The Bar Journal

Popular amongst leading edge consumers and high-profile mixologists for some time, the trend for classic cocktails is catching on amongst a wider audience, particularly men.

Just as the US Great Crash of the 1929 coincided with the original cocktail trend, so the “Great Crunch” of the current recession has seen a general growth in cocktail culture and an explosion of cocktail bars and Prohibition era style speakeasies in the US and UK. In the US, high profile bars serving classic cocktails include New York’s Employees Only, Macao Trading Co, Asian fusion bar Pranna, 8oz as well as The Mondrian bar in Miami, Bar Magic, Wynn and Encore in Las Vegas and Elixir in San Francisco. In the UK, upmarket bars such as London’s Milk & Honey, Quo Vadis, Hix and Callooh Callay all specialise in classic cocktails, while the Bramble in Edinburgh, Hausbar in Bristol and Corridor in Manchester also follow this trend.

Traditional ingredients, accessories and interior décor are key characteristics in these bars. With a focus on original ingredients and recipes, the cocktail trend has seen gin, cacacha, crème de violette and absinthe, vermouth all see a revival.

Traditions such as hand-crafted bitters and hand-chipped ice from blocks are also being revived. At London’s Connaught, art deco silverware is used to mix drinks, while at Quo Vadis, a martini trolley is taken out at five thirty in the afternoon. At Bart’s, drinks are served in teapots and teacups, just as they were in the 1920’s and 30’s. 

And in-the-know mixologists are getting excited about the re-emergence of acid phosphate. Originally used to help keep cocktail ingredients fresh before fridges,  cocktail expert Darcy O Neil has recently re-discovered it in his book “Fix the pump”.
Meanwhile, at Boston’s Drink, there is no bar menu but mixologists offer consumers “consultations” before “prescribing” cocktails based on recipes from classic cocktail books such as Jerry Thomas’ 1862 cocktail guide “How To Mix Drinks” and David Embury’s 1948 classic, “The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks”.

SALUTE !