It was a warm Sunday night on the beach. The four competing restaurants gathered once again – this time at Boa in Santa Monica, for yet another installment of…Raising the Bar. The competition got off to a late start so I ordered a very hearty cheeseburger with camembert cheese and Charlotte, the bartender at Boa, whipped me up a light cocktail. I was a happy woman…
The spirit of the evening was gin, sponsored by Right Gin. I’ve always liked a good Sapphire martini myself, but gin is generally thought of as an old man’s drink – that strong scent of pine on your grandfather’s breath. As I spoke with the rep for Right, he explained that Right Gin is hoping to give gin a makeover to seem younger, cooler, and more mixable – essentially, like vodka.Tuna tartare, grilled asparagus, Kansas bone-in steak…Like the wonderful hosts typical of this restaurant, Boa’s team made sure the judges were well fed and taken care of. No wonder there were more judges than ever this time: Michael Cardenas (Boa), Yassmin Sarmadi (Church and State), Sophie Gayot (Gayot.com), Victoria Recaño (anchor of KTLA’s 6 and 10p.m. newscasts), Christopher Hennessey (Comme Ca) and Claudia Smith (Joe’s Restaurant).
The bartenders competing were: Tim Loden (Comme Ca), Charlotte Cramer (Boa), Dave Ferney (Church and State), and Hector Bury (Joe’s Restaurant), with Tim defending the championship. The classic cocktail of the evening was the French 75, which is made from champagne, lemon juice, sugar and either cognac…or, as in this case, gin.
Armed with their own fresh ingredients (including bacon juice), specialty ice and eclectic liqueurs, the bartenders not only honored classic cocktails with precise recipes, but also pushed the boundaries of flavor with modern takes on their favorite drinks.
There were several drinks worth taking note of. One was Hector Bury’s Lady Grey, made with Earl Grey tea, lemon juice, egg whites and simple syrup and of course…Right Gin. As a tea lover, I personally loved the drink – the flavor of the Earl Grey was definitely prominent. Michael Cardenas, on the other hand, wasn’t keen on the drink. “If I’m going to have a cocktail, I want to taste the liquor. It lacks the intensity where the spirit should be, but maybe it’s a feminine drink, not a masculine drink.” The female judges agreed that while the drink went down smooth, like “iced tea,” it is definitely not a man’s drink. Perhaps men are not the best judge of this cocktail. After all, it is named the LADY Grey. If it was up to Michael, he wouldn’t even be drinking mixed drinks – he likes his liquor straight up. One of his favorites is the classic man’s drink: Bobby Burns (Benedictine, sweet vermouth and scotch with a brandy cherry). This is a classic turn of the century cocktail. Good to know.
Among the women, another favorite was a strawberry drink from Charlotte (Boa). It had the hint of vanilla essence, which gave it sex appeal but still tasted light and fruity. “The vanilla and bourbon makes it very urban,” said Victoria Recaño.
One of the most interesting drinks of the night was Dave from Comme Ca’s Cochon Bourré or…The Drunken Pig, which contained bacon lard, maple syrup, and bourbon. Some of us preferred the name Wild Hog for the drink, but call it what you will, it was a delicious blend of sweet and savory…Do try this at home.
While critically analyzing the drinks, judges agreed that sipping from the straw versus sipping from the side of the glass gets you different flavors. Drinking with a straw is slower, therefore allowing more time to let the ice melt and dilute the drink. I would also contribute the difference to the ability to smell the drink without a straw. All I know is…whenever I’m with G. – the eat at the bar pro – if he gets a drink with a straw, he’ll toss it aggressively, while muttering, “I hate straws.” I guess it’s just not “manly?” (The contrasting image, of me drinking a giant cocktail through a straw while my feet dangle from the bar stool makes me giggle).
Another major topic of the evening was the rising popularity of specialty ice. “Having one block of ice rather than the shards of different ice intensifies the concentration of the drink, bringing out the more masculine side of a drink…so you can taste the spirit,” said Michael Cardenas. “A lot of good speak easy joints are now using block ice. Cocktail bars are really becoming more definitive about their drinks with block ice.” Specialty ice companies use different waters from different regions. For example: block ice from Rocky mountains, Seattle, or Yosemite. These different “flavors” of ice become another component or ingredient to a spirit or a mixed drink.
Sophie Gayot also preferred the cocktails that used block ice, mainly because it doesn’t melt as quickly. Claudia prefers the block ice as a more dramatic visual statement. I know what you’re thinking: straw, no straw, chunk ice, shaved ice, block ice – all of these particulars on mixed drinks may sound pretentious, but the bottom line to understanding whether a drink is good or not is just to ask yourself: does it make me want to have another? The bars in restaurants pull in a large majority of the income for the business and it’s up to us, as patrons, to expect higher quality from bars: top shelf spirits, fresh ingredients, mixologists with an understanding of flavors and a passion for having fun with them.
The winner of the third Raising the Bar Competition was: Hector Bury! A much deserved win.
“Having a cocktail is subjective. You might like it sweeter, more sour, spicier…but like all things, there’s a formula and a recipe, and if someone creates the cocktail according to the recipe, you can’t have the opinion of it not being “right,” said Victoria of KTLA.
All judges agreed that Hector could arguably be the best bartender in town. The man knows his cocktails and he knows how to make them right. “You walk into a place, you want to order you know and you want it the way you know it. Hector does an exceptional job at that. He can do classic like no one else.”
And he can tell a pretty good joke. Thanks all you mixologists, for delighting our palates.
