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C olorful garnishes like Italian cherries in thick crimson syrup and delicately sliced cucumbers line the bar in glass jars. Behind the bar, a series of vessels hold bitters and liqueurs. This isn't a modern- day apothecary but the Living Room bar at the new W Hotel South Beach. The masterminds behind the inspiring collection of fresh ingredients and homemade liqueurs are Elad Zvi and Gabriel Orta, the founders and principal mixologists of Bar Lab, a bever- age consulting service in Miami. Zvi, originally from Israel, won the James Beard award for Best Example of American Diversity with the Fiore, a cocktail made from Lebanese orange blossom water, St-Germain elderflower liqueur and rose petals. Colom- bian-born Orta's culinary back- ground and molecular mixology techniques have won him acclaim as well. In Brazil, his Earth, Wind, Fire cocktail—in which he scents a Martini glass with thyme before combining cachaça with pep- percorns, passion fruit juice and blackberry jam—won first place. "Both of us came from the bot- tom of the industry, and we both have passion for food, for drink and for spirits," Orta explains. "When we go out to eat, we al- ways look out for new things and research new ingredients." With such imaginative, award- winning cocktails, it's no wonder that when Zvi and Orta combined palates, palettes and ambitions in founding Bar Lab, the industry took notice. Through Bar Lab, the two create cocktail menus to fit any venue, event or demographic. According to Zvi, Bar Lab really took off last year when they did the cocktails for Food & Wine's Two Twelve House with such culinary big shots as Mario Batali in attendance. Most recently, they created the beverage program at the W's Living Room. Before creating a drink menu, Zvi and Orta consider the venue's food and atmosphere and, in this case, anticipate the drink requests of both the tourists staying at the hotel and Miami locals who may frequent the bar. They make sure the drinks will work next to the food, achieving a complementary balance of flavors. They have con- ceptualized the Living Room drink menu into categories—Fragrance, Infusion, Laboratory, Classics with a Twist and Market—that highlight the uniqueness and freshness of their cocktails. With their cocktail menu for the W South Beach, Bar Lab's Elad Zvi and Gabriel Orta showcase their com- mitment to fresh ingredients and innovative mixology. To them, success is in the details Technique Elad Zvi. 88 / the tasting panel / august 2009 Infusing New Life into the Miami Bar Scene story and photos by Amanda McCorquodale