:: boston cocktail allstars - john mayer ::

For the sixth installment in the series of bartenders, past and present, who have helped to shape the Boston cocktail scene, I chose a bartender who we followed to three establishments, namely John Mayer. We met John at Craigie on Main in the summer of 2010, and followed him to Loyal 149 and Citizen Public House before he recently retired from the stick (save for guest appearances) to work for a liquor company. John's combination of hospitality, cocktail creativity, and curious drink names always led to a great bar experience. As for the cocktail names, he did live up to his OnTheBar profile quote of "If the drink is named after Texas, firearms, or sex toys, there's a good chance I created it." He also surprised and impressed me with his movie, literature, and music references. Without further ado, here is a five drink retrospective (with a few bonus allusions thrown in) to reflect on his Boston bartending contributions.

1. Libretto
One of the things that John did at Craigie on Main is strengthen my interest in tequila and mezcal drinks, and it was hard to pick one of them to represent with the Wilhelm Scream and the Degüello both worthy of this spot. In terms of drink names, John apparently was not great at translating into Italian though for he picked the wrong word to name this libation for a librarian guest, yet he proudly kept his mistake. But flavorwise, it was no mistake; this combination of aged tequila, sweet vermouth, and chocolate bitters also had the interplays of the highs of elderflower liqueur balancing the lows of Cynar.
2. Throw the Gun #2
Besides agave spirits, John also showed off his mastery of gin while at Craigie. Getting the nod over the spiced and spicy (for being named after a sex toy issue) Magic Wand Malfunction (his wife is a sex-ed teacher) was a cinematic Flip called Throw the Gun #2 after the moment the bad guy runs out of bullets and discards his weapon and runs. Perhaps not a Flip since it contains a touch of citrus, and this citrus, creaminess, and gin did remind me of a Ramos until the nutty sherry and herbal amaro notes entered the swallow.

3. 2011 (Acquired Taste)
After Craigie on Main, John took a position closer to his home in South Boston, namely as the bar manager for Local 149. One of my favorites that he created was a commentary on popular trends in mixology that he called an Acquired Taste before he changed it in 2013 to a tribute to the year 2011. Hints of mezcal smoke accented the pinch of salt-dampened combination of Campari and Bonal that were supported by nutty sherry. Overall, disparate ingredients lacking a base spirits came together to play off of each other in a sort of a Negroni format.
4. Face for Radio
Sometimes delicious drinks look rather ugly, and John Mayer's submission to the Bacardi Competition in 2013 was definitely in that category. Therefore, he ran with it and gave this one an amusing name, a Face for Radio. Orgeat will often do that, and this is why opaque and colorful mugs are often used to serve Tiki drinks (see the notes from the Brains and Booze talk for an explanation). With Becherovka, lime, and cinnamon honey syrup rounding out this drink, it came across like a cinnamon and clove spiced Mai Tai variation.

5. 11 + 2 / 12 + 1
With a good few years of tenure at Local 149, John moved on to the Citizen Public House. The curiously named 11 + 2 / 12 + 1 was the last drink that he made for me back in early 2014; I later asked John to explain the riddle, and he noted that both sides have the same 13 letters in them in different orders. The drink got even more curious as it was equal parts Green Chartreuse and Zucca that were accented by grapefruit bitters and twist oils. Overall, there was a lot of elegance and complexity in this seeming simplicity.

One of the drinks that I wanted to feature was part of a duo that John served to me called the Love in an Elevator. This combination of dark rum, oloroso sherry, Benedictine, and Punt e Mes was rather delightful; however, it was created by his coworker at the time Matt Whitney. While I was sipping this cold libation towards the end of June, John took out a pair of Blue Blazer mugs and started to work on the drink across the bar. I commented to my wife that someone was silly enough to order a Blue Blazer on a hot, almost summer evening. After putting on the show pouring the flaming drink back and forth including igniting a pair of lemon oil puffs from twists, he then set the drink in front of me. At that moment, I realized that I was the silly fool getting a hot drink on a warm evening. John's companion piece the Death in a Doublewide was inspired by the Diamondback, but he could not get it to work chilled, so it was suggested that he go warm. I think that this moment captures the cinematic absurdity that made sitting at John's bar such a treat. John was recently guest bartending at the Hawthorne for their Swizzle Sundays albeit on a night I was also working, so chances are that I have not had the last drink from this Boston Cocktail Allstar.

