The Deep Blue Sea @ The Varnish

Recently I had the Deep Blue Sea cocktail at the Varnish in downtown Los Angeles. I really enjoyed the drink that manager Chris Bostick made and when I looked online most recipes for a drink of that name have curacao in them but the cocktail I had at the Varnish was crisp and aromatic, not sweet.  I believe Bostick said that it was a Sammy Ross recipe, but I may be remembering incorrectly.

The recipe is:

2 dash orange bitters
1/4 oz Crème de Violette
3/4 oz Lillet Blanc
2 oz Gin
Stirred
Lemon peel to garnish

As you can see, the cocktail is beautifully clear and deserves a prime spot in your rotation of aromatic gin cocktails.  In a crystal clear cocktail, the twisted lemon peel garnish adds a dramatic element, in addition to the citrus scent.  If you are a fan of a gin martini, especially the Vesper, you may find this to be up your alley.  The glass had been chilled and the drink was mixed with ice before being stirred and strained, so the cocktail was refreshing and crisp.

All Aboard: Jonathan Gold’s Union Station Cocktail Party

All aboard the Speakeasy Express as LA Weekly restaurant critic Jonathan Gold is hosting his second annual Speakeasy themed Cocktail Party at Union Station featuring bartenders from several of Cedd Moses's 213 Group's bars and benefiting Zocalo Public Square, an organization that sponsors and organizes lectures, panels, and other public discussions of the issues of the day.

The party will be held on Saturday October 9th from 7 - 11 in historic Union Station as conductor Jonathan Gold welcomes revelers aboard and collects tickets, which are $185 per person ($150 for non-profit employees & $125 for those under 30). The drinks will be provided by the talented crews of Seven Grand, The Varnish, Las Perlas, Cole’s and CAÑA. Restaurants from downtown as well as across the city will be providing vittles to munch on, and these aren't just any gin joints but top notch spots such as John Sedlar's Rivera, Michael Cimarusti's Providence, Josef Centeno's Lazy Ox Canteen, Neil Fraser's Grace, Susan Feniger's Street, David Myers' Comme Ҫa, and Suzanne Tracht's Jar, among others. There is no danger of going hungry with that crew on tap.

The participating bartenders are creating specialty cocktails for the event. I am particularly looking forward to trying The Plymouth Fitzgerald from Chris Bostick of the Varnish. It is his take on a gin sour with Plymouth Gin, fresh lemon juice, sugar, shaken and served up and lightly drizzled with Angostura bitters. It sounds refreshing and the Angostura bitters should provide a nice counterpoint to the citrus.

Attendees are encouraged to wear period dress and to put folks in a party mood, KCRW’s Garth Trinidad will be spinning. Should be an awesome party with a bonus of supporting a great cause (I'm a big fan of Zocalo's panels and events). Get your tickets here. Hurry up because once this train leaves the station, you will want to be onboard, not watching from the platform as it pulls away into the distance.

Tickets are available here: http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/union_station_event/

A Winning Formula: The 1st Annual LA Craft Beer Crawl

Saturday was the first annual LA Craft Beer Crawl, which was held in seven of 213 Group's bars in Downtown.  Almost 1,400 enthusiasts, press, brewers and friends attended the event curated by Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune, known as the Beer Chicks (pictured below).  On a hot day, the sold out crowd explored the offerings and migrated from bar to bar sampling craft beers and meeting the folks who produce them.

The Beer Chicks said they hope to "convert people to the craft beer lifestyle" and encouraged attendees to try darker beers saying "don't judge a beer by its color."  Over 50 different beers were represented, many from California breweries, with an emphasis on representing as many local quality brews as possible.

There were several treats along the way, including Maui Coconut Porter beer floats at Cana and beer cocktails at the Varnish created by head bartender Chris Bostick (pictured above).  I got the last beer float at Cana, which had a large crowd despite being a long walk on a very hot day from the other 213 bars.

The Varnish offered two cocktails: the Picon Biere (TAPS Belgian White, Amer Picon, lemon juice and sugar) and the Double Black Diamond (Deschutes Black Butte Porter, Goslings Rum, Whole Egg, Sugar & Nutmeg).  Both were refreshing and it was wonderful to be in the chilly Varnish, where LA Weekly's Jonathan Gold was holding court in a booth with colleagues from KCRW's Good Food, including host Evan Kleiman.

Gold curated the food vendors along the route, which included the Ludo Bites Truck, the Grilled Cheese Truck, the Manila Machine truck and Guelaguetza (inside Las Perlas).  All of the food vendors proved popular.  I have enjoyed all four in the past but only had an opportunity to sample the Manila Machine on Saturday, which was serving a mean version of corned beef hash.

