Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/188061
Anne Magoon, Beverage Director, The Old Sage E ven in the afternoon, there's a smoky scent in the air at The Old Sage. "Anything that will make smoke, we're experimenting with it," says Anne Magoon, Operations Manager for Seattle's McCracken Tough family of bars and restaurants, which owns popular Spur Gastropub, Tavern Law and The Coterie Room. "Every day, we're smoking something different," she says, mentioning mesquite, lavender and even bamboo as smoky enhancers to the food. But at the bar, there's a different kind of smoke at the forefront: smoky scotches and whiskies. "Pairing all of these foods with smoky booze brings out so much unique flavor," says Magoon, who works closely with her partner Angela Kimber, locally known as the Whiskey Maven, to curate beverage programs designed to be educational and intelligent. At Old Sage, one of the strongest educational tools is the bar's flight program, which offers varieties categorized by expression, location, cask and even cask origin. "We design flights to give the guest a better understand of the evolution of the spirit, from barrel to finish. Old Sage is also a purist when it comes to cocktails, with an emphasis on the classics rather than smoke-injected molecular mixology concoctions. "We don't want to mess with the quality of the spirit too much," Magoon says, gesturing to a bottle of Laphroaig Càirdeas. "That's a cocktail in a bottle already! —Rachel Burkons Anne Magoon reaches for her favorite call, Laphroaig Càirdeas, at Old Sage in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. Chuck LeFevre, Owner, Esquin Wine Merchants W alking into the sprawling Esquin wine shop in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood, the first thing you're struck by is a massive Spanish wine selection, including sku after sku of Spanish whites. Taking a look around the store and it's easy to see that this is a world wine warehouse. "When I bought the store in 1997, it was a very international store," explains owner Chuck LeFevre, who took the reins in 1997. "But as the Washington wine industry exploded, we've just kept expanding." Expanding indeed: Esquin has undergone a series of add-ons to accommodate its evergrowing stock of both wines and spirits, as well as a state-of-the-art wine locker available for his customers to rent. "Our customer is looking for something they can't find in the grocery store," continues LeFevre, and with an educated staff, shelf-talkers everywhere you look and unique Chuck LeFevre and his daughter Alisha Gosline, who handles offerings like curated sampler cases, Esquin offers marketing for Esquin Wine Merchants. a wine and spirit experience that's hard to beat anywhere. And while the international selection is diverse, Esquin is right on track with local wines: "Washington wines account for 20% of our inventory and sales," says LeFevre, "and we're seeing that trend happening in spirits now too, and our customers are reacting positively. They know that they can trust us." —Rachel Burkons october 2013 / the tasting panel / 107 TP1013_066-107.indd 107 9/23/13 10:37 PM