:: boston cocktail allstars - matt schrage ::

For the fifth installment of the Boston Cocktail Allstars, I am paying tribute to a gentleman that falls somewhere between amaro master and social dadaist, namely Matthew Schrage. I was first introduced to Matt towards the latter half of 2008 as John Gertsen and Ben Sandrof were departing No. 9 Park to open up Drink, and Matt was moving from serving on the floor to behind the bar to fill in the void. I believe that I was the first person to take a picture of Matt's hands while bartending in Boston when he made for me the Henry V Flip; alas, that recipe was never fully recorded and later attempts to sort that one out as I wrote Drink & Tell: A Boston Cocktail Book never prospered. Matt has spent the years since doing some combination of bartending, managing, and consulting on bar programs. Besides all of the delicious cocktails that he served me of which I will feature five below, I owe Matt two major thanks. The first was inviting me to participate in the Whiskey & Amari Night series that he organized while bar managing the Blue Room; there, I had my first swing at being a professional bartender, albeit for a single night, along side industry starlet Katie Emerson. Those four hours behind the stick changed my career direction then and there. Second, he introduced me to my current chef, Marc Sheehan, back in 2011 at No. 9 Park -- actually, this should be first temporally although the end result came later. I stopped in for a drink as they had dinner and plotted their next Brass Tacks pop-up dinner party event, and I ended up getting kidnapped to Brick & Mortar to continue hanging out with them. When Marc was opening up Loyal Nine, I applied to help open his bar program. Eventually, Matt's proclivity to Brick & Mortar would lead him to join the program and help to take it over and cement its spot as one of the nationally recognized cocktail party centers of Boston (in Esquire and Playboy magazines).
1. Soekarno
One of the most influential cocktails that Matt had a hand in creating at No. 9 Park was the Soekarno that I tasted in September of 2009. That drink was the Indonesian take on the Haitian Petion; instead of Clairin from Haiti, this utilized Batavia Arrack. The drink taught me how well Benedictine pairs with funky rums, and I modified this recipe into the Danger Zone Swizzle for Loyal Nine's Yacht Rock Sundays after having made the No. 9 Park classic several times that month for various guests.

2.Nebbia Di Garda
After Matt's stint at the bar at No. 9 Park, he slid over to Menton which lacked a bar until last month, and then over to manage the Hawthorne. After the Hawthorne in late 2012, Matt return to a life behind the stick starting with rebuilding the Blue Room's bar program. One of the things he focused on was bolstering the amaro program, and the Nebbia di Garda named after a foggy alpine lake in Northern Italy featured two of these to great effect. Even in winter, the two amari along with citrus helped to conjure up springtime in my mind.
3. From the Hip
One of the wider effects Matt has had on the Boston cocktail scene has been by consulting and setting up a variety of bar programs across town. One of my favorites from this aspect is the From the Hip that he created for Ribelle. In fact, a few weeks ago, I had two bar guests that were discussing an amazing mezcal over crushed ice drink that one of them had but could not recall the name. When I butted in and inquired where they had it, my guess of "From the Hip" was indeed the proper answer-response to "Ribelle" (and yes, they looked at me like I was a wizard). Lime, falernum, and mint (the McMinty effect) along with the mezcal, Angostura Bitters garnish, and Campari drizzled over the top sealed the deal.

4. Red Duster Swizzle
Matt is currently at Brick & Mortar where he has been since spring 2013, and there he not only runs the cocktail program but also plans theme nights as well. One of my favorite creations from Matt during this current stage of his career is the Red Duster Swizzle, a Royal British Navy-themed Negroni-inspired Swizzle using formulas from Death & Co. that he learned during his time at the Hawthorne (this was well before the Death & Co. Cocktail Book came out). Also, check out the albeit censored by me vintage glassware it was served in:
5. I Know You Know
One of the elegant drinks that Matt came up with at Brick & Mortar was one that he won the Lustau Brandy competition held at the Hawthorne last year. Back when I was at Russell House, I was trying to find the final piece for a menu item that turned into the Endicott Cobbler and I stopped in to Brick & Mortar for guidance. Matt collaborated with me to try a few combinations out and make my idea sing. He later took his part of the idea and converted it into the championship drink, the I Know You Know named after a song from a jazz singer he used to listen to at Wally's. Indeed, I have actually learned a lot about obscure music through Matt's drink names such as learning about Jens Lekman via A Postcard to Nina.
Here, Matt was teaching a class at Boston Thirst 2014 about some of the forgotten ways to enjoy fifty-fifty Martinis, and my turn at the lesson followed soon after. Overall, Matt's contribution to the Boston cocktail scene has been rather solid whether building bar programs or building 8 or more drinks at once while working Friday night service bar at Brick & Mortar. So to Matt Schrage, let us all raise a shot glass of Amaro Braulio with a Budweiser chaser in hand and say cheers to this Boston cocktail allstar!

