Beta Cocktails

Cocktail and mixology books are, if you’ll excuse the cliché, a dime a dozen these days. Most of them feature hundreds, if not thousands, of recipes each either more vile or more banal than the last. In fact, you could print one by writing about 5 lines of computer code in the programming language of your choice. These books are so mind-numbingly dull to read that it would be more useful to use their pages as cocktail napkins. There are a few cocktail books that are genuinely interesting; whether it’s because they have an interesting focus or are just well written, these books are still quite derivative, reformulating well established recipes, albeit with pretty pictures and minor modifications. At best they give you an idea for a new recipe or two and help you pass some time.

Given this rather bleak landscape, it is very heartening to come across a book like Beta Cocktails. Containing recipes and a philosophy compiled by Kirk Estopinal and Maksym Pazuniak, this book(let) really pushes the boundaries of a cocktail book. Unlike most other cocktail books, this one is published by an online print-on-demand publisher. Don’t let the featureless cover throw you off; the book is filled with amazing pictures, entertaining reading and most importantly, some truly inspiring drinks.

It may not look like much but this little book contains some of the best
recipes you will ever come across.

Probably the easiest way to describe their philosophy and the general types of drink included is actually by the very first thing you notice, they do not hesitate to go heavy on the Angostura. And while that may sound like nothing remarkable, that these two are bold enough to use this bitters by the ounce in their drinks shows just how far outside the box they’re thinking. They admit to as much themselves with the Angostura Sour. Recipes that are novel and unique are exciting enough; but these two go further. The drinks they present are almost visionary and inspiring. They challenge the way you mix drinks and force you to reconsider all the tenets you held; even though it is very likely that you will not try all the drinks in this book (since it requires a minor fortune’s worth of booze and several varieties of alcohol not readily available in the states), just reading the book is enough to set your mind working and creating.

This book is definitely not for everyone. Both the types of drinks it features and the required ingredients mean that this book is both for the professionals or the insane amateurs (like us). It assumes a fair amount of knowledge of booze and how to mix it. But maybe it is this targeting that really makes this book so good. By not trying to write to all levels, these two create something special that every cocktail enthusiast can truly enjoy.

And if nothing else, this book is actually a good read (and also features some serious cocktail porn). I mean when you have a recipe featuring bourbon and Carpano Antica that ends with the phrase “and pour into the educated glass,” you know that you’re dealing with some seriously erudite mixologists.

Drink (tra la la) - A Review

If you were to sit down and make a checklist of everything you would expect from of an excellent bar, Drink would meet all of those criteria and then some (and if it doesn’t, then you may be looking for the wrong things in a bar).

A bar in southern Boston, I came across Drink when I was visiting the city for a conference. Some friends and I were looking for a place to go for a drink after dinner, when one of my friends suggested Drink, further claiming it to be one of the best bars in Boston. He was quite wrong, by the way: it’s actually one of the best bars in the world, a fact I soon found out and have only been able to reaffirm every time I’ve been there since.

Actually, you don't even need to read the rest of this review.
This sign should convince you how awesome this place is.

At the time of my first visit to Drink I knew a lot less about cocktails and what I enjoy than I do today. What makes this bar so exemplary is that it couldn’t have mattered less (if anything, it was probably better). The bartenders there are so outstanding at recommending drinks based on your taste and preferences that not knowing what you want to order, but having an idea of what you want to drink, is probably the best way to go. Even if you do know what you want, try asking the bartenders for a recommendation, they will not disappoint. A case in point is when a friend of mine walked into Drink asking for “a drink that tastes like summer turning into fall”, he was given a Martinez with a taste profile that exactly matched what he asked for (Hell, it’s such a great way of describing how a Martinez tastes that whenever anyone asks me, I now reply with what that guy said). That a bar is able to so consistently offer excellent drink suggestions to its customers is a rarity, setting Drink apart from all other bars I’ve visited.

Of course, a cocktail recommendation alone not enough, what makes them a world class bar is their ability to follow it up with a perfect drink. From making all their juices and syrups fresh in house to the painstaking detail with which every drink is crafter to the very liquors they use, this establishment does all the right things to make sure that the cocktail you ordered will redefine what you expect from that drink in the future. Take, for example, their Dark and Stormy; this classical cocktail has a well agreed upon (and indeed trademarked in Bermuda) recipe. However, Drink decided that they can do better. Using their own homemade ginger beer and an Indian dark rum instead of the more traditional Gosling’s, they create a drink with a much sharper ginger flavor balanced by the subtle, lingering butterscotch sweetness from the rum. So yes, they can do better, way better in fact, with almost every drink (be it a Sazerac or an Oaxacan Old Fashioned) on their menu, which by the way is very minimal, further encouraging you to talk to their excellent bartenders.

Three realizations of a Dark and Stormy.
Did I forgot to mention that they also gave us free drinks,
and samples and allowed us to taste individual ingredients?

Now, you may say that there’s nothing exceptional about a bar that makes excellent drinks with homemade ingredients considering the speakeasy revival these days; however, Drink sets itself apart from most of these other bars by not doing everything with an air of haughtiness. An unfortunate reality of the modern bar culture is that a lot of bars, especially upscale ones, treat you like shit if you don’t know what you want or look like you don’t know what you’re doing. You’re looked down upon if you order “the wrong thing”. But Drink doesn’t do that. Yes they make amazing cocktails but they do so without any arrogance or pomp. Ultimately, it’s an atmosphere where you can have the most amazing drink of your life while being in a completely comfortable, relaxed and unassuming environment.

I have been to many a high-end bar after Drink, most of them because of the experience I had at Drink and based on suggestions from a bartender there. And while I have had many great cocktails at some great bars, none of them were on par with the sheer brilliance of Drink. My only complaint then about this bar is that it isn’t where I live. Maybe I should just move to Boston.

Oh yeah, one of the drinks was also on fire!
Don't lie, you know you want one.