| Food - Raising the Bar |
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| Written by Catherine Rabb | |
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What I’m saying is, hey, it’s a great time to go out for a drink. All across the country there is a sense of excitement brewing among bartenders and their happy guests about the revolutionary innovations behind the bar. I can still remember the elegant martinis and manhattans my parents served at dinner parties in the 60’s and 70’s. Those cocktails were models of simplicity: a base liquor, a touch of another ingredient or two for flavor and aroma, and the simplest of garnishes--a lemon twist, an olive, or a cherry. Like all classics, these drinks will always have a place in our hearts, but modern bartenders are using the classic drinks as jumping-off points, taking the standards and shaking them up, stirring in new ideas and techniques, and serving them in a totally modern and delightful way. Therapy’s Jack Livingston sees a trend toward beverages that are more like mixed drinks in a martini glass. Today’s bartenders are experimenting with every ingredient in a drink, from the liquors to the garnishes. At Sullivan’s Steakhouse, orange vodka is infused for ten days over fresh pineapple slices, and used to make their popular Knockout Martini. Glassware is being rimmed with everything from Pop Rocks and cinnamon sugar to Old Bay flavored salt for a Bloody Mary. Sullivan’s also has the gorgeous Raspberry Ice: raspberry vodka shaken so hard it gets an icy sheen on top, with a dollop of blue curaco that sinks to the bottom and looks like an ice cube. Cutting-edge establishments in big cities such as New York and Chicago are even stretching the limits of the definition of a drink. Bartenders who call themselves ‘molecular mixologists’ use the principles of physics and chemistry behind the bar. Part art and part science project, their work uses flavored foams and gels, à la Top Chef, as garnishes for cocktails, and even turns liquid into, well, something else entirely. Adam Whalen, owner of the hip private club Loft 1523 says that bartenders today want more toys than ever to play with in designing imaginative drinks. With ingredients like flavored vodkas, pomegranate puree and green tea liqueur, Whalen observes, “The sky and the imagination of the patron and the bartender is the limit; the menu is just a starting place.” Bartenders are following many of the same trends as their brothers and sisters in the kitchen, incorporating farmers’ market-fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs in cocktails to create savory and refreshing drinks. The refreshing Cantaloupe Martini at Cosmos Café and Cantina 1511’s delicious mint-based mojitos are terrific examples. Even familiar ingredients like espresso and champagne are incorporated. Blue’s delicious and intensely flavored espresso martini is a favorite with the post-theater crowd. Blue also explores texture and temperature with drinks like the Hot Honeysuckle: Irish Cream liqueur, vanilla vodka and honey, served hot to ward to off the chill of winter. No matter how seriously bartenders take their craft, though, having a great time and a good sense of humor are essential for bartenders. Stop by to see the creative and suggestive names of the drinks at Therapy for a good laugh- my personal favorite is The Divorce-- half of everything! |
