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 Not Named Fernet Branca
Amaro Meletti
While Meletti does not possess the same cult standing as Fernet, it’s a liqueur that’s become one of my favorites, especially as a shot but also as an interesting ingredient. It possesses the same saffron note as Fernet Branca, but it finishes with much more winter spice: I tell people that it’s like drinking a gingerbread cookie.
Favorite Tequila / Mezcal
Fortaleza Reposado
The reposado variant of this tequila is a wonderful balancing act between vegetal and creamy, and while it’s beautiful when sipped neat or served in a craft cocktail, I will admit that the vast majority of amount consumed by me was in the form of a paloma, typically while sitting in the back of a bus that hurtled down the Mexican countryside.
Favorite Whiskey
Aberlour A'bunadh
I don’t normally drink Speyside scotches, but when I do, I like the A'bunadh from Aberlour, featuring mellow notes of heather and subtle tropical fruit. Confession: I most recently bought a bottle of this stuff with the intention to give it to a girl I like as a birthday present. But alas, she kept flaking on dinner and I ended up giving it to a different person as a birthday present. I think I’ll go back to buying Islays and Campbeltowns, thank you.
Favorite Rum / Cachaça
Plantation Overproof
The next two categories are related as they come from the same ownership umbrella. The Plantation series of rums feature sugar cane harvested from single plantations across Latin America and the Caribbean; this overproof (146 proof!) rum comes from Trinidad and, like its high-proof cousins from Jamaica, is surprisingly balanced in flavor given its potency.
Favorite Brandy / Cognac
Pierre Ferrand 1er Cru
This cognac might be the spirit of the year if only I bothered with such distinctions. Great stone fruit and apple notes make this an excellent sipper as well as fantastic ingredient in classic and contemporary cocktails alike. (Plus, that was quite the Cognac Party Bus that shuttled everyone from Caña to 320 Main.)
Favorite Vodka
Karlsson’s
I remember sitting at a vodka tasting panel, and while neutral grain spirits are difficult to differentiate, it isn’t impossible. There’s acidity, there’s fruityness, there’s minerality, etc. With Karlsson’s on the other hand, there’s a flavor there that no other vodka has, and it’s umami. It’s round and refreshing like many clear spirits, but Karlsson’s Vodka possesses an interesting savory element that makes it fascinating to use in a cocktail. Perhaps those who want to avoid vodka would be more comfortable referring to it as Swedish potato gin.
Favorite Gin
Beefeater
This was a year when I was exposed to a lot of artisanal, boutique and small batch products, but there’s something to be said about a successful company continuing to put out a quality spirit. Beefeater gin is my standard-bearer for gin, and it matches the herbacious, aromatic qualities that one expects, without relying too heavily to on cucumber or lavender or any other direction. Its beauty comes from its balance.
Favorite Beer
Brother Thelonious
Belgian-style ales are definitely right up my alley, and the Brother Thelonious from North Coast is a fantastic representation of that style. Really nice acidity and sweetness, with a slight spice element, too. I first had this beer on tap at Tasting Kitchen in Venice and was a reliable pint through the summer months
Favorite Wine
Cava ‘de Nit’
I drink a lot of bubbles, from prosecco to cava to good ol' domestic sparkling wine, and my favorite wine this year comes from this category. Cava ‘de Nit’ has a great dryness that I like from my bubbles, but there’s a wonderful berry zing that comes from the slightest addition of Monastrell (only 5%). This in turn gives it the slight pinkish hue. This cava manages also to still be big enough to pair with savory dishes, and so I’ll find myself sipping on it all throughout the evening.
Favorite Drinking Accessory
Flask
Whether you’re using a “dash flask” like my friend Mindy Kucan uses for Angostura or a “long flask” to hold all that Angels Envy whiskey, a pocket full of a booze will help lubricate any social situation. And if 2011 had to be summed up in three words, then it would also happen to describe where I got my favorite flask: Portland Cocktail Week.
