Three to Try
Grant Grill’s Howlin’ Wolf | Photo by Tim King
Grant Grill’s Howlin’ Wolf | Photo by Tim King
The headline pretty much sums it up, so without further delay….
Grant Grill
Cory Alberto, the Grant Grill’s “Chef de Bar” is always coming up with something unexpected. This time, it’s a cocktail topped with cigar foam.
Describe your philosophy for the new menu.
This particular menu is inspired by music. While most of the drinks are inspired by some of my favorite musicians, others are by a famous venue (Preservation Hall in New Orleans) or instrument (Lucille after BB King’s guitar).
What would you recommend to a cocktail aficionado?
The Preservation Hall (Mount Gay Black Barrel US Grant Blend Rum, Hennessy VS Cognac, Fonseca Ruby Port, Amaro Nonino, orange, and Peychaud’s bitters). It is incredibly complex, spirited, and offers layers of savory and decedent flavors.
Which cocktail is the most approachable?
The Lady Ella, named after Ella Fitzgerald. This drink combines Remy Martin 1738 cognac with fresh tangerine, salt, Crème Yvette, flower water, and sparkling wine.
Which cocktail is your favorite?
My favorite is the Howlin’ Wolf (named after the late Chicago blues man). It combines Scotch with cigar (Johnny Walker Red, cane sugar, chocolate and Angostura bitters, cigar foam), which I love together but can’t often enjoy while out. I have been working on the cigar foam for years and am very proud to have finally perfected it.
Quad Alehouse
Quad’s primarily a beer spot, but they put a lot of thought into their cocktails. Instead of doing beer-based cocktails for the new menu, Jessica Hicks came up with a selection of “beer inspired” cocktails. Impressive stuff.
Describe your philosophy for the new menu. (Check back later this week for a link to the full menu.)
Although the San Diego cocktail scene has been growing immensely over the past few years, the beer scene has doubled in size. I wanted to figure out a way to incorporate both, without tampering with any brewers’ beers by making cocktails with them. So I created a beer-inspired cocktail menu that emphasizes the aromas and tasting notes you’d get from different styles of beer without actually containing the beer itself.
Three to Try
Quad Alehouse’s Summer Saison cocktail | Photo by Quad Alehouse
What would you recommend to a cocktail aficionado?
Our Kriek cocktail. Kriek is a style of Belgian beer, made by fermenting Lambic with sour Morello cherries. Our cocktail includes Henebery Whiskey, Fernet Branca, Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur, lemon, and cherry apple bitters
Which cocktail is the most approachable?
The Grapefruit IPA cocktail. This style has proven to sell insanely fast at beer bars and breweries throughout San Diego. Our cocktail has Mikkeller Citra Dry Hop Vodka, pineapple gomme syrup, grapefruit, passion fruit, and celery bitters.
Which cocktail is your favorite?
The Summer Saison cocktail. It’s an easy drinking rye-based citrus cocktail, with tons of layers of flavors that you wouldn’t always get with a whiskey sour.
Trust
Lead bartender Juan Sanchez’s first menu for the new restaurant focuses on the classics and a twist on the popular Clover Club cocktail.
Describe your philosophy for the new menu.
With the cocktail menu at Trust, I took a straightforward and classic approach while introducing a few modern twists on cocktails people may be familiar with already.
What would you recommend to a cocktail aficionado?
The Penicillin #2. It’s a blend of Espolon Reposado tequila, honey, ginger, and Del Maguey Vida mezcal.
Which cocktail is the most approachable?
The Tom Collins (Anchor Old Tom Gin, lemon, simple syrup, soda).
Which cocktail is your favorite?
Trust Cocktail #1 (Beefeater gin, Aperol, Dolin Blanc vermouth, lemon, egg white). It’s our take on the classic Clover Club. It uses two ingredients that I absolutely can’t get enough of: Aperol and Dolin Blanc.
