An occasional roundup of L.A. cocktail culture in various media.

Just in time for Super Bowl Sunday, LA Times Magazine featured recipes for four classic tiki cocktails, “reimagined for a new generation.” Love the retro-style artwork, too.

On February 11, an LA Times Food article included a profile of Modern Spirits (TRU Vodka, found at some of LA’s best cocktail bars) and the ups and downs of being an artisan distillery.

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Two articles in the much-discussed Los Angeles issue of Saveur (#127, Feb) focused on LA’s cocktail culture:

Drink City is a solid list of cocktail destinations that includes The Edison, Seven Grand, Rivera, Roger Room, and Copa d’Oro. The Varnish wasn’t listed, but was instead mentioned in a sidebar on the Cole’s-Philippe’s French Dip rivalry.

In Spirits of Polynesia, Jeff Berry takes a look at the wonderful Tiki-Ti, affectionately calling the owners “textbook examples of how not to succeed in the bar business.”

Also in the Saveur issue are cocktail recipes for Rivera’s Barbacoa and Tiki-Ti’s Cuba Kola and Puka Punch.

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On Fat Tuesday, The Edison announced that Joe Brooke (named America’s Best Bartender and formerly at Copa d’Oro) would assume the role of Director of Spirits, a position formerly held by Aidan Demerest, now consulting for the cocktail program at the upcoming First & Hope.

The very next day, cocktail enthusiasts were a-Twitter over a Daily Dish post that said that Audrey Saunders had ended her Tar Pit partnership with Mark Peel. According to the LA Times, Peel said that Saunders “did all the training and designing for the original menu, and I think she did a great job. We just came to a parting of the ways.” It was announced that Marcos Tello would head the Tar Pit bar, until word came later that day that he was also leaving. Squid Ink followed up with a confirmation that Marcos had indeed resigned from the Tar Pit to return to The Varnish as well as consult on the aforementioned First & Hope.

Speaking of Squid Ink and First & Hope, Caroline on Crack posted a sneak preview of the forthcoming supper club, scheduled to open in mid-March. The preview also includes a recipe for the Champagne Julep, an upscale take on the classic mint julep.

A week after the dust had settled at the Tar Pit, the LA Times published a review by S. Irene Virbila. Tar Pit got two stars from Miss Irene, who gave it props for the cocktails but thought the kitchen was inconsistent.

On Thursday, February 25th, Alex Day worked his last shift at New York’s renowned Death & Company. What does this have to do with L.A. cocktail culture you ask? Well, according to his interview with the Village Voice, Alex is heading to Los Angeles to open a bar with Death & Co. owner David Kaplan. New York’s loss is L.A.’s gain; stay tuned, friends.

Last week, the LA Weekly published Jonathan Gold’s 99 Things to Eat in L.A. Before You Die, a list that covers everything from “fugu to foie gras, pizza to panuchos.” Best of all, you can also have a great cocktail when you check off a few of these must-eat dishes:

• Rivera’s tortillas
• Musso & Frank’s Welsh rarebit
• Cole’s French Dip
• Akasha’s quinoa with edamame
• Comme Ca’s cheeseburger
• Michael Cimarusti’s squid with piquillo peppers and pig’s ear
• Hungry Cat’s lobster roll

Mezcal and tequila fans have been eagerly anticipating the debut of 213 Downtown’s Las Perlas, and according to blogdowntown, the opening could happen as early as today. The post describes the interior in detail, noting that Ricki Kline is especially happy with how his latest design for 213 turned out.

Related posts:

1. All the Booze That’s Fit to Print – Fall 2009
2. All the Booze That’s Fit to Print – January 2010
3. All the Booze That's Fit to Print – Summer 2009

After a brief hiatus, the Radio Room returns on Tuesday, February 23rd. The first Radio Room of 2010 features Joe Brooke, the Edison’s newly-appointed Director of Spirits, and winner of America’s Best Bartender competition. Joining him are San Francisco’s Erick Castro (Rickhouse) and New York’s Brian Miller (Death & Co.). They’ll each bring a selection of their signature cocktails to the Radio Room menu, a great way to sample drinks from around the country in one night.

