Sea Island Life Magazine Fall/Winter 2014 | Page 59

PURE AND
SIMPLE

COCKTAILS RETURN TO THE BASICS, AND ENTHUSIASTS ARE ALL
TOO HAPPY TO SIP CLASSIC FLAVORS IN A WHOLE NEW WAY.
BY ALIA AKKAM

C

omplex cocktails and spectacular
showmanship have taken over

liquors and complicated processes
are being eschewed for the old classics. Both
bartenders and mixology enthusiasts are
tradition. Even though names on cocktail
lists may sound familiar, mixologists are
showing off their creativity with clever substitutions and garden-fresh garnishes.
What is happening in the South is part of a
much larger trend that revisits bartending’s
classic combinations. Simplicity, according
to bartenders, is far more important when
creating quality cocktails than wanton
novelty, and consumers agree. According
to Robert Simonson, author of “The OldFashioned: The Story of the World’s First
Classic Cocktail with Recipes and Lore,”
“The history of bartending in America has
always been a tug of war between innovation
and back-to-basics traditionalism.
“There was a time in the 1870s when
bartenders, excited by a plethora of new
ingredients at their disposal—such as
curacao and absinthe—were throwing all
sorts of things into what had been fairly

simple drinks. This eventually caused
some drinkers to cry foul. I think the
same cycle has happened over the past 10
years,” he explains.

Back to Basics
Randi Zeagler, bartender at the Georgian
Room Lounge, has noticed the move
toward the tried and true. Recently, she
Old-Fashioneds to old-fashioned Flips for
her guests. “Guests are tired of drinks
that take 15 minutes to make,” she says.
“They want something that tastes good
and is well made, but they want it to have
three ingredients.”
At the Georgian Room Lounge, playing
with cocktails means serving sophisticated
spins on the tried and true. The Negroni—
traditionally equal parts gin, Campari and
sweet vermouth—is especially popular.
Zeagler thinks this might have something
ing patrons to sip different gin and amaro
hybrids substituted in the drink.
“I’ll have regulars tell me they want a
Negroni and to make it however I want,”
she explains. “So I’ll use different gins, like

FALL/WINTER 2014/15 | SEA ISL AND LIFE 59

SI4_Simple-e_v2-e_v3-e_v4-e.indd 59

9/19/14 8:39 AM