The Tasting Panel magazine

November 2017

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36  /  the tasting panel  /  november 2017 We've partnered with Chef's Roll & Somm's List, the global culinary and wine professional networks, to learn more about beverage experts from across the country. If you are a mixologist or wine professional interested in being featured here or want more information on Chef's Roll and Somm's List, please email featured@chefsroll.com. LUCAS ENGLAND Beverage Director/Bartender at Mortar & Pestle in San Jose and San Mateo, CA As the Beverage Director for Mortar & Pestle, what's been a constant motivator? Mortar & Pestle has always been a place to get a crafted cocktail in a low-key atmosphere. We do highly-tailored executions for people who never expect to find a great cocktail bar inside an Indian fine-casual restaurant. I want everyone to feel comfortable coming in to eat some wicked Indian food while enjoying a classic cocktail. Which ingredients have you been excited to work with recently? Cashew feni, a moonshine of sorts made from the apples of cashews and produced exclusively in Goa, India. It's distilled from the fruit surrounding the cashew nut and tastes sweet and nutty—somewhere between an unaged brandy and a rhum agricole in flavor. Finally, what's your perfect atmosphere and cocktail mashup? Dark and spirited—a space full of enthu- siasts drinking in a dimly-lit lounge with comfortable seats, lively conversation, and dark spirits served in sparkling glassware. FEIZAL VALLI & RACHAEL ROBERTS Owners/Bartenders at the Atomic Lounge in Birmingham, AL The Atomic Lounge is a retro haven and its cocktails follow suit. How were the design and concept for the lounge conceptualized? We're mid-century modern fans and wanted that feel in the bar. We wanted it to feel like a home, so we laid it out like one, with different spaces for people to gather and different settings for each space. Each table is its own vignette or scene with a different mood and dynamic for each group's or person's different needs. We also love a good dive bar and that's where the old school bar stools, the wood paneling, and the retro glassware come in. A closet full of costumes is part of the Atomic experience. Why is that? Halfway through the buildout of the bar in October, Rachael and I got married in Vegas with all of my college friends. We'd also gotten married in August the day after signing the bar's lease, in a small traditional wedding with both our families here in Birmingham. We spent 14 hours on the Vegas Strip in costume—barhopping, gambling, having dinner, getting married at the Graceland Wedding Chapel by an Elvis imperson- ator, and then drinking all night in Downtown Las Vegas. The next day it occurred to us: Costumes plus alcohol equals fun. We added a number of options to the closet and the costume concept was a hit. What are some current trends you're excited about? In the opposite way, a few years back we went to a well-known, highly- respected bar in Nashville and hated it. It was snobby, pretentious, cold, and focused on entirely the wrong thing. Similarly, at another revered speak- easy in New York, I asked if the two of us could be seated at the half-full, eight-seat bar instead, and an employee said he'd have to ask the bartender since he didn't want to "overwhelm him." Right after getting us two Old Fashioneds, the bartender was back on his phone checking Facebook. If I'm excited about any trend, it's that bars like those are being replaced with more accessible, less self-important ones. The day of the twirly-mustached, barspoon-tattooed-on-his-arm, worship-my-genius mixologist is in our rearview mirror. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ATOMIC LOUNGE PHOTO: GREG RAMAR

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