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Twelve More New Cocktail Bars Opening in 2013

In my recent story for Details.com, I listed a bunch of new bars opening in 2013. 

But there were a lot more I couldn't include for one reason or another. So here are more bars we're looking forward to this year:

• The Regent Cocktail Club in South Beach, Miami  - With John Lermayer heading up the cocktail program.
• The Alder by Wylie Dufresne in New York - Some info here.
• South on Main in Little Rock, Arkansas - Chef Matt Bell and mixlogist Dave Burnette, in partnership with the Oxford American.
• Handle Bar in Berkeley - from the owner of ACME bar.
• Milk & Honey in New York - relocated, bigger, no reservations required
• Hi Lo in San Francisco - barbecue restaurant with session beers and big, refreshing cocktails by locavore mixologist Scott Beattie and Left Coast Libations co-author Michael Lazar.
• Rogue & Canon in New York - an "approachable bar and kitchen" serving a truncated menu representing the modern American “canon” and the “rogue” stylings of mixologist Johnny Swet.
• Tavern Road in Boston -  Mixologist Ryan McGrale, formerly of No. 9 Park and Boston’s New York's Flatiron Lounge, will team up with Chef Louis DiBiccari to open Tavern Road in the Fort Point neighborhood in early 2013. The bar program will place a heavy emphasis on craft cocktails that utilize small batch spirits and pay homage to the classics.
• Unnamed in Dallas - by Michael Martensen. More info here.
• Planter's House in St. Louis - Ted Kilgore says "Planter's House will also have a more intimate handcrafted cocktail bar within the space called the Bullock Room, where I can geek out on cocktails."
• Hinoki & the Bird in Los Angeles - with cocktails by Sam Ross of Attaboy
• Unnamed in Austin - A forthcoming bar from Chris Bostick, Eric Alperin, Cedd Moses, and Sasha Petraske. Late spring/early summer opening. More info here.

 

Regent Cocktail Club,taken from the website

 

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Fernet Is Hot: Warm Winter Cocktails with Fernet Branca

Fernet is finding its way into hot cocktails this year. Here are three I've noticed in the last couple of months.

Rich Coffee at Rich Table, San Francisco

Fernet, Creme de Cacao, Sightglass Coffee, Brown Sugar, Pistachio Cream, Gold Dust

Strato at Lounge at Atera, New York

Coffee, cream and one and a half ounces of the bitter Italian amaro Fernet Branca.

Robert Simonson of the New York Times says, "It’s insanely delicious. But, also, possibly, just plain insane." 

 

Miziers Demise at The Fifth Floor, San Francisco

Fernet Branca, Strauss Milk, Dark Chocolate, Crème de Menthe, peppermint marshmallow

This is on the just-launched winter cocktail menu. 

The Cocktails of Lolinda from Best to Worst

Chris Lane, formerly of Heaven's Dog and Wo Hing General Store, took over the bar manager position at Lolinda in San Francisco in December. (The original menu was done by Lane Ford.) Lolinda is a large, modern steakhouse owned by the same folks who brought us Beretta, Starbelly, and Delarosa. 

The cocktail menu is split between eight original cocktails (six of them Lane's) and nine classics including the Negroni and Americano. This is Lane's first full menu. 

Lane says his directive with the menu was to make the drinks as boldly flavored, modern versions of steakhouse cocktails. Most of them are quite spirit-forward, and on average the drinks are dark brown or yellow in color.

I found them to be food-friendly yet not food-dependent. You can definitely just have a drink and grab a snack, like the delicious smoked artichoke. 

Modern Cocktails of Lolinda, From Best to Worst

1. Carpenter’s Hand  brandy, amontillado sherry, Drambuie, orange peel, served on the rock.

This drink owes its magnificence to the choice of brandy - Marie Duffau Armagnac. It's a little funky and wild, with so much character it carries through over the other ingredients. The chocolate notes of the sherry seem to grow in intensity as the drink slowly melts on the big ice cube. This drink hits it out of the park.

