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Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/41359
Margarita contrasts the grilled fruit muddled in the glass with a fresh slice of pineapple as a garnish and the glass is rimmed with a chile pequin-salt. In development now, says Ortiz, are also fruit garnishes made with chile pequin to enhance its fl avors—a technique borrowed from Mexican cuisine. One factor driving this blossoming of fancy trimmings is the current revival of Tiki bars, says Chris Frankel, bartender at Anvil Bar & Refuge in Houston. "Th e Tiki movement makes fresh product look pretty, but it often goes over the top," he adds. Anvil holds Tiki Tuesdays every week. Th e bar also marinates fresh cherries in spiced Bourbon and puts them up in Mason jars for use in its Manhattans. "We get customers ordering Manhattans just to eat the cherries," notes Frankel. Anvil off ers 30-some cocktails, priced $8 to $12. THE KITCHEN CONNECTION "Cocktails have been getting more culinary over the past fi ve or six years and garnishes add another dimension where you can be creative," posits Frankel. Anvil's Trifecta is a good example. Th e molasses-maple fl avor of the Cruzan Blackstrap rum in the drink gave Frankel the idea of topping the cocktail with a fried- to-order sweet potato beignet. Kevin Schulz, who wears two toques as both executive chef and head bar chef at Bridge Bar in Chicago, has to agree about the culinary connection. He makes his Bullshot with jerky- infused vodka and garnishes it appropriately with a stick of jerky. Another drink from the list of a dozen cocktails, priced $9 to $11, is the Shiso Simple; an Asian-accented variation on a Pimm's Cup, which substitutes Japanese yuzu citrus juice for the lemon and is garnished with an aromatic shiso leaf—also borrowed from Japanese cuisine. "I get my inspiration from the kitchen—and the farm," says Scott Rowe, bar manager at National Hotel Bar & Grill in Montgomery, N.Y. (which is actually just a restaurant and not a hotel). He's also known as the "green thumb bartender" thanks to his day job at nearby organic Windfall Farms. At National, the garden is his garnish; Rowe has experimented with various herbs, beets, rhubarb, arugula, pickles and squash blossoms and edible fl owers such as nasturtiums and pansies. Colorful heirloom tomatoes from the farm decorate his tomato- water version of a Bloody Mary, side by side with asparagus and cucumber spears. National Hotel Bar lists about nine cocktails, priced from $12 to $15. Th e Mobeeto is a riff on the Mojito, with beet juice in the drink and shaved beets as a garnish. For another drink, Th e Farmer's Brunch, Rowe sticks pansy petals to sides of the glass, fi lls it with crushed ice then pours in the drink. "Attractive garnishes are attention-getters," he notes. "Th ey inspire me-too sales." INCREASING REGISTER RINGS "When garnishes are out of the ordinary, they grab attention. Other customers see them and say, 'I want one of those,'" concurs Schulz. One of his most impressive garnishes features www.cheersonline.com SEPTEMBER 2011 | 37 hickory smoke wafting out of the glass. For the aptly named Smoking Gun, Bridge's bartenders use a hand-held smoker to fi ll an upside-down glass with smoke while the W.L. Weller Special Reserve Bourbon-Maple Syrup drink is mixed. Th e glass is turned upright in front of the guest so the smoke drifts out as the drink is poured in and the liquid mixes with the smoke; it's garnished with candied bacon. "It has the 'wow' factor," says the bar chef, noting that prepping one of these drinks invariably attracts requests for more. Th e Ladder of Death was always a conversation-starter on Anvil's spring menu. A take-off on a Tiki drink, the concoction of rums and fruit juices is served in a rocks glass with pineapple leaves and a fl oating orange wedge; on top of the wedge is a crouton soaked in over-proofed rum, which is lit on fi re in front of guests. Another head-turner at Anvil is the Rooster Cogburn, a play on a boilermaker; Bourbon, IPA and house-made beer syrup are shaken with a whole raw egg. Th e washed eggshell fl oats on the drink with half an ounce more Bourbon. Although many creative garnishes cost more than a simple twist or plain olive, most bartenders opt not to charge extra for these drinks. Repeat business is deemed more important than Kevin Schulz makes his Bullshot with jerky-infused vodka and garnishes it with another stick of jerky.