Hello! I’m Walther, this is Peregrino, and you’re about to read essay #18 of “40 Before 40,” a memoir I intend to finish before I enter midlife.
I like the French phrase joie de vivre to express this exuberant enjoyment of life. We interact with the world through our senses and can find delight in seeing, touching, smelling, and tasting. It blows my mind how food has gone from fuel to culinary masterpieces. Today I want to talk about cocktails, beverages that foster merriment and enjoyment.
Disclaimer: Reading this essay may make you thirsty and say things like, “It’s five o’clock somewhere.”
Gin & Tonics
I used to think mixologists were baristas that played with alcohol, and even though I may be somewhat right, the point is, I didn’t necessarily like cocktails. I was fine drinking craft beer; the hoppier, the better. And then I met a girl who loves gin.
One of the first things I noticed about Diana, besides her incredible smile and flawless hair, was that she was drinking a gin and tonic. I felt, to some extent, intimidated. You see, in Mexico, gin was usually a very low-quality and cheap spirit you would use in jungle juice recipes that would make you question your life choices the following day. Tonic is not an ordinary mixer, either. I was familiar with vodka juice, rum and coke, and Palomas but certainly not gin and tonics.
Little by little, I started learning about the world of gin. The common denominator for all gin is that it needs to be distilled from a neutral grain and juniper berries; after that, it’s up to the distiller’s imagination. Over the last decade, we have tried a lot of different gins. Here are the ones that have stood out the most in our gin journey.
Hendrick’s - Scotland. It is an excellent gin for gin and tonics. It’s infused with eleven botanicals, rose, and cucumber, so it has a floral freshness on top of the juniper.
St. George - Alameda, California. We have tried their Terroir, Botanivore, and Dry Rye gins. Terroir is distilled with Douglas fir, laurel, sage, and coriander. Botanivore features tangy citrus, bright hops, fresh herbs, and exotic spices. Dry Rye has black pepper, coriander, citrus, and caraway. They’re all great, but we liked the Botanivore best, especially during the summer.
Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin - Ireland. This gin includes meadowsweet, angelica root, caraway, gunpowder tea, grapefruit, cardamom, coriander, orris root, star anise, lemon, and kaffir lime. It is a citrus and herb-forward gin, but you can definitely taste the tea. At some point, I would like to drink this in a martini if only I liked the savory taste of dry vermouth.
The Botanist Islay Dry Gin - UK. Distilled in a part of the world-famous for Scotch, this gin is made with thirty-one botanicals, twenty-two of which are local. This gin has a juniper, herbal, floral, spice, and citrus balance that tastes like no gin I have ever had. I almost felt bad mixing it with tonic.
Eventually, we gravitated towards more cost-effective gins that are still good, like Costco Kirkland Signature London Dry Gin, Bombay Sapphire, and Aviation—these are our workhorses.
Mixing At Home
I watched a video from Epicurious titled “How To Mix Every Cocktail” and started figuring out what I wanted to mix.
We made Gimlets, Bee’s Knees, Aviations, and French 75s. I discovered the Negroni, an equal parts cocktail consisting of gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari; a wonderfully bitter, sweet, and stiff stirred cocktail. It is an acquired taste, especially if you don’t like Campari, but a safe choice at a bar because it’s almost impossible to mess it up.
But the one cocktail that sent me down the rabbit hole was another equal parts cocktail, The Last Word. This cocktail combines gin, Green Chartreuse, Maraschino Liqueur, and lime juice. It’s fresh, herbal, slightly sweet, and simply superb. I like talking to bartenders, and almost always, I can get them to talk about The Last Word because nearly every bar will have a riff on this cult-level drink. By the way, the monks that produce Green Chartreuse have decided they’re just going to make a certain amount every year—to focus on, you know, prayer—which is causing a worldwide shortage of the liqueur. So, if you see it in your liquor store, buy it and then sell it to me.
Riffs
After we got comfortable with gin, we decided to try whiskey cocktails; why? Because of the riffs on some of our favorites. If you swap the gin for whiskey, a Negroni turns into a Boulevardier. Exchange gin for whiskey in the gimlet, add an egg white, and you have a whiskey sour, a deliciously refreshing summer drink. Don’t skip the egg white; trust me, it’s worth it. You can make custard with the yolks; that’s what we did.