:: boston cocktail allstars - ryan lotz ::

For the fourth installment of the Boston Cocktail Allstars series, I figured that I would change gears for a moment. The first three, Tommy, Misty, and John, have all gotten a lot of press around Boston and across the country to varying degrees. However, often there are gems that fly under the radar a bit. In this instance, bartender Ryan Lotz has shown a great deal of creativity, hospitality, and scholarship in the 5+ years that I have known him. Early in 2010, Ryan called both Lauren Clark of DrinkBoston and me out on Twitter to come visit him at Lineage in Brookline. Being a ways off the beaten path, Lineage's drink program was not getting that much notice back then. One of the first things that Ryan was doing that caught my attention was that he was working his way through Ted Haigh's Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails. Each weekend, he was featuring a pair of drinks, and he progressed through the book over the next several months until completion; the first one we got to try was the Curaçao Punch. We rather enjoyed visiting Ryan at Lineage from March 2010 on for we could go at the tail end of the crowds and catch dinner without a wait; and after the throngs had left, we had plenty of undivided attention from the barstaff and talk about cocktails. Ryan later departed Lineage to become one of the opening barstaff of the Hawthorne, and after that, he found a home at No. 9 Park.
1. The Fritz
One of the first cocktail recipes of his that Ryan offered me that intrigued me was the Fritz -- a drink that was inspired by one of my recipes, the Gerty. Here, he balanced a four equal part drink where one quarter was Peychaud's Bitters in an inverse Martinez-like formulation. He dubbed this one after Fritz Bultman, an abstract expressionist from New Orleans. Also on the absurd tip was the Monk's Thistle that was his riff on Ben Sandrof's Green Chartreuse-laden Silent Order.

2. Final Voyage
Ryan's drink making prowess was not just freakist and extreme, but he ranged from classical to Tiki as well. For a proto-Tiki-inspired one, perhaps the Final Voyage, a Jamaican rum riff on the Last Word that fell somewhere between a Periodista and the Culross given the apricot liqueur. The Exhibition Swizzle also had a tropical feel despite being a tribute to Aperol's launch; Haitian rum, falernum, and lime helped to set that stage.
3. Black Cadillac
One of the drink styles that Ryan enjoyed tinkering with were egg drinks, and the egg drink that I featured in the Drink and Tell: A Boston Cocktail Book technique section was this one, the Black Cadillac. This stout ale Flip bolstered by demerara syrup, Scotch, and Jamaican rum had all the makings of early 19th century libations but with a flavor profile that fit in quite nicely with modern mixology.

4. Andorra
At the Hawthorne, Ryan had less control over the cocktail menu than he did as bar manager of Lineage, but he still was able to offer guests some excellent libations. One that sums up this era was the Andorra. Comparing it to a Negroni would sell it short, but Cognac as the spirit, sherry as the wine element, and Amaro Nardini as the bittering agent in equal parts gave way for a complex tipple. Add in a little salted rooibos syrup to mollify the amaro's bitterness, and the flavor profile offered chocolate, toffee, and nuttiness that complemented the brandy.
5. Riviera de Ponente
I think that the Hawthorne's refined elegance prepared him well for the current stage of his career at No. 9 Park. Strangely, he has been churning out some of the most interesting Tiki drinks in town using inspiration from Italian ingredients and classic cocktails. The Riviera de Ponente pictured above mixes in amaro and other liqueurs in something akin to a Zombie. And his Negroni Week offering, the Amaro di Cocco beautifully merged a Rum Negroni with a Piña Colada into what could have been dubbed the Piña Negrada. Also, his Tiki prowess has led him to teach classes with Beachbum Berry where Ryan offered up the Benny & the Jets.

