Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/271567
126 / the tasting panel / march 2014 W hen James Beard Award–winning Chef Tony Maws opened his new restaurant in Boston, Kirkland Tap & Trotter, last September, he wanted to create an environment made for memorable gatherings and for sharing hearty plates and ever-flowing drinks. To perfect the final part of the equation, Maws consulted with cocktail connoisseurs Patrick Sullivan, founder of B-Side Lounge and Brick & Mortar, and Misty Kalkofen of Revolution Cocktails, and hired Bar Manager Tyler Wang (formerly of Drink) to create a menu with drinks that are mixed right, shaken right, and served right, but don't take ten minutes to prepare. The collaboration resulted in a menu featuring simple, unique cocktails. Standouts include the Shady Hills Soda, featuring blended Scotch, silver cachaça and apple sage soda; the Jam Juice with ancho chili–inflused rye, Gran Classico Bitter, pear and citrus; and The Bag or the Bat?, a cocktail that asks the imbiber to choose between two mystery shooters. THE "5" LIST Tyler Wang's Top Five Faves The return to simplicity. The best cocktails are simple. The best food is too, for that matter. High-quality coffee in bars and cocktails. We take such pride in the food, wine and spirits that we source and offer our guests. Coffee deserves the same attention. Armchair travel through terroir. The glass of rhum agricole that sends me hiking through sugarcane and banana trees keeps me warm through winter. Gin. Wines from the Valtellina. I have a reoc- curring dream about Sfursat. No joke. Tyler Wang's Top Five Pet Peeves Referring to certain guests as V.I.Ps. Anyone who decides to support our bar and our team is a very important person and deserves the same care. Referring to spirits as "smooth." What does that even mean? Any spirits designed to be flavorless. I'm not just talking about vodka. If you are distilling an agricul- tural product to such a degree that it loses all evidence and character of whatever it is distilled from you're doing the world a disservice. Messy bartenders and bars. Mise- en-place, people. Mise-en-place! Super-Duper-Ultra-Mega-Extra- Premium anything. 3 4 5 1 2 1 2 3 4 5 Tyler Wang Head Bartender, The Kirkland Tap & Trotter, Boston Taking Inventory with. . . PHOTO: EDWARD ZELTSER Tyler Wang at James Beard Award–win- ning Chef Tony Maws's restaurant, The Kirkland Tap & Trotter, in Somerville, MA. Tyler Wang loves J.M Rhum Agricole Blanc.