The Final Ward is a Last Word riff that swaps gin for whiskey and lime for lemon juice, keeping the Green Chartreuse and Maraschino Liqueur. I also like the wordplay Mr. Phil Ward used to name his cocktail.
Diana’s favorite Last Word riff and whiskey cocktail is Sam Ross’s Paper Plane. I make it with rye whiskey—bourbon works too—Aperol, Amaro Nonino, and lemon juice. Amaro Nonino is hard to come by, so lately, I’ve been using Amaro Montenegro—still a very delicious drink.
Cocktail Bars
Curiously enough, the Epicurious video above was released in 2020, a year after the Cocktail Renaissance ended but a year after the Craft Cocktail Movement began.
I know some people say the US doesn’t have any culture. However, I beg to differ—the US's brewing, distilling, and bartending trends should, in my opinion, be considered part of our culture. Yes, craft beer may have European influences from Germany, the Czech Republic, or the UK but in true American fashion, we have the West/East Coast IPAs, which are a category of their own. Bourbon and Rye Whiskey on the spirit side are as American as can be, let alone American gin—it’s a thing. Don’t even get me started on Tiki culture.
I’ve experience tapas in Spain and have had aperitivo in Italy. I can tell you the experience of those two places can be compared, if not surpassed, by a good cocktail bar in the US. There’s something about the bartending culture here that you can’t find anywhere else.
Diana and I love Phoenix for many reasons, but one of them would be the award-winning cocktail bars we can go to for date night—and we have scouted several.
A beige, non-assuming building with Century Grand on the top is what you see from the outside, but inside you’ll find three immersive experience bars.
First, Undertow, a tiki bar. This place's ambiance and attention to detail are bar none; the lighting and sound effects make you think you’re on a voyage. We’ve been here a couple of times, and we’ve had a blast. Tiki drinks are very elaborate and require several ingredients we don’t usually mix with, like orgeat or falernum, so having someone mix them for you is fantastic.
Tucked in the corner of this building is Grey Hen Rx, a NOLA-themed bar decked out with its own patio and apothecary vibe. You can drink classics like the Vieux Carre, La Lousiane, and the Sazerac here. One day I’ll order the “100 Years, 100 More,” a $64 cocktail made with Balvenie 21yr port barrel finished Scotch, Balvenie 14yr Caribbean rum cask, and many more ingredients I don’t want to bother you with. The drink is presented in a bird cage with dry ice and a lot of showmanship.
Finally, you see the side of a train and a stack of suitcases. Then, the train horn marks the top of the hour, and smoke fills the Grey Hen Rx’s patio; you’re about to board Platform 18—a Presidential Pullman-inspired train car. If you look outside the windows, you’ll see the bayous of Louisiana where Hollis Cottley Pennington, a railroad tycoon and bootlegger, conducts business. The previous time we went to this bar, the train was going through Colorado, the scenery was snowy and cold, and the drinks were meant to warm you up. Mr. Pennington is on a different adventure this year, and the drink menu reflects that. You can read the whole story here.
Honorable mentions go to:
Bitter & Twisted, located in the historic Luhrs Building in downtown Phoenix, was once home to the former Arizona Prohibition Headquarters. B&T is North America’s #44 Best Bar.
Rough Rider is a Victorian-era/Teddy Roosevelt-themed speakeasy in the basement of an office building that you can only access through one particular elevator. Their punches and cobblers are intriguing.
The Rose Garden has a posh ambiance and it's probably the brightest cocktail bar we’ve visited.
Last Call
I know that the bodily pleasure of eating and drinking is ephemeral. However, as I mentioned in the introduction, we experience the world through our senses, and the levels of creativity that have gone behind the making of some of these libations amaze me.
Remember the words of Oscar Wild, “Everything in moderation, including moderation.”
There is a time and a place to enjoy a fine cocktail or drink; sharing these with loved ones and friends can even nurture the soul, but please, drink responsibly and stay safe.
Before you go
I have some questions for you
Do you consume alcohol?
What’s your favorite spirit?
What’s your favorite cocktail?
Do you think cocktail bars are overrated?
Do you have any Green Chartreuse that you’re not using?
I do enjoy a drink now and again. Enjoy whiskey neat but like other spirits. Favorite cocktail is a dry martini! If you're ever in the Bay Area first round is on me.
Do you like Conan's work and have you heard on his podcast of the cocktail the "Chilled Chum" that his producer and sidekick Matt invented? I would be curious to see what happened if you and your partner tried to make them at home.