Category: industry news

ABV, A Forthcoming SF Bar from Dalva, Beretta Folks

Coming not-so-soon (January most likely) in the former Tokyo GoGo spot on 16th Street in the Inner Mission of San Francisco will be the bar ABV.

ABV is a partnership between Erik Reichborn-Kjennerud (owner of Dalva, Dalva Hideout), Ryan Fitzgerald (former Beretta bar manager and Del Maguey Mezcal brand ambassador), and Todd Smith (bartender at Dalva Hideout, distributor rep with Pacific Edge, founding Bourbon & Branch bartender).

The specifics are likely to change a bit as they transfer the liquor license and build out the space, but here's what I learned in a meeting with the partners:

The concept is a bar that will offer about 10-15 cocktails and around the same number of small plates dishes, also priced around the same as each other (ten bucks more or less). So, like at Beretta, if you are having great drinks there you may as well order something to great eat as well.

The goal with the food (they're hiring a consultant chef to work out specifics) is to have high-quality, regularly-rotating, finger-friendly foods that will probably include some pickles and something fried, but not jalapeno poppers or standard pub fare like that. Food will be served until late; probably 1AM, and they are considering opening in the early afternoons, seven days a week.

The space won't be completely gutted for the rebuild, but they will make the kitchen smaller and remake the bar bigger; extending it to be the focus of the space. You shouldn't expect to too many bar design elements that they feel have become cliched, liked reclaimed wood and bare Edison bulbs. Seating will be primarily at high-top tables and shared tables in the back, to avoid that situation where people at low tables have standing bar patrons' butts in their faces. It will not be a lounge. They'll have some sort of table service and a doorman checking IDs, but not a host stand or typical restaurant reserved seating.

The drink program doesn't have a specific direction outside of "things that we like," according to the partners. "We're not trying to have every single whisky or tequila," says Reichborn-Kjennerud, though with Fitzgerald's mezcal affiliation you should expect to see a fair amount of that.

The team spoke mostly about what they are planning to avoid: barrel-aged cocktails, bottled cocktails, cocktails on tap; things they feel are more gimmicky than practical. "There's not going to be a uniform and it's not like everyone is going to wear a certain kind of hat." That said, they will have "great ice".

Cocktails will reflect their personal preferences and those of the bartenders who work there. Smith says, "A few years ago I was really into boozy drinks, but lately I've been enjoying lighter aperitif-style drinks, so for example you should expect to see some of that." The plan is for a good portion of the drink menu to change fairly regularly.

As time goes on, they plan to have a themed night or two, educational programming likely to take place in the balcony area, and perhaps some different food at brunch. They mentioned a quality soundtrack as a focus, but also that it could be radically different from night to night depending on who is working (as it is at Dalva Hideout currently).

The key words for the bar are "comfortable" and "affordable" they say. "We're not trying to reinvent anything," says Fitzgerald.

My overall impression is that they're trying to create a casual-but-quality themeless bar with great music, easy-and-delicious food, and amazing cocktails, reflecting the preferences and tastes of the owners. It's fair to say that's that goal of most people opening up a new neighborhood bar these days, but in this neighborhood with these owners, our expectations probably should be raised to match.

As ABV will be the second-closest cocktail bar to my house, I'm pretty sure I'll be able to keep you updated on its progress.

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September 3, 2013
When Pot Distilled Whiskey Is Not Pot Still Whiskey

What is pot still whiskey?

The obvious answer is "whiskey that's made in a pot still," but apparently that's not true if you're in Ireland.

I was on a trip recently with whiskey writer/expert/class clown/author Dominic Roskrow and was showing off my sexy Irish whiskey distillery diagram, when he called me out on it. He said that the Cooley distillery makes no pot still whiskey.

"But they have pot stills in which they make whiskey, so obviously they make pot still whiskey," I said. It went back and forth for a few days, but the argument comes down to this:

In Ireland, "pure pot still" whiskey has long meant whiskey distilled from a combination of malted and unmalted barley. Thus "pot still Irish whiskey" doesn't tell us the type of still used to make it; it tells us the barley blend used. They claim if you distill another type of whiskey in a pot still (such as all-malted barley) in Ireland it is not pot still Irish whiskey.

That's like a basketball player arguing that an soccer ball is not a ball because it's not a basketball.

But apparently there is no use arguing logic in Ireland… so let's look at the law.

In his efforts to prove me wrong, Roskrow turned to someone with even more expertise in Irish whiskey, Peter Mulryan. Mulryan filled us in on how they've changed the legal definition to fit their local definition of pot still Irish whiskey. Mulryan wrote in an email:

Until very recently there was no legal definition of what constituted a Pot Still Irish whiskey, this allowed John Teeling [of Cooley distillery] to say that his single malt was a pot still whiskey, as it was distilled in a pot still. This was of course nonsense, as the traditional industry definition of a pot still whiskey has nothing to do with the distillation process itself; it was and is, all about the mash. A pot still whiskey is made from a COMBINATION of both malted and unmalted barley. Simple.

The industry and the Irish Government have recently clarified this new definition and it is now certified by the EU, John Teeling has backed down and he too now endorses this new legal status. At the same time the word 'Pure' was dropped from packaging, as the word had no standing in law, it was replaced by the word 'Single', this now appears on all Irish Distillers bottlings and literature.

So from the start of 2012 a single pot still Irish whiskey is one made on the island of Ireland, from a mash of malted and unmalted barely, which has been matured for at least three years in oak. However that was always accepted as the norm, the law simply enforces best practice.