The crowd of happy imbibers (Seven Grand is pictured above) included fellow bloggers Josh Lurie of FoodGPS, Pat Saperstein of Eating LA and Yolanda Evans of Eater.  It was great to see so many folks crowding the sidewalks and bars of DTLA all in search of and in support of quality craft beer.  In the past three years there has been a renaissance in quality cocktails in Los Angeles and it if Saturday was any indication, the beer movement here is only poised to grow.  I hadn't realized how many local breweries there are here in Southern California and look forward to trying more of their offerings.

Tales: Grand Marnier Bar Room Brawl

One of the highlights of Tales of the Cocktail in 2010 was the incredible Grand Marnier Bar Room Brawl on Friday evening. Six bars were selected to compete and each bar recreated their physical bar in Generations Hall in New Orleans. A group of industry luminaries such as Audrey Saunders, Tony Abou-Ganim and Allen Katz judged the competition.

Each of the six bars was tasked with creating two cocktails; once the judges had tried all twelve drinks, all six bars opened to the attendees who could then sample their drinks. In the interim and continuing through the evening, there were also two large Grand Marnier bars with free flowing beverages.

Pictured above is the Varnish drink menu.

The bars in competition were Drink (Boston), The Varnish (Los Angeles), Dutch Kills (New York), Rickhouse (San Francisco),Florida Room (Miami) and The Drawing Room (Chicago). What made the event so cool was that the six bars faithfully recreated their design, including a great scrim behind the bar at the Varnish set up, and a huge ice block just like at Long Island City at Dutch Kills. For attendees who hadn't had a chance to visit all six in person yet, it gave a great taste of the whole experience of drinking at the bar, not just a sample of their drinks.

Pictured above are Chris Bostick and Marcos Tello behind the Varnish bar.

The People's Choice Award went to The Varnish, who had Eric Alperin, Chris Bostick, Marcos Tello and Matty Eggleston behind the stick. Eggleston now lives in Chicago and reunited with the opening team of the Varnish to assist in the competition. Ricki Kline who designed the Varnish helped recreate the bar down to minute details. Kline and Varnish partner Cedd Moses of 213 were there to cheer on the Varnish team and help celebrate their victory.

The Judges award went to Drink, whose team was led by Misty Kalkofen.

Marcos Tello with one of the models.

Erick Castro of Rickhouse preparing to make a beverage.

Chris Bostick with the Varnish's award plaque.

Chris Bostick in as new Varnish GM

Tonight is Chris Bostick’s (pictured above) last night as head bartender at The Varnish, downtown’s hidden bar focused on classic cocktails. He will be still be at the Varnish, but stepping up to the position as General Manager, as current GM Eric Alperin will be spending less time at the bar as he works on outside (non-bar) projects. That means after Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans this week, Alperin will now be behind the bar at the Varnish several times per week, a treat for the Los Angeles cocktail community.

If you have enjoyed Bostick’s beverages as much as I have, stop by the bar tonight for his last official shift. He has assured me that he will still make drinks at The Varnish when it gets busy or when people ask for him, if he is able to do so.

This is the latest in a series of changes in the management of several bars in the 213 family in recent weeks. Two weeks ago, Alan Katz took over for Joel Black as General Manager of Caña Rum Bar. Black left to work on projects with Rivera’s Julian Cox, with whom he had worked previously at Comme Ca. Black had been a bartender at Caña since moving to Los Angeles from Brooklyn earlier this year. In addition, Skyler Reeves has been promoted from his position at Tony’s Saloon to run operations for the 213 Group. His Manhattans will be missed.

DonQ USBG LA Regional Competition at Caña @the Doheny

On March 23rd the Los Angeles chapter of the US Bartenders Guild (USBG) held the regional competition sponsored by DonQ rum, in which the winner received a free trip to New York to compete in the nationals against bartenders from across the country at the 1st ever Manhattan Cocktail Classic.

Each participant had 10 minutes to set up their station and then 7 minutes to make their original cocktail. Twelve bartenders from many of the top cocktail & mixology bars competed. A sampling of the bars represented included The Varnish, The Tar Pit, Malo, La Descarga and Rivera. Competitors had to be members of the Los Angeles branch of the USBG.

The three judges included the manager of The Varnish (Eric Alperin), the manager of Caña (John) and Jonathan Gold, the pulitzer prize winning LA Weekly food critic. Each drink was judged solely on taste and appearance. After much deliberation and doublechecking of scores, the winner was declared: Kristina Howald, who bartends at both Rivera and La Descarga.

She will be joining a large Los Angeles delegation attending the MCC in May. Congratulations Kristina! Take home the national trophy for Los Angeles!

The event was held at Caña @the Doheny, the recently relaunched rum bar owned by Cedd Moses. It had previously required a 4 figure initiation and annual dues. Now not only have annual dues been reduced to $20 (which goes to charity), but the focus has been shifted to rum drinks and the decor has been updated to match.

Above photos of Chris Bostick of the Varnish, and Rachel Shaw of Malo during the competition.