines Gin, lemon, homemade Cinnamon-Bark Syrup, and fire for a table-side garnish of freshly toasted Cinnamon.

Wild Orchid
Continuing his obsession with Beer cocktails and 80’s movies, Brady Weise elevates both genres with this delicate cocktail. Torontel Pisco, Vergano Bianco Vermouth, Grand Marnier and Hefeweissen are thrown and served up, with a Wild Orchid garnish.
Bittersweet Farewell
Saying goodbye to Danny Cymbal was hard for all of us. To send him off right, Marcos Tello creates a bittersweet farewell that could be sipped all day long. London Dry Gin, homemade Passion fruit Syrup, fresh lemon juice and Campari, with a decadent flaming garnish… just like Danny.

Stirred

Dowager Cocktail
A dignified cocktail for any Dowager. Head Bartender, Garrett Mckechnie stirs up Cognac, Calvados, French Vermouth, Apricot Liquor and Wormwood Bitters. Once again…thanks Aaron!

Vintage Caprice Flight
Our barrel-aged Vintage Caprice from Danny Cymbal has culminated into a truly amazing cocktail experience. Taste the difference a year makes with a flight including a taste of the Caprice, a la minute… 4 months and at 12 months.

Barrel Roll
Taking inspiration from the classic Tailspin Cocktail, “Master Mixtress” Lacey Murillo uses Bols Barrel-Aged Genever, Carpano Antica, Green Chartruese, …and with the help of our favorite Pastry chef Jeff Haines, garnishes it with a candied Campari Chip.

Seasonal

El Galgo
No relation to the American Greyhound, the Spanish Galgo (Greyhound), by Garrett Mckechnie combines a little smoke and spice with Serrano Chile infused Chichicapa, Lacey’s homemade Agave Liquor and White Grapefruit juice.

Rum Whistle (Alcohol-based Bottled Soda)
Conceived by Greg Gertmenian, and brought to life by both Gertmentian and resident Pasty Chef, Jeff Haines. The two created freshly prepared green apple & celery soda pop (carbonated in-house) with spiked, aged, white rum, and served in 1886’s own bottle just like a 7-up! Available while supplies last.

Water of Life
Derived from the Latin Aqua Vitae “Water of Life”, Aquavit is a Norwegian herbal spirit made from potatoes, Carroway Seeds and other herbs. This refreshing Aquavit Collins style cocktail from Garrett Mckechnie, mixes homemade Chamomile Syrup, a light touch of Nolet’s Gin, and is topped off with tonic and a fresh sprig of Chamomile.

1886 Bar at The Raymond
1250 South Fair Oaks Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91105 (At Columbia)
T: 626.441.3136
www.theraymond.com

 

Cocktail Menu: Winter Drinks at 1886 in Los Angeles

There are so many great-looking winter cocktail menus coming out it's hard to keep up. 1886 is the bar at The Raymond restaurant in Pasadena has some wild and delicious concoctions for winter.

(Image courtesy of 1886)

I see: edible cigarette, house-made mulled vermouth, a beer flip, and pistachio orgeat. Yums.  

The menu is below

A Few Bars in Los Angeles

This week I was in LA for two days and hit some bars with like-minded boozers. Here's a recap. 

I started off at Seven Grand for a whisky event sponsored by the LA Times. There I was in charge of mingling and answering questions: tough work.

After a few glasses of scotch we headed to Bar/Kitchen in the O Hotel. That's a fairly casual restaurant with a small but excellent cocktail list. I had some risotto and a Chapter & Verse, made with rye whiskey, amontillado sherry, amaro, elderflower, and bénédictine. So good. 

Then it was off to The Varnish for a final drink or two. As it was Repeal Day they greeted us all with champage. Then we had some sort of dealer's choice cocktail and a shot of something that I don't remember. The Varnish is always good times.

The next day, we started off at Providence, a 2-star Michelin restaurant with Zahra Bates at the helm of the bar. I've written about Bates' drinks  before but this was my first time trying them. There were five or six of us there at the bar and we tried each others' drinks and they were all pretty spectacular.

I would say her style is 'sophisticated accessible,' drinks that aren't all bitter-smoky-bartenders'-drinks yet they have so much depth that any bartender would be pleased to try them. 

I really loved her Ellis Island cocktail, made with ZU bison grass vodka, Cocchi Americano, Gruner Vetliner wine, and celery bitters. I also loved that she gave us a sip of Tarragona Chartreuse! 

After that, we drove to Picca, a new Peruvian restaurant where the cocktails were developed by Julian Cox. There are nine cocktails on the menu, most of them made with pisco. Everything I tried was perfectly executed and the drinks contain interesting elements like rocoto infused mezcal, cucumber foam, and ascorbic acid. 

Picca is located upstairs from Sotto, but unfortunately that place was closed. Julian Cox also did the drinks there. Next time!

Next up was La Descarga, a Cuban-speakeasy themed bar. We were there on a slow night, which I hear is a good thing because on weekend nights it is supposedly packed. They have live Cuban music and a separate bar for cigar smoking. This one has been open for a while but it was my first visit. 

I also ended this night back at The Varnish for a final drink before heading home to the Los Angeles Athletic Club. I wasn't going for a workout, but to sleep. The LAAC houses a mutli-floor gym, a 77-room hotel, a few restaurants, and a bar in their ten-story building. It's a pretty swank place. Definitely consider it for your next trip to Downtown LA. 

Anyway, I am still short several bars to check out in LA.. Bars I haven't been to yet include:

• Black Market Liquor Bar
• Neat
• Next Door Lounge
• Oldfield's Liquor Room
• Eveleigh
• Tasting Kitchen 
• Comme Ca
• Copa d'Oro

Darn, that list is too long. I shall return! 

Cool Factor: Cocktail Coolers in the LA Times Magazine

For my latest feature in the LA Times Magazine, I asked bartenders from warm-weather cities to share their recipes for cool cocktails.

The bartenders are Larry Rice from Louisville, Bobby Heugel from Houston, Erik Simpkins from Atlanta, Todd Thrasher from Alexandria, Anthony Schmidt from San Diego, Rhiannon Enlil from New Orleans, and Michael Shearin from Los Angeles.

(Photography by Bartholomew Cooke for LA Times Magazine)

Cool Factor
The Dog Days Just Howl for Long, Tall, Cold Libations
By Camper English 

Different times of the day, changing atmospheric conditions and succeeding meal courses all call for a specific type of cocktail. But it’s the sweltering days and lasting sunlight of August that compel us to seek coolers replete with ice. We asked some of the America’s best bartenders based in warmer climes for a drink to chill us out, and their picks make use of a variety of methods and flavors to accomplish this task, from shaved ice and coconut milk to cucumbers and mint—even a splash of light beer. Cheers!

Go here for the recipes!

(Photography by Bartholomew Cooke for LA Times Magazine)