Why Can’t Every Bar in Seattle Put Out a Proper Gin and Tonic?
Plus: the one, two, threes of a good G&T.
Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Aug 04, 2011 at 10:10AM
8 Comments
Speaking very generally—and with the understanding that exceptions are always the rule—there are three types of bars in Seattle, as far as cocktails are concerned:
1. Cocktail bars where you can get a good cocktail.
2. Restaurant bars and lounges where cocktails aren’t the focus, but where you can count on getting a decent drink, especially if three or fewer ingredients are involved. (Of course, some restaurants double as very good craft cocktail bars.)
3. Other bars.
Other bars make up the vast majority of bars in our town, and many offer, in addition to drinks, fun. But when it comes to mixed drinks at other bars, strange things sometimes happen. Drinks designed to taste like atomic fireballs happen. Curdled dairy products happen. And crimes of citrus are not uncommon—I recently opted for a gin and tonic at one Capitol Hill bar and was served three-quarters of a glass of Beefeater that had been contaminated with a single spray of tonic from a gunky soda gun, then garnished with the palest wedge of lime. This sad specimen featured a shaggy beard of wilting pith and a brown line of rot along the rind. The drink was undrinkable and, given the large quantity of gin involved, likely resulted in little profit for the bar.
It occurs to me that this is insane. Say what you will about the craft cocktail movement and its lamentable preciousness, there is no reason that every bar in Seattle shouldn’t turn out a drinkable gin and tonic. Drinks are what bars traffic in, after all. If the French fries aren’t perfect, fine. Bars here are compelled by law to serve food. But drinks are what they do. We don’t need every bartender to know how to shake up a Ramos Gin Fizz, but a G&T? Come on.
I asked Quentin Ertel, owner of The Saint and Havana on Capitol Hill—bars that serve simple, drinkable drinks—to shed light on the situation.
He offered up three explanations:
1. The every-profession-includes-people-that-suck-at-the-job explanation: “Some cabinet makers build wonderful cabinets, others build kindling.”
2. The too-many-bars explanation: "The recent proliferation of new bar openings in Seattle means there’s a diluted talent pool.”
3. The it’s-the-economy-stupid explanation: “In a recession, there’s been a rush to both own and work in bars and restaurants (this circles back to the first reason). As a result you’ve got very seasoned, incredibly knowledgeable professionals working alongside well-intentioned (though ill-trained) newcomers.”
Whatever the explanation, education is surely the solution. Here are Ertel’s tips on making a good G&T.
1. “Like good cooking, good drinking stars with the best ingredients. Aside from having a decent gin on hand, make sure your lime is fresh, your tonic has fizz to it, and that you’ve got a good supply of ice.”
2. “Pack the glass with ice—all the way to the top of the glass. This way, you won’t need to pour a triple shot for the customer to taste the gin. Instead, you can offer a nice pour of gin that cuts right through a splash of tonic, and the ample ice in the glass will keep the cocktail nice and cold.”
3. “Be sure to deliver the drink ASAP. As it starts to melt, more ice in the glass means more water. This water dilutes the taste of the cocktail. Also, it’s not polite to keep your guests waiting.”
So there you have that.
Tags: Behind the bar, Drinking Culture, Seattle Bars, Drinking How-Tos
Ahh…the G & T. My family’s summer drink of choice. I was making them for my folks years before I could legally drink them. Like you said, how hard can it be?
But like you, I’ve been disappointed so many times in bars. One thing I started to do is look to see how the tonic water is dispensed. If it comes out of a gun, I might to move to something else. If they have small bottles of tonic – which many do, then I’ll go for it.
I often treat the G&T as my “safety drink”, meaning that if I am in a bar which has dubious ability to make something palatable, a G&T is probably the safest thing to order. That said, I too have had pretty bad experiences with a G&T, in which case I can only assume that almost everything else they are going to make is going to be worse.
I think that every establishment needs to simply self-identify the level of quality they are trying to provide, in both food and drink. And then determine if they are “really” providing that. This is especially true in restaurants which have bars/lounges.
I am shocked at how many restaurants may serve excellent food, with fresh ingredients, but then serve schlock from their bar. A restaurant/bistro near me has a wonderful dinner menu with really well prepared and well thought out food. In their bar, they have decided to feature a very (very) expansive tequila list. The first drink on their cocktail menu is a specialty of the house Margarita. Which is made with their lowest end tequila, and Mr. & Mrs. T’s Sour Mix. They add a splash of a special ingredient ot make it their “specialty of the house”, but the end result is of course a pitiful pitiful drink. Such a drink might be fine for some divey college pub, which served cheap hamburgers from frozen preformed patties, but from a restaurant that takes pride in their food there is no excuse.
-Robert
I have a project to have a drink at every bar in Seattle (seattlebars.org) and the gin and tonic is my go-to choice when I’m in a bar that doesn’t have interesting cocktails. It seems perfect — it has the ingredients right in the name, it doesn’t require particularly delicate balance of ingredients, and there’s a lime to help cover errors. If they have Hendricks, all the better.
This has generally been a successful approach — much more so than when a friend inadvisedly ordered an White Russian in a well known dive bar and got one made with packets of creamer (served him right, for ordering a drink like that in a place like that). I’ve now had drinks in over 900 Seattle bars and probably G&Ts in about half of them and only had truly awful drinks in about 3 locations (typically in ethnic restaurants where the lounge is not the focus and the bartender is clearly not familiar with much beyond Bud Light). I’ve only been asked HOW to make a gin and tonic once — the woman behind the bar just pointed to the row of liquor bottles behind the bar and said, “Which one — you see?”
I’ve had drinks in over 1500 different bars since I’ve started tracking and probably owe the G&T for saving me from 50 or so terrible drinks.
You can always join Andrew Bohrer’s “Bartender Re-education Program” and slowly but surely make the world a better place, starting with the Daquiri and the Tom Collins:
http://caskstrength.wordpress.com/2011/07/03/nationwide-bartender-re-education-program-the-tom-collins/
Recently visited Skillet and had G&T made with fancy-schmancy ice, local gin, tasty tonic and because we always ask for extra lime, a very healthy squirt of lime juice. The best I’ve had out in Seattle.
Exactly right about the ice, the proportions, etc. Fresh lime of course – why would you consider anything but? Tonic? Schweppes please, and not the diet stuff. Use small bottles to ensure perfect fizz. Now, on to the gin. I’ve tried a dozen or more, including some really good ones, but they don’t all work for G&T. My favorite, hands down, is Dry Fly. Close behind is Aviator.
Just an fyi..the best tonic EVER is Q Tonic. Everything else uses artificial sweeteners or corn sugar. Q uses Agave. And I prefer a nice local gin or Hendricks myself. :-)
At the Boxwood Cafe in London, I put myself in the bartender’s hands and he served me the best G&T I’ve ever had. I’m on a mission to teach it to others, and it’s easy, because it’s so simple: Hendricks (no other gin will do for this), good tonic of choice, a splash of St. Germain (bartenders, please don’t say “saynt ger-mane”), and a cucumber instead of lime, preferably a spear as opposed to a slice. Trust me.