When it comes to cocktails these days, bourbon is the star of the show, with restaurants and bars across the country hyping their bourbon fantasies.
***A chic Manhattan made with Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon at Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill in Las Vegas.
***The “Frick” cocktail at Vessel in Seattle – bourbon, Cinzano Rosso, peach bitters and dried fig.
***An Old-Fashioned made with bacon-infused bourbon, maple syrup and Angostura Bitters at the hip PDT cocktail lounge in New York City’s East Village.
***Maker’s Mark infused with caramelized Turkish figs. At City-Bar in Boston.
But nothing I’ve tasted – and I do try to get around the trendy bars of any city I find myself in -- can beat the "Kentucky Tuxedo" concocted by bartender David Nelson at Spur Gastropub in Seattle. This marriage of Bulleit Bourbon, Sherry, lavender syrup and homemade orange bitters, is smooth and elegant, with a come-hither aroma and layers of flavor.(Photo by Kristin Zwiers for Spur.)
(Bulleit Bourbon was developed by Tom Bulleit in 1987 using the “recipe” of his ancestors who journeyed from new Orleans to Kentucky in 1830. It’s made from “soft limestone water” that’s supposedly found only in the Bluegrass region of the state, corn, barley, malt and rye.)
Bartender Nelson (photo below by Barbie Hull for Spur), who’s been working in restaurants since he started flipping burgers at the age of 15, is a real presence at Spur. Folks gather around the bar to watch him work and talk about his art (which includes hand-making his own bitters and syrups).
His cocktail menu includes such temptations as the Lover’s Lock (Aperol, grapefruit juice and Absinthe), Gentleman’s Lemonade (Gentleman Jack, lemon and honey) and the Cara Carina (Cara Cara (orange-scented) bourbon, Punt e Mes, Chartreuse and blood orange bitters).
Nelson’s passion is part and parcel of the artisanal mixology craze that prizes fresh squeezed seasonal
fruit juices, homemade infusions, even housemade mixers like tonic water. And versatile bourbon, a constant presence behind the bar for a couple hundred years, is an ideal fit in drinks that balance classic tastes with newfangled presentations.
By the way, there’s great stuff to eat at Spur, too. The menu’s Pork Belly Sliders with heirloom apples, mustard and bourbon, are famed in Seattle. The slow-cooked butterfish with fennel and brown butter is very special, too. And I wrote an earlier post about the Sockeye Salmon Crostini that leaves every diner wide-eyed and at a loss for words.
Coming Up:
Now that I’m fixating on bourbon… This weekend, I plan to try a cocktail that I just discovered on a Web site called Playing with Fire and Water. It’s called a “Red Hot” and involves fresh ginger root and pulverized red hot candies. Come back next week for the verdict.
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