For these reasons, I am adding Ryan to this small but growing list of Boston Cocktail Allstars. Indeed, of this group, he is the first that I have covered that is still dedicating himself full time to bartending in Boston. And perhaps one day I'll make sure to get a decent picture of Ryan (opposed to the one above from Boston Thirst 2014) instead of taking pictures of his exquisite drinks alone. So cheers to Ryan!

:: boston cocktail allstars - john gertsen ::

In continuing on in the series of bartenders, past and present, who have helped to shape the Boston cocktail scene, I feel that it would be a serious omission if I left out John Gertsen. In one part for what he has done for Boston and in another part for what he has done for me. I distinctly remember meeting Gertsen in August 2007 at a LUPEC Boston-sponsored Chartreuse event at Green Street in Cambridge. A man dressed up as a Carthusian monk was either introduced to me or started talking to me -- namely, John Gertsen in a costume. I later learned that there was not a costume that John would not don for a cocktail event (see the photo below of him as a Colonial fop for Boston Thirst). John gestured that we should sit down and we continued our conversation partially cloaked to the rest of the world by the robe-hood about cocktails, life, and how veering from what one went to higher education for was not a bad thing. From there, I soon made Tuesdays and Saturdays, John's nights on the No. 9 Park bar, part of my haunts. And shortly thereafter, I met his loyal followers who also flocked to the bar on those nights such as Monica and Tyrone.
Like the other posts, I will cover 5 drinks that span the bars that I knew the Allstar at. However, there are many classic cocktails that I associate with him. First, there is the Sazerac. John's enthusiasm made the ritual of building and serving the regular rye whiskey Sazerac a joy to behold, but he utilized it as a platform to make simple tweaks into new gems as I captured in having my first Gin Sazerac. It also felt special because you could sense the lineage in this drink as he spoke of the bartenders and their bars in New Orleans who made this drink a special one for him. The second is the Tom & Jerry. No, he did not create the Tom & Jerry, nor as Wondrich explains, neither did Jerry Thomas. But Gertsen helped to define the drink as the appropriate beverage to have when it snows in town. And perhaps only when it is snowing. People would later seek out his approval if he did not send it out on social media that it was Tom & Jerry weather. Indeed, No. 9 Park was one of the few bars to have a Tom & Jerry bowl set on display during the winter season. The third was the Knickebein -- that crazy layered pousse-café drink with an unbroken egg yolk in the middle and beaten stiff egg whites on top that is taken in a four step ceremony. No, he never served one to me, but my witnessing him serving it to one of his groupies to see how far he could take things, was enough to have me try it at home. And that transference of enthusiasm for the drink led to me recently being asked to write an article in the upcoming Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails about the drink. With those three classics out of the way, here are 5 drinks or so crafted by John that help define how he helped to shape my view of Boston cocktails, and perhaps how he helped to shape the Boston drinking scene overall.

1. Flight of Heraldry: The Negroni, Contessa, and Patrician
One thing that John was involved in at No. 9 Park was making up cocktail flights. The first I remember was the Flight of Aviation that traced the drink through the decades as different ingredients became less available and as tastes changed. However, one that preceded it, the Negroni-inspired Flight of Heraldry, was one that he had a hand in creating and includes two drinks that are still made around town to this day. Perhaps tack on the Negroni as one of the other classics that John helped to inspire me to love (and I have to include Ben Sandrof in on this for serving me a Negroni made with xanthum gum-infused Campari for a richer mouthfeel). With the Negroni being so hot these days, it is good that John's contributions were captured in Gaz Regan's The Negroni book. And as a show of influence, my Negroni Knickebein appears in that book as well!
2. Helsingor
The Helsingor is a transitional cocktail of sorts. It was created once John opened up Drink, but was based off of a No. 9 Park cocktail the Copenhagen. I cannot recall who crafted the Copenhagen, but unlike No. 9 Park, Drink lacked the necessary Gamel Dansk. Therefore, John generated this Angostura-heavy riff back in 2009 for one of his old No. 9 regulars Tyrone. A half ounce of Angostura Bitters either does or does not seem like a lot of bitters now, but back then, it definitely was. True, the Trinidad Sour was kicking around as well as some classics from the literature. That level of absurdity carried on in drinks like the Mission of Burma, the inverse proportioned Pegu Club riff that John created for a Grand Marnier event. I am also thankful for John (technically, Jeff Grdinich) inviting Andrea and me to have a drink on that Grand Marnier event menu, namely the Lioness (of Brittany).