Favorite Drink
Amaro Buck
I’d often find myself, after a bit of over-indulging (food-wise or drink-wise) needing to reset my palate. The drink of choice for such a task is an amaro buck, made with ginger, soda and Italian bitters. Also, whenever I feel the least bit indecisive about what to drink at a cocktail bar (and I notice that they’re doing other ginger drinks), I call for this just to test the waters, so to speak, to see what kind of mood I’m in. This drink is obviously great with Fernet, but I’m quite fond of this drink with Ramazzotti or Cynar.
Favorite Piece of Booze Writing
“The Old Fashioned” by Troy Patterson
This essay by Slate’s television writer approaches the old-fashioned with endearing humor. Because Patterson resides outside of the cocktail cognescenti, his take on this manly (and yet grandmotherly) of drinks reveals the ludicrous extent to which the time-honored classic is (either unintentionally or very intentionally) perverted beyond recognition. A sample:
I placed my order with a pleasant young man wearing a bow tie and clip-on suspenders. Very shortly, the bacon-infused old-fashioned got all up in my face. It came on easy—smoky and rich but delicate. The wife observed that the clarity of the bourbon contrasted wonderfully with the drag of the sweet grease. I quickly decided that I wanted another, but not for years, probably, unless it were served alongside a plate of crispy Eggo Minis. The bacon fat lingered on the palate—loitered, even—on through the cab ride home.
Guilty Pleasure
Energy Drinks
There are only a handful of bars throughout the Los Angeles basin that carry both Cynar and Red Bull, and so whenever I find myself at these scant few establishments bold (or crazy) enough to have both, I always make sure to order them. Together. In the form of a bomb, meaning placing the shot of Cynar into the pint of Red Bull. I could wax poetic about the confluence of flavors, and how the taurine and the artichoke bitters pair well. But then I’d be lying to you. Look, I’m all for craft ingredients and all but sometimes I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for dumb frat drinks.
Cocktail Of the Year
Cat Juggler
For the second year in a row, the Lush Angeles Cocktail of the Year comes from Caña. This drink off the summer menu features Jamaican rum infused with jerk spice and St. Elizabeth liqueur to bring plenty of spicy and aromatic notes, rounded off beautifully with Ardbeg-bitters. In truth, Caña had several candidates in this category, including a rendition of a Monkey Gland perfumed with Spanish absinthe, but in the end, this creation was the most noteworthy drink of all.
Caña
714 W Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Bartender Of The Year
Justin Pike
Not only did Justin win Karlsson’s competition for Best Bartender in LA (earning him a billboard), but he also had a strong showing at the Great American Distiller’s Festival as well. Derek Brown of the Atlantic proclaimed his Martinez Sour his top cocktail experience of 2011. Truly the man knows his way around a variety of products. Justin is the bar manager at the nationally renowned Tasting Kitchen in Venice, and he leads a crew of talented bartenders producing fine cocktails and serving them to an Abbot Kinney audience that might normally be more comfortable sipping on wine or perhaps bro-ing it up at the Brig. Justin Pike and his staff are all well versed in the Milk & Honey canon of drinks, but there’s also a cheekyness, even a slightly twisted sense of humor that goes into the bar menu. For that reason, he’s earned a well-deserved reputation as a bartender’s bartender and when drink slingers from out of town come to visit, they’ll often make a slight detour to the Westside to visit the man behind the billboard.
The Tasting Kitchen
1633 Abbot Kinney Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90291
Bar Of The Year
Big Bar
Just in case you didn’t want to sit outside at one of LA’s best patios, you could grab a barstool at this gem in Los Feliz. There’s plenty of beer and wine of a variety of styles and the cocktail menu is very approachable. A deeper look, though, reveals a level of expertise not normally exhibited in the Los Feliz and Silver Lake area. Tripel Karmeliet and Ransom Old Tom Gin are stocked when many nearby bars are happy with mere Chimay and Bombay Sapphire. No, instead Big Bar is happy to serve up Fernet cocktails and Angostura swizzles to go with the delicious food menu. Every week, the bar turns out one of the best playlists in town with Mixtape Mixology, in which both the drinks and the music fall into a particular theme. From Juan Sevilla to Dan Long, the bar has continued to be one of the best (if not most underrated) place to get an awesome drink. Here’s to more tunes and more booze in the new year!
Big Bar
in the Alcove
1927 Hillhurst Ave Los Angeles, CA 90027
