Olive or Twist’s Raspberry Beret cocktail. Photo by Collin Richie
I used to be that person. I would go to a bar and, not knowing what else to order, I’d blurt out, “I’ll have a vodka cranberry.”
If the bar had a cocktail menu, I’d usually go for whatever sounded fruity—but always with at least one ingredient I’d never heard of.
In recent years, a few things have happened to push my drink orders in new directions. One, the craft cocktail trend has exploded across the country. Just ask Google. People first started searching for “craft cocktail” in 2011, the search engine reports. From 2011 to 2014, the searches increased 284%, according to Mashable.
“Three years ago, people in Baton Rouge weren’t drinking Moscow Mules,” Scott Gremillion, co-owner of Olive or Twist, says. “Now most grocery stores have a ginger beer selection.”
Personally, I think my drink order has also changed simply because I’ve gotten older. Now when I go out, I want something I can sip for a while and really enjoy—instead of something I’ll drink, well, just to drink.
Gremillion says he’s noticed his patrons are moving away from college-friendly cosmos and lemon drops and gravitating toward Old Fashioneds. His bar offers weekly liquor tastings, encouraging visitors to try new things.
“We didn’t want you to be scared of a particular spirit, like people seem to be wary of absinthe or chartreuse—or gin, even,” he says.
I never thought I’d like a whiskey-based drink until I tried Lock & Key Whiskey Bar’s Bee Sting Smash, a cocktail with honey whiskey, ginger and mint. Turns out a whiskey-based drink might be one of my favorite cocktails ever.
I’ve also been less intimidated to try new things after talking to bartenders at places like The Cove, with its novel-sized menu and floor-to-ceiling walls of liquor. A friend from Los Angeles who’s working in Baton Rouge on a film told me he’s rarely even seen a bar as impressive as The Cove back home.
I’ve heard over and over, though, that the best way to truly understand what you’re eating or drinking is to make it yourself. Over the past few months, I’ve been experimenting with making my own cocktails. I started simple with mojitos, Moscow Mules and margaritas. Making those basic drinks has taught me how to properly squeeze fresh lime juice and muddle herbs and fruits. I’ve learned the importance of exact measurements and even about the proper way to shake a cocktail.
I asked Gremillion to recommend his favorite cocktail books. He rattled off a long list, including The Modern Mixologist and Death & Co: Modern Classic Cocktails. The latter features more than 500 recipes by Death & Company, a New York City bar that some say spawned the craft cocktail movement.
I’m still learning, but I’m proud to say my days of the vodka cranberry are over. Now, I know at least enough to say, “I’d like to try a new whiskey. What do you recommend?”
After all, Gremillion says it best: “It’s not just having those bottles behind the bar—it’s knowing what to do with them.”
