Travel

Raising the bar

“The irony of working behind a bar,” says Washington DC bartender Matthew Ficke, “is that we don’t get much of a chance to actually go out to bars.” That’s why Tales of the Cocktail, the annual New Orleans event that took place in July, is such a draw — booze masters from around the country come together to talk shop, swap recipes, check out what’s new and get inspired. “I love seeing what other people are doing with the things that are available to them in their city,” says Birmingham-based mixologist Steva Casey.

We figured you would, too, so we asked six barkeeps what they’re stirring up in their hometowns.

Bartender: Steva Casey

Bar: The Veranda on Highland (2220 Highland Ave. S., Birmingham, Ala., verandaonhighland.com)

Cocktail: Night of Joy, $9

“My parents are proud that I’m finally using my English degree for something useful,” says Casey of Night of Joy, named for the New Orleans nightclub in the Pulitzer prize-winning novel “A Confederacy of Dunces.” This cocktail has all of Casey’s favorite things: aperitifs (Cocchi Americano Rosa, Campari), a bit of bitters (Bitter Truth celery), sparkling rosé and a hint of smokiness (the glass is rinsed with Talisker 10). It’s served in a cordial glass (to show off the aromas) at the Veranda on Highland, a 26-seat bar adjacent to a restaurant of the same name on Birmingham’s south side.

Bartender: Ryan Maybee

Bar: Manifesto (1924 Main St., Kansas City, Mo., theriegerkc.com/manifesto)

Cocktail: The Gilded Summer, $11

“Have you ever had a Tomolive?” asks Ryan Maybee, who creates cocktails for the 48-seat Manifesto, located in a former, historic hotel in Kansas City’s funky Crossroads Arts District. These pickled baby green tomatoes are salty, briny and eminently tasty, so he built a drink around ’em, with mint, lime juice, Bittermens Hellfire Habanero Shrub and Pinckney Bend American Corn Whiskey (distilled in a small town between Kansas City and St. Louis). The Gilded Summer is light, refreshing and somewhat tart. If you like the flavor profile of a dirty martini, you’re in danger here.

Bartender: Elisabeth Forsythe

Bar: Blue Box (312 Pearl Pkwy, San Antonio, Texas, blueboxatpearl.com)

Cocktail: The Broken Nail, $11

The revitalized Pearl Brewery area of San Antonio is a hotbed of food, drink and design innovation, and nowhere is that more true than at Blue Box. The Broken Nail is Forsythe’s ode to underutilized Drambuie. “I always wanted to pair it with scotch,” she says. She chose Monkey Shoulder, a blend, then added lemon, grapefruit and freshly ground coarse black pepper to balance the sweetness. An egg white gives it a full mouthfeel. It’s a great after-dinner drink — or a silverware-free dessert.

Bartender: Matthew Ficke

Bar: Columbia Room (1021 Seventh St. NW, Washington, DC, passengerdc.com/columbia)

Cocktail: The Doctor’s Orders, $17

The 10-seat, reservations-only bar in the back of another bar (The Passenger) in the Shaw neighborhood is manned by Ficke, who says the Doctor’s Orders is the result of wanting to make something with Byrrh, a red wine with quinine, originally sold in pharmacies as a health tonic. He describes his boozy, bittersweet concoction — High West Double Rye, Byrrh, Cynar (an amaro), Peychaud’s Bitters — as being like a Manhattan but more complex. “It appeals to people who don’t shy away from strong flavors.”

Bartender: Leroy Thomas

Bar: Rocco’s (2228 Second Ave., Seattle, Wash., roccosseattle.com)

Cocktail: Thai Basil Rickey, $9

Inspired by a fondness of the classic Rickey — and the fact it’s the 2013 Tales official drink — bartender Thomas paired an accidental purchase of Thai basil with Bombay Sapphire East (featuring Asian notes of lemongrass and black peppercorn) and added lime, sugar and club soda. He serves it in a Collins glass at his 40-seat bar in Seattle’s hip Belltown neighborhood. “The Thai Basil Rickey is reminiscent of an outdoor wedding or after a snorkel, easygoing and approachable to anyone, even non-gin drinkers.”

Bartender: Yani Frye

Bar: Sugar House (2130 Michigan Ave., Detroit, Mich.; sugarhousedetroit.com)

Cocktail: The Morning After, $12

Frye created The Morning After to showcase bitters and to participate in — and win! — the Angostura Cocktail Challenge at Tales. Based on the classic Brown Derby (rum with citrus and ample syrup), Frye’s cocktail consists of rum, fresh lime juice, maple syrup and house-made Angostura-reduction-syrup foam. At Sugar House, in Detroit’s Cork Town neighborhood (the city’s oldest), it’s served in a rocks glass, sans rocks. The secret, Frye says, is the reduction of the bitters by 25 percent. “It took me a couple weeks and a dozen eggs to figure out the technique,” he says. “And I want to share it with everyone so they can re-create it.”