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What Do You Expect In A Craft Cocktail?


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To start, limited disclosure. I work at a bar in DC. I run a bar program. I'm not mentioning names or promoting myself or my place of employ. I simply would love feedback and a sort of virtual brainstorming session with the similarly food beverage aware folks of DR.

Disclosure aside, what do you seek in a handcrafted cocktail?

Balanced flavors enhancing the base spirits nuances?

Over the top, in your face house infused spirits with house syrups/ sodas/ juices?

Simple but innovative spins on classic cocktails?

Something else?

Also, considering the movement towards house syrups, infusions, fresh juices, odd ingredients, what's a fair price on the DC market for a cocktail?

Please any thoughts or insight.

-iceman

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For me, it's all about balance.

Some people like a jolt of Mezcal, or Yuzu; I don't care if those flavors are there, but they need to be in balance.

Also - and I know most craft bartenders disagree with me - I like my shaken drinks to have that thrilling texture of tiny ice shards in them, and not to be strained. To me, that's like having an aged semi-hard cheese and coming across an occasional crystal, or a carpaccio of raw fish, and encountering a stray piece of coarse salt.

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I am looking for balance and surprise.  Surprise does not necessarily mean novelty.  It can mean exceptional attention to detail, such as house-infused spirits with unusually high quality ingredients and a clean-yet-nifty presentation.

Classic cocktails are not so much what I'm after, personally.  But unless your venue is hella good at writing a description of not just ingredients, but the overall palate experience, classic is often the frame of reference from which many patrons are coming and may have to serve as a base descriptor.

Another major plus for me is identifying thoughtful pairings to go with the craft cocktails.  That's thoughtful, not convenient.  As in, only some of the craft cocktails should have a pairing match.  If they all do, then it's a sign that the patrons are not the only ones grasping at straws.

Yes, it's gimmicky, but if I know a cocktail is available for only a limited time, I'll be more likely to order it.  "We'll stop serving this on x date, when seasonal ingredients are no longer available" always pops off the menu at me for some reason.

Regarding a fair price, I can't say.  Gawds things are inexpensive in Dallas.

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Today someone asked for a smokey rye based cocktail with balance. I went with 2 oz of high west double rye, .5 oz amaro nonino, .5 oz cocchi Americano rouge. Stirred very cold and finished with a flamed orange thumb, and flamed angostura bitters.

I taste tested it. The nonino and cocchi added some bitter sweet notes balancing out the rye, the double flame up the smoke anti without over blowing the balance.

A new drink has been named for her,"The Perfect Lady." For 12 bucks I think it's a steal.

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Today someone asked for a smokey rye based cocktail with balance. I went with 2 oz of high west double rye, .5 oz amaro nonino, .5 oz cocchi Americano rouge. Stirred very cold and finished with a flamed orange thumb, and flamed angostura bitters.

I taste tested it. The nonino and cocchi added some bitter sweet notes balancing out the rye, the double flame up the smoke anti without over blowing the balance.

A new drink has been named for her,"The Perfect Lady." For 12 bucks I think it's a steal.

Get the rye slushy at Eat The Rich - it's made with blackberries and honey, and is in balance.

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For me, one of the things that will get me to return to a bar is knowing that they have a variety of spirits. You don't need to have seventeen different Fernets and forty six rye whiskeys, but at least a bit of variety helps.

For instance, if all the drinks have syrups in them it makes it harder for me to order them (due to diabetes) and if all of them have citrus in them, it can lead to heartburn. If I can switch to a beer and a shot or something for a bit, I can return to the craft cocktails...

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For me I like a cocktail program quite like KMango described.  I don't really care about classics, it's more about balanced and unique flavors.  I also love a drink with texture, so a variation on a fizz or etc is something I like to see that I can't get at a normal bar. I like a fruity drink especially in the summer with real flavors, not something out of a bought mix or bottle, if possible.  If it is a good unique cocktail that I can sip on I think it's worth a good amount of money.  I remember going to PX when it was new and while the drinks were pricier they were very creative and thoughtful and worth the money they weren't a throw it back type of deal.   

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Two criteria, I think: something seasonal that works well with the weather and/or the food, and something that I would not make at home, due to the presence of a unique ingredient or process.  I'm not willing to pay $15 for a well-made whatever if I can mix one up at home. 

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Two criteria, I think: something seasonal that works well with the weather and/or the food, and something that I would not make at home, due to the presence of a unique ingredient or process.  I'm not willing to pay $15 for a well-made whatever if I can mix one up at home. 

I definitely agree with that. If you're a good cocktail bar, I know you can make a good martini, negroni, whiskey sour (which Erick Castro says is the best drink to order to see how good the bar is), etc...so show me stuff I haven't had before, or can't just whip up at home.

Sure, I do regularly order martinis, negronis, etc., at places like Passenger, but I don't need to see them listed on the menu.

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Something else?

Certainly the threshold is a thoughtful approach to process/technique, I don't know how you can charge $14/cocktail if you can't stir a cocktail properly.  Or you if you shake for 20 seconds with minimal ice that gets so melted that the drink is diluted.

But assuming that's there, I look for a philosophy, theme, style, or direction.  Usually from the menu you can tell whether someone is doing a riff on a classic, or is going seasonal, exploring a certain genre, focusing on a particular spirit, or whatever they are trying to do.  On the flip side, there are alot of random menus out there that seem to be just a potluck of various liqueurs.  Having an awesome ice program pretty much always trumps having a plethora of tropical fruit cordials.  Bottom line, is there any sort of personal style or focus?

I agree with everyone else about balance.  In particular, aromatics often get overlooked and not incorporating them in can really rob a drink of a major dimension.

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A well trained staff.

I'm open to just about any kind of cocktail menu if the staff knows what they are doing. I'd absolutely agree with DaRiv18 that there are too many places where the cocktail menu is pricy and looks intriguing, yet a quick glance behind the bar shows that the bartender can't stir properly or keeps a super sloppy station.

Also, if you have a riff on a classic on the menu, the staff had better know how to make the original as well. I've been into places with a sour base/champagne cocktail on the menu named something "75" and yet when someone in my party asks for a French 75 they get nothing but blank stares.

On the other hand, if I see a bartender using proper technique and behaving like a professional then I'll absolutely order a cocktail off the menu and probably talk to the bartender about a bartender's choice for my second drink.

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Another major plus for me is identifying thoughtful pairings to go with the craft cocktails.  That's thoughtful, not convenient.  As in, only some of the craft cocktails should have a pairing match.  If they all do, then it's a sign that the patrons are not the only ones grasping at straws.

Yes, it's gimmicky, but if I know a cocktail is available for only a limited time, I'll be more likely to order it.  "We'll stop serving this on x date, when seasonal ingredients are no longer available" always pops off the menu at me for some reason.

Regarding a fair price, I can't say.  Gawds things are inexpensive in Dallas.

How many places are actually doing this and doing it well?

KMango's subsequent comment is savvy.  Don't pair Every cocktail.  That has to be reaching.

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