The Varnish: Standard-bearing Cocktails

It was good news when Downtown bar baron, Cedd Moses purchased Cole's French Dip a while ago to revamp the menu with Grace's Neal Fraser and remodel the place. I had a decent lamb dip with their bacon potato salad before Moses' more excellent contribution to the Downtown bar scene opened. The Varnish opened with a subtle unlocking of its very plain door, marked with a simple illustration of a cocktail in a coupe glass on the back end of Cole's French Dip.

Inside you'll find a vintage speakeasy-type room with dark wood booths and a sweeping, illuminated bar with antique appointments and a trio of expert barmen helming the drinks. The dim lighting is provided by low-level incandescents in early 20th century lamps on the ceiling and subtle oil candles on each of the tables. Afficionados mingle along the padded bar that lacks barstools but provides ample room for ordering your drinks.


I stepped up and Marcos Tello, the friendly and professional bartender, asked me what I would like. I usually like to start with something refreshing, so he made me a Mexican Firing Squad Special, which came with 4 ounces of tequila, lime juice, fresh (made from scratch) grenadine, bitters, and finished off with seltzer water. It was perfectly refreshing and exactly what I wanted to start off the evening. I loved how the drink, which came in a tall Collins glass, came with a long, massive ice cube that kept the drink cold without watering it down. A metal stirring spoon was a nice way to drink the cocktail (they're on sale if you want to buy some for your own bar at home). Sorry, I don't have a photo since Christine hadn't joined me at this time and I didn't have my camera on me.

I then had a Hot Buttered Rum, which comes with a dollop of fresh butter and honey syrup, aged rum, and then a dusting of fresh nutmeg after being heated up with an espresso steamer. The drink was amazing, a buttery, nutty, rich elixir that could do wonders for on a cold evening.


Christine came at this time and she requested something similar to a Gin Smash that we had to Copa D'Oro a few nights before. This one, called a Gin Gin Mule, was a variation of the Moscow Mule and was made with gin and ginger syrup, with mint and lime. Kind of like a mojito but with gin and ginger. It was even better than the Gin Smash we had at Copa D'Oro. We also got another drink that was a progression from the Gin Gin Mule, called Palma Fizz, which contained Vodka, Lime, Ginger, a spritz of rose water, and was topped off with seltzer water. Delicious, even better than the Gin Gin Mule!


Note the use of fresh juices in these cool beakers. Also, the sparkling clean jiggers that are used to make the precision cocktails.

I wanted to venture into something a little weightier this time, so I asked for Remembering the Maine, which was an aromatic gem. It comes with Rye, Vermouth, Heering (a Danish liqueur made with black cherries), and Absinthe. Poured into a chilled coupe glass, it was heaven. Ruminative and complex, it was a nice drink to sip over a few dozen minutes.


Last, I finished with a Sazerac. Expertly made with Rye, four dashes of bitters, a muddled ice cube, stirred well with fresh cracked ice, a spritz of herbsaint, and garnished with a slice of lemon peel, it was a perfect cap to the evening. By the way, cocktails are a very reasonable $11 a pop.

The legendary mixologist, and co-owner of The Varnish, Sasha Petraske of Milk & Honey, was chatting up customers, and Eric Alperin, who worked at Osteria Mozza to create their cocktail program, was making the rounds (and tending the back). Overall the concept of The Varnish is polished, sophisticated, and geared toward someone who will appreciate the hand-crafted cocktails made with care. Fans of Milk & Honey, now a private bar, will appreciate this place because the drinks are perhaps at that level here. On a number of occasions, Marcos would consult Alperin or Petraske for the exact construction of The Varnish's version of these cocktails - not because Tello didn't know how to make them, but because he wanted to make them to exacting standards.

Petraske was a pioneer in championing the pre-Prohibition cocktail era when America set the standards for cocktail creation and enjoyment (perhaps to a fault as evidenced by those dark years in the 1930's). Now those days are back, but we have The Varnish to look forward to as the place in Los Angeles that will set new standards in the age of farm-fresh ingredients, premium (and direct imported) liqueurs from Europe, and prime commitment from a cocktail community that is set to create a cocktail rennaissance. New York and San Francisco began the foray, but I believe that Downtown Los Angeles, and especially The Varnish, will get into the mix as one of the best bar cities in the country.

When you have fine people such as Marcos Tello, Eric Alperin, Sasha Petraske, and Cedd Moses coming together for this venture, I doubt you'll find failure. And I suspect that this place will become very busy in the coming weeks, and your best bet to enjoying a cocktail is coming earlier rather than later.

The Varnish
www.thevarnishbar.com
118 East Sixth St.
Los Angeles, CA 90014
(213) 622-9999

You can find profiles of some of the people I mentioned on FoodGPS:

Marcos Tello
Eric Alperin
Damian Gray Windsor
Chris Ojeda