 

2. Devil’s Backbone  rye, islay scotch, Averna amaro, Gran Classico, two bitters, orange peel, served on the stem.

Robust, delicious, surprisingly exciting, and smoky, this cocktail tastes like the cigarette after sex, and also the sex. It should definitely be your last drink of the evening, as it's rich enough to accompany or replace dessert. 

3. Flor de Jerez  amontillado sherry, jamaican rum, lemon, apricot, bitters,

served on the stem.  by joaquin simo

One of just two drinks on the menu not designed by Lane, the Flor De Jerez is credited to Joaquin Simo (Death & Co., Pouring Ribbons). The drink is juicy and citrusy and delicious and fairly low in alcohol and a joy to sip. There are more novice-friendly cocktails on the menu, but I'd recommend this to your cocktail-shy friends. 

4. Cloak and Dagger   reposado tequila, Cynar, apricot, bitters, orange peel, served on the stem.

Peppery tequila is the dominant flavor note here, with a dry bitter finish. This is a tequila cocktail that will pair well with food. 

5. The Lone Palm  house spiced rum, lime, grapefruit, honey, bitters, served on the stem.

One of the two crowd-pleasers on the menu, the Lone Palm has that lime-grapefruit-honey flavor combination (often seen at Heaven's Dog) with which it's hard to go wrong. 

6. Rock n’ Rolla  bourbon, apple, lemon, maple, allspice, bitters, nutmeg,

served on the rock.

The other crowd pleaser and the top-selling drink by far at Lolina. It's all about apple cinnamon with maple in this one. Even your grandmother would like it.

7. Bergen St.  aquavit, Plymouth gin, lime, vanilla, Galliano, absinthe, served on the stem.

This cocktail was created by Lane Ford and rolls over from the previous menu. Despite all the ingredients it screams Gimlet in flavor profile. The aquavit, absinthe, and Galliano all dance around the anise flavor note.

8.  Oaxacan Cross  mezcal, ruby port, lime, pineapple, ginger, maraschino, orange peel, served long.

The pineapple juice was a little vegetal tasting on the day of my visit and maybe that's the reason, but overall I just couldn't get into this mezcal cocktail. But heck, one out of eight ain't bad!

The Carpenter's Hand by Chris Lane at Lolina in San Francisco

 

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Cocktail Menu: Trick Dog in San Francisco

The much-delayed and much-anticipated Trick Dog has opened in San Francisco. You've heard about it by now, unless you've been living under a rock without a wifi hotspot. But so far they hadn't released the menu. Here it is.

And if you haven't seen a million pictures of the bar already, here are a few. Click on the thumbnails on top to see the others full size.

 

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I visited the bar for the first time Monday but only had one cocktail, which is unlike me. I look forward to going back and drinking my way through the rest of the menu. 

Reading About Drinking in San Francisco on February 5

I'm one of several writers reading about drinking at Drink Think, a series of this sort of thing usually based in New York. 

The event will take place at Cantina on February 5, 2103. More info is here.

I'm thinking about updating a beautiful "poem" I wrote called "Who Do I Have to F-- (To Get a Drink in This Bar)?" I last read this masterwork aloud ten years ago and someone wrote about it in the newspaper. You can read about that here.

So yeah, save the date. 

Cocktail Menu: Hi Lo in San Francisco by Scott Beattie and Michael Lazar

From the owners of Hog & Rocks comes the San Francisco BBQ restaurant Hi Lo, where the drinks are also conceived and executed by Scott Beattie and Michael Lazar. 

Lazar says, “The operative concept for the whole program is to provision large refreshing beverages that complement the flavors of the food (i.e. are not competing for attention with it). Portions will be generous and served in an unpretentious manner. And I think it's important to make it clear HiLo is not a bar with food, it's a restaurant with great beverages. We'll also be providing a selection of lighter style ales and lagers. Think session beers from both local and international breweries. Over time we foresee some additions to the program: bottled cocktails (still and possibly sparking) as well as punches.” 

Here is the initial menu. Hi Lo is scheduled to open in late January. 