3. Means of Preservation
Of course, not everything memorable that John created at Drink was over the top, and the Means of Preservation is a fine example. Paul Clarke writing about the Ephemeral Cocktail back in 2009 inspired John to make his own riff. One of the key ingredients in both is celery bitters; however, they were not commercially available in Boston at that time. Luckily, I had been supplying Drink with my celery bitters since 2008 to make up that lack. In thanks, John let me "work" at Drink so I could compete at Tales of the Cocktail in 2009 in a bitters competition (I used the royal "we" a lot in describing on microphone how "we" used those celery bitters at Drink). Technically, I did bus our cocktail and water glasses once the night that he agreed to let me be a barback. And perhaps, I should have pushed back then to have actually get a job as a barback for real...
4. DoublePlusGood
In preparing for a guest shift at Los Angeles' Edison, John created a cross between a Mai Tai and a Pisco Sour by taking the former and adding an egg white and Angostura Bitters as a garnish. John always enjoyed describing how Mai Tai was called that for being the Tahitian translation of "out of this world," and he took that one step further with his 1984 Newspeak name for this riff. He also opted for a white rum to give this drink a purity of color (save for the two Angostura Bitters plus-signs as garnish).

5. Krakatoa
Nothing is as stunning as fire when it comes to garnishes or drink preparation. True, John helped to bring back the Blue Blazer, but I never took to the concept of hot, booze-depleted Scotch. The Krakatoa was a cooler drink that utilized a Fernet-colored Batavia Arrack Old Fashioned to extinguish flaming Green Chartreuse in the glass to generate something akin to a Don't Give Up the Ship or Toronto. John did similarly in expanding the 1895 Star Cocktail into the Super Nova.
Last August saw Boston saying goodbye to John as he left Drink for the West Coast via a Gertstravaganza celebration at the Hawthorne pictured above. Indeed, John also introduced me to Scott Holliday as he returned back from Canada in 2008 right before Scott took over Rendezvous' bar program, so that picture is quite fitting. The drink that Scott presented that night in John's honor was something the two of them created post-shift, late at night, when they were roommates, namely the Negrimlet -- a Negroni-Gimlet mash up. While John is in San Francisco, our paths will surely cross again. I did have the honor two months ago of having him and David Wondrich sitting at my bar at Loyal 9 (and I was working with Loyal Nine bar manager Bryn Tattan that night who John helped to train from barback into a full bartender) before they moved on to a table to have dinner. I think that was the first time I actually served him a drink, and it was an honor to switch sides of the game that night. And perhaps at Tales of the Cocktail in two weeks and at events in the future, I'll have another chance to raise a glass to this Boston Cocktail Allstar. Cheers, Mr. Gertsen!

:: boston cocktail allstars - misty kalkofen ::

As a result of discussing various Boston bartenders and their long lasting contributions to the Boston cocktail scene, I began a series last week called the Boston Cocktail Allstars. For a starting point, I selected my first craft bartender, Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli, and soon assembled a list of local shaker heroes that needed to be covered in future editions. Next on the docket is Misty Kalkofen which temporally might have been our next craft bartender in Boston. I know that we were drinking at Green Street back in mid-2007, about a year after Misty started there, and followed her to Drink in late 2008 and then Brick & Mortar in the vapors of 2011. I am not sure whether her infectious laugh or her recipes travel further, but for now, I will deal more with the recipes (note: bring field recording gear next time). And with great difficulty like last time, I will narrow this down to five drinks that define my version of her Boston legacy.
1. Fort Washington Flip
While Misty is frequently known for her early adopter status with St. Germain, mezcal, and sherry (more on that in the next few drinks), one thing that she brings to the table, er... bar is a love of egg drinks. In fact, for Easter 2007, she assembled a egg-forward cocktail menu, and DrinkBoston quoted her as saying "You hard boil your Easter eggs. We separate and shake ours." This is not to say that she was the first, for No. 9 Park was definitely doing their share and Eastern Standard had already started their "oeuf" section on their menu. As one of her best egg drinks during this time period, Misty brought a bunch of Fall flavors together and named it after a Revolutionary War-era fortification, Fort Washington, which still exists as remnants several blocks away from Green Street. While my first egg drink was at Eastern Standard, my love of the style blossomed at Misty's bar. Though not her drink, her choice to put Angus Winchester's Peanut Malt Flip on the menu made my nightcap drink choice easy -- I would just ask Green Street bartender Derric Crothers for a "PMF."

