I contributed a few write-ups to Entrepreneur Magazine's annual Best Business Bars story. It is the July issue, hitting newsstands now.
I wrote about Azucar Lounge in San Francisco, Drago Centro in Los Angeles, and ROOF at TheWit in Chicago.
Pick it up at the newsstand or read it online here.
For my latest feature in the LA Times Magazine, I asked bartenders from warm-weather cities to share their recipes for cool cocktails.
The bartenders are Larry Rice from Louisville, Bobby Heugel from Houston, Erik Simpkins from Atlanta, Todd Thrasher from Alexandria, Anthony Schmidt from San Diego, Rhiannon Enlil from New Orleans, and Michael Shearin from Los Angeles.
(Photography by Bartholomew Cooke for LA Times Magazine)
Cool Factor
The Dog Days Just Howl for Long, Tall, Cold Libations
By Camper EnglishDifferent times of the day, changing atmospheric conditions and succeeding meal courses all call for a specific type of cocktail. But it’s the sweltering days and lasting sunlight of August that compel us to seek coolers replete with ice. We asked some of the America’s best bartenders based in warmer climes for a drink to chill us out, and their picks make use of a variety of methods and flavors to accomplish this task, from shaved ice and coconut milk to cucumbers and mint—even a splash of light beer. Cheers!
(Photography by Bartholomew Cooke for LA Times Magazine)
The word 'Martini' has very little meaning.
Two versions of the cocktail may have completely different ingredients and be served in different formats: A bone-dry-and-dirty Grey Goose Martini on the rocks with extra olives has nothing in common with a Fifty-Fifty gin Martini with orange bitters and a twist. They're not even close to the same drink – in ingredients, in format, or in purpose.
More than that, the Martini no longer exists even as a drink concept. It means different things to different people: strength, dryness, elegance, simplicity, an aperitif, glassware, crispness, an era in time, an intellectual challenge, etc.. Some of its concepts are mutually exclusive.
This conundrum surfaced when in New Zealand last year for the 42Below Vodka Cocktail World Cup, in which they had a Modern Martini challenge. The problem was that nobody agreed on what the Martini was, so everyone updated it in a different way. Most of those ways differed from the judges' concept of the drink.
The Martini is as amorphous a concept as morality.
In this Sunday's Los Angeles Times Magazine, I wrote a story about how the Martini Does Not Exist, except in the mind of the individual.
I'm pretty happy with how it came out. After going through the issues involved with the concept of the drink (and revealing how that cocktail contest turned out), the story lists the Martini recipe as a moving target throughout the years.
Please give it a read.