There’s a certain charm to watching a bartender build your drink in front of you – combining spirits, juices and tinctures measured in fractions of an ounce; shaking vigorously with proprietary affectation; straining it from a great height into a chilled glass; and delicately garnishing the drink with herbs from a rooftop garden – the performance has become as much a part of the fun as the drink itself. But on a Saturday night, when buzzed up guests standing three deep at a busy bar are poking elbows into your ribs you and your barkeep are probably both more than willing to skip the ceremony and get that drink already. Cue the draft cocktail, which streamlines the process for the thirsty patrons and the hustling bartenders, alike.
“The more time you can spend serving your guests rather than having your head down and making a drink is always good in our book,” says Patrick Gaggiano, currently the bar manager of La Brasa. The new Somerville restaurant has four lines dedicated to batched cocktails like the Kalimoxo, a blend of red wine, coke syrup infused with allspice, juniper, clove and cognac; and an enticing concoction comprised of pineapple-infused Averna and Amaro Abano known as The Seductive Barry.
The concept’s been around for a few years, most notably in San Francisco, New York and New Orleans, but it’s still relatively new here in the Boston area, presenting a great opportunity for bartenders to engage with their guests and the added bonus of being able to offer patrons a taste of a cocktail before they commit to a whole glass’ worth.
“I think people are really interested in it and really curious about how it works,” said Seth Freidus, Bar Manager at Alden & Harlow, where two lines are dedicated to spirits – one for a cocktail and the other for their housemade amaro. Freidus enjoys the interest draft cocktails inspire in guests. “Once people see it on the menu, there’s always an in depth series of question that follow.”
Just like draft beers and the increasingly popular draft wines, draft cocktails are poured from a tap without any assembly needed. The drink ingredients are pre-batched in small kegs with enough water to mimic the effects of shaking or stirring over ice. Some bars are keeping things simple, batching cocktail that call only for spirits. Others are more adventurous, using fresh juices and syrups which can up the degree of difficulty.
“It’s been a great thing for us,” said Alex Homans, Beverage Manager at Fairsted Kitchen, the pioneer of draft cocktails in Boston. “It’s a way to speed up service and has some other benefits.” The benefits of which he speaks? Improved carbonation, for one. When drinks are mixed by hand, they combine flat spirits and juices with carbonated beverages, which limits the amount of fizz. With a draft system, the drinks can be pushed through the line using CO2, carbonating the whole thing. Bar owners and patrons may also prefer the uniformity of the draft cocktail. Drinks come out exactly the same each time, eliminating the natural variations of pour size from drink to drink and bartender to bartender.
Not to worry, the popularity of draft cocktails won’t lead to an epidemic of out of work bartenders (someone has to come up with all these fancy concoctions in the first place), but it’s nice to know you’ve got options above and beyond the basic bottled beer or vodka-soda when you need a drink and you don’t have time to waste.