2. Maximilian Affair
Before her love of sherry reared itself, it was St. Germain and mezcal. One of the first drinks that had both in it was the Maximilian Affair which was symbolically named after a French intervention in Mexico during the mid-19th century. When I asked Misty about the drink later, she explained how she created the drink at Green Street for Ron Cooper of Del Maguey after he pulled a bottle of mezcal out for her to try. The Del Maguey products were not available here at that time, so luckily she still had enough of a sample to use it in a St. Germain recipe competition. Until quality mezcals became available, she was often forced to use a blanco tequila in its place. Floral and fruit notes from the St. Germain intervene with the heat and smoke of the Mexican spirit, and the combination is magically bound with Punt e Mes and lemon. Perhaps her Bohemian is a better introduction to St. Germain, but I personally return to the Maximilian Affair for personal consumption more often.
3. Armada
During the Drink era, Misty did not have the benefit of getting cocktails on a menu for that bar lacks (a written) one. New ideas were more fleeting and often required them to be made by the creator. Luckily, we had quite a few of these during the time period. Originally, I was going to go with the Dunaway that showcases Misty's finesse with sherry. However, I spotted the Armada which included sherries as well as Genever -- a spirit that Misty also produced great recipes with including the 1820. Genever is less forgiving of a spirit than gin or whiskey which lie on either side of it on the flavor spectrum, yet Misty was able to craft gems like the Armada.

4. Teardrop
Once Misty moved on to Brick & Mortar, she created some of the most intriguing combinations on paper that turned out to delicious medleys in the glass. The first that I tried at Brick that December of 2011 was the Teardrop which Misty described as one the first successes for the opening menu. It also showcased a new tool in her cocktail arsenal -- having a person who could generate names. Bar co-owner Patrick Sullivan had a notebook of names that he wanted to find homes for, and Misty had a bunch of cocktail ideas that needed names. Here, Cardamaro takes center stage to balance the gin; while Averna donates a bit of richness, it is the light touch of absinthe that makes things work by brightening up the drink. Not overpowering in any direction or proof. The latter part was not so true on the Bullet for Fredo that I had that night. No, it was balanced, but this chilled but undiluted number packed a punch (see serving size below!). It also displayed how aged grappa could be utilized elegantly as a based spirit. Apparently, during Brick & Mortar training, the staff greatly enjoyed drinking Nardini Aquavite Bassano Riserva Aged Grappa over other spirits, perhaps due to its vanilla, spice, chocolate, and tobacco notes.
5. Streets of Gettysburg
For a second drink to sum up Misty's time at Brick & Mortar, I was torn between two cocktails that featured sherry and Benedictine. The one that I did not choose is the amusingly named Honky and the Donkey. Perhaps it should have gotten the nod, but Misty's love of mezcal has been mentioned a few times above. Instead, here is a rye whiskey one, but what does it have to do with the name? Legend has it that Patrick Sullivan had spotted it as the caption to a friend's photo on Facebook and put it his drink name notebook, and it later called out to Misty. The trio of sherry, Benedictine, and coffee liqueur is just magic in this drink.
Currently, Misty has taken her love of agave spirits to the next level and the next stage in her career, that of being an educator as well as working for Del Maguey Mezcal. I remember the first time that Misty visited me at Russell House Tavern shortly after making that move. I had to figure out what drink would match her tastes, and the one I chose was my Downtown at Dawn which features mezcal, apple brandy, and Benedictine that she has utilized in many of her drinks over the years. If I could have fit sherry, Lillet/Cocchi Americano, Drambuie, and egg in there as well, the world might have exploded. So let us all raise a stigi of mezcal to Misty. Cheers!