But here's the thing: in order to conform to international standards, they had to drop the word "pure" from "pure pot still Irish whiskey." So apparently you can't just completely make things up in Ireland after all!

It's just too bad their also-historically-accurate-but-logically-nonsensical definition of "pot still" made it through legislation.

May 29, 2012
Erick Castro to Leave Rickhouse at End of Month; Take Brand Ambassador Job

Erick Castro, bartender and general manager of Rickhouse in San Francisco (up for three awards at Tales of the Cocktail this year) has revealed that he'll be leaving the bar at the end of July. He'll now be the West Coast Brand Ambassador for Plymouth and Beefeater gins.

This is another bittersweet announcement in the San Francisco cocktail community, right on the heels of Neyah White leaving NOPA to become a brand ambassador for Yamazaki whiskies at the end of June and Jackie Patterson leaving Heaven's Dog (soon) to become a brand ambassador for Solerno and Lillet.

So congratulations to Castro on the sweet new job but we'll miss seeing you behind the bar.

I suppose the good news is that, like the rash of bartenders who were leaving bars for brands I wrote about in 2008, this makes way for a new crop of folks to step forward as mixological masters behind the bar.

July 2, 2010
Chartreuse Goes Through The Roof

First, they came for our bitters. Then they outlawed our egg whites and our infusions. What more could go wrong for bartenders this year?

I'll tell you what: Chartreuse now costs $11 more per bottle.

The wonderfully complex liqueur made by monks has been a favorite of bartenders who mix it into cocktails like the Chartreuse Swizzle and Laphroaig Project at work and consume chilled shots of the stuff when not on the clock. Now those fancy cocktails are going to cost a little bit more.

I spoke with Antoinnette Cattani of Cattani Imports, the Chartreuse broker for the California market. She said that the unannounced increase is national and will affect prices both at retail outlets and in bars. The VEP (high-end versions) are also increasing. The VEP Green will now cost $119 and the VEP Yellow $118, says Cattani.

But here's the good news: It doesn't look like all retailers have figured this out. While Beverages & More is now selling the Green Chartreuse for $62.99, a Google Shopping search revealed several online retailers still offering 750ml bottles of it for $40-$45.

So if your bottles are running a little low or you just want to stock up, it might be time to do some online shopping.

*Breaking News Feb 23 1:51PM – It appears prices are being readjusted again. Still an increase, but perhaps a few dollars less than it was. I have also learned that because of retail mark-ups, the cost increase on retail bottles is likely to be even higher than it is to bars. Either way if you can still get it for cheap it's best to do it now.

*Update Feb 23 3:44PM – I've learned that the price increase has been reduced from the approximately $11 increase per bottle on Green Chartreuse to about $7 as of today. Retail increases will likely be a little more. Look for the sky-high prices to drop a bit soon.

February 23, 2010
Why Can’t I Get a McDonald’s Hamburger at Chez Panisse?

In response to my recent story in the San Francisco Chronicle on high-end bars becoming more accommodating to patrons' requests, many people wrote into the comments about how snooty bartenders are who won't give you the drinks that you want.

The Chronicle's commenters are a notoriously (and often hilariously) opinionated bunch, so I don't take offense to anything they say. By and large, they were all terribly upset with Erick Castro of Rickhouse's quote:

"Three years ago it was OK to be rude. It used to be 'I'm not making a
cosmo and you're a horrible person.' Now we say, 'I'm not making a
cosmo, but I'm making you something better than a cosmo.' And if they
like (the drink) they trust you for the whole night."

Commenters were offended that a bartender is so arrogant as to think he knows better than the customer, and offended that a bartender wouldn't make the customer what he wants.

I know that in the case of Rickhouse they don't carry cranberry juice, so they actually can't make a Cosmo. I believe all of the other drinks cited by commenters cannot be made at Rickhouse either- drinks with Midori, 7UP, Malibu, etc. They do not carry these products on principle, and thus cannot make drinks with them.

So Rickhouse can't/won't make a Cosmo, and that makes people mad. But does it also infuriate them that Chez Panisse (probably) can't make a McDonald's hamburger?

Would you be surprised at Chez Panisse if you asked your waiter for a McDonald's hamburger and they steered your toward something similar and better, like a grass-fed, free-range beef burger on a fresh-baked bread roll with organic ketchup? Would you consider them arrogant? Call for the waiter to lose their job?

Only if you can't see the difference between McDonald's and Chez Panisse; between fast food and fine dining. And that is the image problem that cocktail bars have. Many people still think every bar is a McDonalds, when most bars that make the news are evolving toward something better.

The better cocktail bars are not actually suffering from this lack of understanding- there's a huge demand for them, in fact, and in my experience the places selling $10 cocktails are affected less in this recession than places selling $6 ones. So despite complaints, better cocktail bars are safe, for now.

The funny thing is that speakeasy bars were originally a theme concept,
but evolved into a practical concept: hiding the bars from people who
don't yet know that not every bar serves Bud and has sports on TV.

Some people worry that the perceived arrogance of the bartenders in these places will make this better-drinking era a trend rather than an ongoing movement. I think that's a valid concern, as fine cocktails are very trendy right now. I'd hate to see this movement lose momentum as there is so, so much further to go with it.

As was the point in my original article, bartenders are learning how to talk to patrons in a nicer way to steer them away from lesser-quality or marketing-driven drink choices and into better ones. But is there more that can be done- in the media or by bartenders/bar owners- to make a clearer break between the fast food version of bars and the ones more like fine dining?

December 29, 2009