In addition to imbibing cocktails from the Edison’s ace bartending team, guests will be entertained by Vagabond Opera, a six-piece “Bohemian cabaret ensemble” based in Portland, Oregon. Limited online presale tickets are available now. Tickets will also be sold at the door on Tuesday night. You can also sign up for the Edison e-mail list for a two-for-one discount. Better yet, enter Caroline on Crack’s contest for a chance to win a VIP package, which includes admission for two, drink tickets, and a table reservation!

Radio Room at the Edison
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
108 W. 2nd St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 613-0000
www.edisondowntown.com

Guest Mixologists: Joe Brooke, Erick Castro, Brian Miller

Featuring: Vagabond Opera & DJ Jonny

• Doors at 8pm
• 21 and over
• Presale tickets available online
• $10.00 tickets at the door on event night

Related posts:

1. July 28: Radio Room at the Edison
2. November 10: Radio Room at the Edison
3. September 29: Radio Room at the Edison

LA Times Magazine
The monthly Los Angeles Times insert continues its excellent series of articles on the L.A. cocktail scene. Mezcal was the focus in the November issue, which featured an in-depth look at Ron Cooper, the man behind Del Maguey. There are also several mezcal cocktail recipes by Raul Yrastorza (Cole’s Red Car Bar), to be featured at Las Perlas, the upcoming “shrine to mezcal” from Cedd Moses and Mark Verge.

Just in time for the holidays, the December issue featured artisinal punch recipes from Vincenzo Marianella, Eric Alperin, Ted Haigh, and Marcos Tello.

LA Times
During Thanksgiving Week, the LA Times featured a “Culinary SOS” gallery of 47 recipes from readers’ favorite restaurant dishes. One of them was the Chilling with the Coolidge Cocktail, created by Danielle Motor at The Hungry Cat for actress Jennifer Coolidge. It’s no longer on the menu, but here’s the recipe.

Also in the gallery: the “Gin”-ger Basiltini (the Girl & the Fig, Sonoma) and the Stella! Sazerac (Stella!, New Orleans).

America’s Top Bartender
The weekend before Thanksgiving, Copa d’Oro’s Joe Brooke was named America’s Top Bartender and won $100,000. Congrats and way to represent, Joe! You can watch Joe win the Final Challenge at LXTV’s On the Rocks site.

After his victory, Joe made an appearance on the Today Show, mixing a couple of holiday cocktails: The Linus and Single Serve Eggnog.

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NY Times Winter Drinks
On December 1st, the NY Times published its Winter Drinks issue, which went heavy with the rum. One article featured an aged rum taste test, while another made the case for rum being the new gin. Featured prominently in the latter article was the Night Watcher, an insane-looking tiki drink (ball gag anyone?) from The Tar Pit, opening December 18th. Photos and recipes included the Night Watcher and the Top Notch Volcano, from San Francisco’s Smuggler’s Cove.

Also in the Winter Drinks issue, an article focused on day drinks, including the Ramos Gin Fizz at The Hungry Cat.

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The Tar Pit
With opening night (hopefully) just days away, anticipation for The Tar Pit has reached a fever pitch. Audrey Saunders (Pegu Club) and Chad Solomon and Christy Pope (Cuff & Buttons) are collaborating on the cocktail menu, so it’s no wonder that the New York Times has led the way in coverage, beginning with an article that broke the news that Saunders was part of the Tar Pit team. Subsequently, the LA Times, Los Angeles Magazine, LA Weekly, and Eater LA provided additional info and images. Then came the Night Watcher mention in the NY Times, the first cocktail to emerge from the project. Thrillist has just posted a few more Tar Pit cocktails, including:

• The Old Cuban – aged rum mojito, Angostura bitters, topped with champagne
• Flame of Love (invented by Chasen’s Pepe Ruiz for Dean Martin) – bay leaf-infused vodka w/ fino sherry, and a flaming corkscrew orange peel
• Fiddy-Fiddy – gin-vermouth (50/50, natch), orange bitters, and a lemon-twist

A press preview night has been announced for Monday the 14th, so expect a flurry of posts and pics on Tuesday. As for me, I’ll be spending the weekend trying to blag a +1 for Monday. Cheers!

Related posts:

1. All the Booze That’s Fit to Print – February 2010
2. All the Booze That's Fit to Print – Summer 2009
3. All the Booze That’s Fit to Print – January 2010