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Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/61309
ratios are most important." While not accurately measuring ingredients and using too much alcohol can both easily ruin a drink, so can adding too much sweetener. FruitBat places the agave, honey and simple syrup at the end of the self-serve station, so customers can sample their creation before sweetening it. cocktail variations for the guest, it can also be overwhelming. Off ering the chance to create riff s on one type of libation may make mixology more manageable. Before recently closing for extensive renovations, the Asian-inspired, 322-seat Silks Restaurant at the 158-room Mandarin Oriental in San Francisco featured bottomless, create-your-own Champagne cocktails for Sunday brunch. For $20, guests had a choice of two Champagnes, as well as a table stocked with sugar cubes, bitters, lemon twists, Crème de Cassis, muddled berries and pineapple. Perhaps the best- known and most frequently executed make- KEEPING IT SIMPLE While a wide selection of ingredients can translate to endless your-own-cocktail concept involves another brunch favorite. During Sunday brunch at the 138-seat Paramour Restaurant in the 40-room historic Wayne Hotel in Wayne, Pennsylvania, bartenders provide guests with their choice of either vodka or tequila before turning them loose on a self-serve Bloody Mary Bar. Th e laundry list of components includes twenty hot sauces, pickled vegetables, marinated shrimp, freshly grated horseradish and house made beef jerky. Th e cocktails cost $10 to $14, depending on the base spirit. Almost a year and a half ago, Poste Moderne Brasserie, a 176-seat modern French brasserie operated by the San Francisco- based Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, started off ering a build-your-own Bloody Mary bar and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. "Everyone seems to love using the infused spirits and house made garnishes and sauces," notes head bartender Jason Wiles. Guests start with regular vodka, or one of three infused varieties crafted in-house: horseradish and chili, garlic and habanero, or—the most popular—bacon. Wiles has always enjoyed a savory Bloody Mary during At Fig customers can let the barkeeps make them a drink or mix their own Manhattans. weekend brunch, but was often disheartened by messy, poorly re-stocked DIY stations at restaurants. For his own Bloody Mary bar at Poste, he strives to off er quality products—and lots of them. "Keep it fresh, keep it stocked, keep it clean!" he says. "And most of all, think about what you would want when you go out to a bar." For him, that means plenty of bacon to adorn the tomato-tinged tipples. Poste's Bloody Mary station boasts a bevy of house-made But Poste also makes it easy for guests unsure of amounts to use, or who don't know where to begin. A bottle of ready-to- pour house made Bloody Mary mix sets next to one of regular tomato juice, and chef Dennis Marron's favorite Bloody Mary recipe is also displayed as a cheat sheet. Operators wishing to let guests try their hand at mixology may fi nd that seeking out a sponsorship from a spirits company helps to off set costs: FruitBat works with Cruzan rums and Poste exclusively uses Ketel One vodkas as the base for their Bloody Mary Bar. Holzherr also off ers up some additional logistically tips for components, including hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, pickled cucumbers, ramps and okra. Garnishes run the gamut from Ancho chili powder, soy sauce and olive juice to cucumber and Cayenne pepper. "It seems as if every person's Bloody Mary looks diff erent from the person next to them!" Each cocktail is $8. CAREFULLY TAILORING A COCKTAIL Th at touch of personalization has immense appeal for guests, many of whom revel in the pouring, sprinkling and dashing. www.cheersonline.com self-server stations. Staff must be well-trained at mixing and balancing ingredients, must understand and embrace the concept and really need to be patient with guests. Finally he says, "You have to stock the bar with fun and exciting ingredients that will be able to take a base spirit on all diff erent [and something uncharted] paths." the Washington, D.C. area. She can be reached through her website, www.kellymagyarics.com, or on www.twitter.com/kmagyarics.com. APRIL 2012 | Kelly Magyarics is a wine and spirits writer, and wine educator, in 33