Hooray! An end of the year round-up! First I’ll talk about individual spirits and ingredients, and then I’ll talk about Los Angeles bars and bartenders. Let’s get to it!
Favorite Amaro
Amaro Abano
I’m just kidding.
Favorite Amaro
Fernet-Branca
Come on, this is a no-brainer. I love all amari, from the caramel flavors of Ramazzotti to the peppery Abano. But Fernet-Branca has a great mix of peppermint and saffron and, for me, is ideal as a shot. STOP SIPPING FERNET! If you want an amaro to sip on, go for Averna or even better, just go for straight sweet vermouth. Or do as the Argentineans do and mix your Fernet with cola. Or do as the San Franciscans do and mix it with ginger.
Check this article out for more on Fernet, especially its relationship with San Francisco.
Favorite Tequila / Mezcal
Del Maguey Chichicapa
Of the copious agave spirits I consumed this year (mostly during a trip to Guadalajara), my top choice is still Chichicapa from Del Maguey. It’s superb on its own, but can also be a signature ingredient into a cocktail (though Del Maguey’s Mezcal Vida line hopes to more directly address that latter usage). If I see this on a bar shelf, chances are I’m going to order it, which is why Matt Biancaniello at The Library Bar in the Roosevelt Hotel hands me a shot as soon as I walk into the room.
Favorite Whiskey
Springbank 10
I love the smoky, peaty scotches of Islay but the single malt that I found myself enjoying the most this year is the Springbank 10 out of Campbelltown. It’s so incredibly balanced but still very punchy. To be perfectly honest, the most compelling whiskey I had this year was the Ardbeg Supernova 2010, but that monster was just so much of a peat bomb that it had to be reserved for the end of the night. Springbank 10, on the other hand, became a whiskey I would gladly have at any point of the evening, even before dinner.
Favorite Rum / Cachaça
Smith & Cross
I’ve already discussed this at great length already. So let’s quote me:
If there were a rum that was worthy of invoking the name of Coltrane, it would be Smith & Cross. It’s complex, demands revisiting, and rewards those who head down the garden path. And just like Coltrane’s magnum opus “A Love Supreme”, Smith & Cross begins with a gong.
I agree.
Favorite Brandy
Encanto Pisco
I never thought to ever have a category like this before since my default answer would have perpetually been Laird’s Bonded applejack. But this year Encanto really changed my admittedly limited view of pisco in a positive way. Encanto Pisco is floral and aromatic but still totally redolent of white grapes.
Other Spirit Awards
I didn’t really drink enough of these to have a committed decision one way or another, so I’m going to go ahead and just throw them out there in a quick blurb. Favorite vodka: Sobieski. Favorite gin: Hayman’s Old Tom. Favorite beer: Duchesse du Bourgogne. Favorite wine: Valdubon Crianza.
Favorite Bar Accessory
Lewis Bag
I love my hand-sewn double-stitch reinforced canvas Lewis Bag that I got from this Etsy shop. Put ice in; beat the living shit out of it; take crushed ice out. I still need to find an appropriate mallet to use for it, but a Lewis Bag is an essential tool in making…
Favorite Drink
Swizzle
This year I learned to love a tall glass of crushed ice. Variants could be had at Caña, Las Perlas, Rivera, Big Bar and 320 Main, and it swizzles became my drink of choice for most of the year. The heatwave over the summer even caused me to make a lot of Carpano cobblers at home. Which leads me to…
Ingredient I Am Avoiding
Carpano Antica
This is the preferred sweet vermouth of choice for many bars and bartenders out there. My problem is that it, and its cousin Punt E Mes, just taste a bit too raisiny for me. For the longest time I was okay with it. Now I’m just switching to the much less assertive (and less expensive!) alternative, Dolin Rouge.
Enough with the spirits. What about the bars and bartenders themselves? Sure thing:
Cocktail Of the Year
Day and Age #3
The award for best original cocktail goes to the Day and Age #3 from Caña. It combines mezcal, rum, passion fruit, lime, cinnamon and absinthe in one wonderfully delicious drink. Like many of my other favorites, it’s a complex drink that invites re-visiting to discover all the interesting interplay of flavors.
Of course, Caña’s entire menu is my favorite in the city. It’s a case where every track on the album is a hit. As I mentioned in another post, the drinks at Caña are fun but also well thought out. In the same way that you consider a drink to have balance, so too must a menu have balance. By that I mean more than just a selection of spirits (rum is obviously Caña’s forte), but also a selection of drink styles, from smashes to brown-bitter-stirred. Truly a great bar.
Caña
714 W Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Bartender Of The Year
Jason Schiffer
Jason Schiffer, the bar manager and owner of 320 Main is one of the most generous people you’ll ever meet, and in my mind, there are few greater gifts you can receive from anyone than the generosity of a host. Seal Beach might extend beyond the reach of most Angelenos, which is fine by me because it means I can always find a seat at the bar. He’s everything from a showman to a technician, and of course makes a great drink.
I’ll talk more about 320 Main in an upcoming post, but suffice to say that this bar feels like a really awesome house party. Big screen on the wall, great food, comfortable atmosphere, and a warmth of personality that starts with Jason there at the top.
320 Main
320 Main St
Seal Beach, CA 90740
Bar Of The Year
Bar Covell
With all due respect to the fine men and women at cocktail establishments like Caña and Varnish, and to restaurants with great bars like Rivera and The Tasting Kitchen, my favorite bar in 2010 has to go to Bar Covell in Los Feliz. The fact that only beer and wine are served will cause many cocktailians to scoff. But despite that, it’s the ultimate “Dealers Choice” bar, and Matthew Kaner and his staff excel in matching just the right wine to every palate. There’s even a craft beer taplist that ranges from session beers to interesting collaborations.
Bar Covell is the type of place where you can find boisterous woo-hoo girls celebrating a birthday at the same time as others in the corner are having a cerebral conversation about architecture. The design is thoughtful with just enough quirkyness to be interesting without being distracting. But most of all, what Bar Covell possesses that no other bar has is sexiness. There’s a comfort and confidence that comes with the all the din and chatter of the the busy bar. The room hums; it vibrates. And it makes drinking there a lot of fun.
Bar Covell
4628 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90027
