Nice article in the WSJ's Weekend Edition (dead tree version) regarding great hotel bars and bartenders who know their art. The St. Regis, Waldorf-Astoria, and the Peninsula in New York all got high marks. Best mention, though went to Gus Tassopulos who has been mixing drinks for five decades at the Hotel Bel-Air in LA (not shown pictured at right). His style: "friendly but formal, attentive without being intrusive." Oh, and he went to work right away when asked to mix both a Sidecar and an Americano, famous drinks that seem to baffle most of the current breed of whiskey vendors. The former is made of brandy, Cointreau, and lemon or lime juice. The latter is Campari, sweet vermouth and club soda on the rocks.
Maybe the next time I saddle up to a nice bar I'll order a Sidecar. I'm not much for anything with syrup or that is too complicated so I usually drink scotch or Jack Daniel's straight up or on a few ice cubes but mostly end up just downing beer or wine at home and usually not alone in the dark. A Sidecar, an Americano, and some nice company to drink them with would be fun.
3 comments:
If she's mixin' it, I'm drinkin' it...
Your credit here is fine, sir.
I can't say I think I'd enjoy the taste of a "sidecar" but I think I'd like saying to a bartender, "Gimme a sidecar".
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