:: boston cocktail allstars - tom schlesinger-guidelli ::

In conversations of late, I have been discussing various Boston bartenders and their contributions to the Boston cocktail scene that still hold weight in the modern day mixology world. One name that kept popping up was Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli who has graced the bars of Eastern Standard, Craigie on Main, and to some degree Island Creek Oyster Bar. Since Tom was my first craft bartender back in June 2007, he has set the bar for what hospitality and drink craftsmanship can be, and it seemed like a good place to start this series. I figured that a 5 drink or so retrospective might be a fitting tribute to these Boston Cocktail Allstars.
1. The Jaguar
Very few people were mixing with tequila in Boston back in 2007 save for various Margarita variations and the like. Everything was shaken and laden with citrus fruit to dull the edge of the spirit. A stirred tequila drink? Unheard of. Balancing it with bitter and herbal liqueurs? Sure, if it's 2012, but 5 years prior to that? The secret of this drink was how well the edges of tequila and Green Chartreuse were soothed over by the caramel-dark orange richness of Amer Picon. This drink opened my eyes to what agave spirits could offer, and how blessed Boston was back then with our unearthed stash of Amer Picon that Eastern Standard luckily did not buy up the whole of (I still have most of my one liter bottle from that discovery).
2. The Prospect Park
I remember drinking many of these in Eastern Standard's gorgeous coupe glasses (as well as Hoskins which was created by then New Orleans blogger Chuck Taggart). The recipe might have been one of the first famous Manhattan variations to come out of our city, and it showcases our inexplicable love of Maraschino liqueur. I have heard the drink described once as an Aperol-stretched (or -softened) Red Hook which could explain why the balance works so wonderfully. Moreover, I have recently had good luck switching this rye-based formula to both brandy and aged rum with great success showing how timeless and versatile the base structure is.
3. The Northern Lights
In late 2008, Tom crossed the river and helped Tony Maws transition across town from Craigie Bistro to Craigie on Main. I recall how difficult it was to score a seat in the bar or lounge back then for this level of craftsmanship was novel on this side of the Charles River. The Northern Lights was what Tom created on his brief hiatus from the stick, and was inspired by drinking with friends in Wesport, MA, under the stars. One of the Northern Lights' secret weapons was the hot new St. Germain, but it was balanced by smoke and pine notes from Scotch and another new ingredient, Douglas Fir eau de vie, respectively. The third hot ingredient in the mix was the Bittermen's Tiki Bitters. Seven ingredients in all that tie together gracefully.
4. Jerez Flip
My first egg drink was served to me by Tommy, well because I told him that I was a little scared of egg drinks. That was back at Eastern Standard, and I do remember that it was based off of a Vieux Carré with different proportions. At Craigie on Main, there was no shortage of Flips either. While the Florentine Flip almost got the spot here, the Jerez Flip won out for it focused on sherry which was rather novel and hip back then. While I would have to give the nod to Misty Kalkofen for bringing sherry to the forefront of Boston mixology, the ingredients in this drink complemented the sherry rather elegantly.
5. Pirate's Revenge
After Craigie on Main, Tom stepped back from the bar to assume a more managerial position at Island Creek Oyster Bar. Yet, he was not able to stay away from tinkering with recipes though. The Pirate's Revenge was something that he and Vikram Hedge came up with -- a four equal parter with a few dashes of something extra that has the feel of something Sam Ross would come up with.

These recipes do show but one side of Tom; the other being the hospitality side. While I do remember the first conversations we had with him back in 2007 about pastis brands and how he took the time to talk to us throughout the night despite the full bar on an early Saturday evening, one story stands out in my head about what TSG hospitality was about. It involved the Espresso Martini... and two incredulous women doubting that Eastern Standard could make a good one. Tom handled their attack with grace and explained lovingly how the house Espresso Martini was made with such poetry that I was even tempted to get one. I recall how the two women looked at each other and nodded, and then ordered probably the best Espresso Martini they have ever tasted. Perhaps due to the ingredients and thought behind it, but most definitely because someone took the time to treat their inquiry as seriously as a discussion of Islay Single Malt Scotches or rare amari on the shelves. And that is what has helped define what Boston hospitality is all about. And personally, thinking back to when I was making drinks at home and doubted my wife (then girlfriend) that there were bars out there making drinks like I was doing at home, Tom was the one that guided me across that threshold. So cheers to TSG!