Adult Refreshments ($10)

Bajan Rum Punch
Rum, Housemade Falernum syrup, Lime

HiLo Buck
Bourbon, Lime, Ginger Beer, Bitters

Savory Seasonal Collins
Gin, Lemon, Pickling liquid, Tarragon, Soda

Smolderin' Mary
Vodka, Heirloom Tomato Cocktail, Smoked Pepper, Horseradish, Mustard, Balsamic Vinegar, Lemon, served w/ a Kale and Beet Salt Rim and House Pickle Garnish

Paloma
Tequila, Grapefruit, Lime, Agave Nectar, Soda
('19th Street Style': add float of mezcal, $1 extra)

Micheleda
Heirloom Tomato Cocktail, Lime, Pilsner Beer, Chipotle Salt Rim

Radler
Lager beer and Lemonade

 

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A Semi-Molecular Americano at Capo's in San Francisco

I went to Capo's in San Francisco's North Beach to try out the cocktails. The initial cocktail menu was quite a bit longer, but they edited it to be shorter and more whiskey-centric. 

There are currently just five cocktails on the menu: The Chicago Cocktail, the Silencer (Americano variation), Suicide (with white rye, creme de violette, maraschino liqueur), Wise Guy (rye, orange marmalade, lemon, oregano,) and a barrel-aged Vieux Carre' variation called the Made Man with bourbon, unaged brandy, sweet vermouth, and Benedictine. 

One wouldn't go so far as to say The Silencer is a molecular cocktail, but it does have some abstract features you don't see too often in San Francisco. The drink is (mostly?) Campari and Soda, but bar manager Elmer Mejicanos makes it more like an Americano by adding Carpano Antica vermouth ice cubes. If I remember correctly, the vermouth ice cubes were made with one part vermouth to four parts water. 

The drink was garnished with "Brandy Crystals." This is brandy dehydrated overnight in an oven with added sugar and corn starch (as a filler). I couldn't taste the corn starch at all, so it looks like Mejicanos has found a way to stretch dehydrated liqueur a bit farther than usual. 

Of the three drinks I tried, I enjoyed The Silencer the most. 

For more information on dehydrating liqueurs and other alcohol, check out the Solid Liquids Project here on Alcademics.

 

Cocktail Menu: Winter Drinks at AQ in San Francisco

AQ has launched their winter cocktail menu. I see: infused vermouth, redwood tincture, Fool's Wager.

Looks goood. Menu below. 

Aperitifs

TEN DOLLARS

CHURCHILL’S BANE
winter gin botanical infused vermouth
juniper tincture, lemon twist

PISCO TI PUNCH
pisco, lime, rose, sugar

Seasonal Classics

TWELVE DOLLARS

OLD FASHIONED
eagle rare bourbon, (winter bitters)
sugar, twist of lemon

MANHATTAN
(citrus infused bourbon)
sweet vermouth, angostura bitters

SAZERAC
(cacao nib infused rye)
sugar, peychaud’s bitters
(green chartreuse)

RED *WOOD* HOOK
« courtesy Enzo Errico »
rye whiskey, punt e mes
(redwood tincture)
maraschino cherry liqueur

OVERPROOF GIN MARTINI
choice of a navy strength gin:
leopolds • north shore • royal dock
dry vermouth, orange bitters
twist of lemon

Originals

THIRTEEN DOLLARS

FOOL’S WAGER
gin, sweet vermouth, campari
gran classico, peach bitters
ardbeg 10yr scotch

BISON ROSE
zubrowka bison grass vodka
cocchi americano
meyer lemon rosemary shrub

NEW AMSTERDAM VARIANT #3
bols genever gin, grapefruit
dry curacao, raisin sugar

CHRISTMAS ISLAND
white rum, kiwi, champagne
sweet woodruff tincture

SOUTH FOR WINTER
del maguey mezcal, lime
creme de cassis, absinthe

Digestifs

TEN DOLLARS

CHARTREUSE & HOT CHOCOLATE
house made hot chocolate
with marshmallows

AQ MILK PUNCH
milk, brandy, amaro
sugar and spice