SOMA Magazine SOMA Fall Fashion Issue Oct 15 | Page 91

Urbanite

Eric Adkins
TEXT BY ALEX MAY
PHOTOGRAPHY BY PIERRE GUSSMAN

The glow of over a hundred bottles of whiskey glimmers off the the ship. “We’re not trying to reinvent anything,” he says. “We
barman’s smooth head, accentuating the perspiration as veteran just want to make the best cocktail we can with simple, but longdrinksmith Erik Adkins works away, mixing cocktails and pour- standing ingredients.”
ing the amber goodness to the packed-in patrons at Hard Water.
Sunshine calls for a good drink and Hard Water is proud to
The Pier 3 whiskey bar is the latest Charles Phan venture, this feature a cocktail of their own design with the Bourbon Lift.
time featuring whiskey—one of the better lists in the country— “Jennifer’s idea, my recipe,” says Erik as she chills the bourbon
and New Orleans cooking. Phan, Adkins, and Slanted Door ac- and coffee liqueur, whips the organic cream, and puts the finishcomplice Jennifer Colliau are exploring the state of American ing touch of soda water to billow the white cloud over top the
whiskey, regionally and agriculturally, all the while serving tried glass. One sip and you’re transported back to the root beer floats
and true cocktails and damn good Southern food.
of childhood summers.
Adkins has been in the bay for over two decades behind variThis time though, as Erik grins in the background,