Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/49694
Where High Surf Meets High Quality: Pacifica Del Mar For over two decades, award-winning seafood restaurant Pacifica Del Mar has cultivated a reputation of stretching beyond the sight of its pretty Southern California ocean view to provide its customers with unique experiences at the bar and at the table. "If you have a seafood restaurant around here, you really can't expect to skate by serving things like Mai Tais and coconut shrimp," explains Chris Idso, Pacifica Del Mar's General Manager. "The competi- tion is too fierce to do something like that." Instead of crustaceans embedded with flecks of coconut, patrons perusing the menu will discover a critically acclaimed study in haute seafood that places a strong emphasis on freshness, sustainability and locality. "We will not work with a food purveyor if they fall beyond a 50-mile radius of the restaurant," Idso states. While this impressive dedication to things communal and fresh has produced a lot of honors for the venue, it has also managed to create a strong element of internal pressure to strive for even higher echelons. "Every day, our primary focus is to do better than we did the day before," Idso says. "We owe it to our guests." One of the ways Pacifica Del Mar has managed to Tasting Notes You saddle up to a bar. The air of the black-and-white, starkly festooned space is being filled with the timeless sounds of Miles Davis, thankfully drowning out the din of the football game. A couple of hipsters in fedoras crowd the corner of the same white marble slab that lies majestically before you. The barkeep is rocking a meticulously kept handlebar mustache. Before you order your drink, you take a moment to get lost in the venue's hip brilliance. This setting—the bar at Pacifica Del Mar in Del Mar, CA— seems the appropriate place to indulge in a glass of Zephyr Blu or Zephyr Black, depending on what level you want to connect with the gin's unique botanicals. If you aren't sure which route you want to go, here are some tasting notes to guide you into finding that proper link. Zephyr Blu: The drink eases into the elderberry and elderflower infusion, as a slight floral aroma seamlessly blends with clean, citric notes on the nose. The botanicals flourish on the palate, as a viscous mouthfeel combines with pronounced floral and melon flavors to give the drink depth. The heftiness gives way to a sweet, almost creamy ending tempered by a nicely restrained heat. The 80-proof gin gets its beautiful blue color naturally from blue iris and gardenia. Zephyr Black : The classic aromatics of juniper, orange and lemon peel set the scene for this more traditional take on gin. The elderberry and elderflower are subtle on the palate, allowing bitter and citrus notes to appropriately shine through. At 88 proof, the slight heat on the drink's back end gives it a well-rounded profile. —R. M. match the expectations of this ever-evolving goal is to incorporate the Black and Blu versions of Zephyr Gin into their bar program. Idso says they are particularly having fun utilizing the elderberry- and elderflower-infused Zephyr Blu into cocktails, including their take on the Cucumber Collins. "Zephyr Blu goes very well with the herbaceous nature of the drink," he states. "It really is a lovely gin." —R. M. ZEPHYR COLLINS as made at Pacifica Del Mar ■ ■ ■ ■ 1½ oz. Zephyr Blu Gin ¾ oz. rosemary-infused agave nectar 3 pieces cucumber (muddled) Squeeze of lemon ■ Shake ingredients together. Add charge of soda water for brightening. december 201 1 / the tasting panel / 7