In 2007 when The Violet Hour first opened its doors in Wicker Park, it wasn’t always easy to get a proper drink in Chicago. Writers at the time wondered if people would even patronize a bar solely because the drinks were of exceptional quality. It was a time when cocktails were given short shrift.
That all would quickly change over the next few years as bartenders across the city took to heart the lessons learned there and at Chicago’s other early cocktail dens such as the Drawing Room. This cocktail drinking revival that suddenly happened in cities everywhere is the subject of a new book, “A Proper Drink: The Untold Story of How a Band of Bartenders Saved the Civilized Drinking World.”
Writer Robert Simonson, a Wisconsin native whose previous book “The Old Fashioned” explored what’s arguably the Midwest’s favorite classic drink, interviewed hundreds of bartenders and spirits enthusiasts to tell the story of the drinking world’s cocktail course correction.
On Monday, The Violet Hour will host the author at a special book signing from 6 to 8 p.m. and (of course) serve up a selection of cocktails to celebrate the book’s release. Ahead of Monday’s event, Simonson shared some thoughts about the book and the cocktail revival it covers.
Q: Tell us about “A Proper Drink.” It’s an unusual book.
A: It is unusual. I’m not quite sure that the cocktail community knows what to make of it. We’ve had a cocktail book boom the last five years, but they are, for the most part, “cocktail books.” They have a little history, some storytelling and lots and lots of recipes. This is a “book book.” I set out to tell how the cocktail revival came about. Now, there are some recipes in there. Most are what I consider to be “modern classic cocktails” that emerged out of the revival but also some old forgotten cocktails that were given a new lease on life. For the cocktail world, it’s the first book of its kind. But the food and the wine world get books like this all the time.
Q: As you compiled the drinks included in the book, what struck you about them?
A: Most of these modern classics are fairly simple and most of them are based on existing drinks. So the gin-gin mule (gin, lime, sugar, mint, ginger beer) is a bit like a Moscow mule and a bit like a mojito. A Red Hook (rye, maraschino liqueur, Punt e Mes vermouth) is much like a Manhattan. A Penicillin (scotch, lemon, honey-ginger syrup) is like a whiskey sour. They are built on the rock-solid models of yesteryear. Those worked for a long time so if you are going to invent a new drink you might as well start with the building blocks that you know will stand up.
Q: It seems like craft cocktails went from nowhere to everywhere very quickly. Was there something that accelerated that movement?
A: Two things gave bartenders a community that they hadn’t had before. One was Tales of the Cocktail (in New Orleans). It was this convention where everyone could get together, meet each other and exchange ideas. The other one was the internet where they could gather in chat rooms and try to work out these problems they were trying to wrestle to the ground. How do you make a Sazerac? What is the history of the Old Fashioned? And today it helps keep the community together. The internet was vitally important.
Q: You traveled around the world interviewing people for this book. Did you find a common thread among these cocktail revivalists you met?
A: They are students of history and ritual. Of all the different food worlds, the biggest geeks seem to be in the cocktail world. They are history geeks. It seems strange to say it but they are the people that are most obsessed with books and history. I think the history was necessary to give the profession … (a) patina of seriousness because that had all been forgotten. History helps remind the public that, yes, bartending is a respected profession and the cocktail is something that’s been around as long as there has been an America. That adds to the allure and the respectability of the profession.
Q: You’ve been to far more cocktail bars than most people. What differences do you see when you travel from city to city?
A: Well, there used to be a very distinct difference between New York and San Francisco. The San Francisco bars were more interested in fresh ingredients because they had access to all this wonderful produce out there. So it became more about what you were putting in the glass than about adhering to a certain classic recipe or getting your proportions exactly precise. Meanwhile, the New York people were always focused with laserlike intensity on the classics. They wanted to bring those drinks back and get them perfect. That has blurred over the years.
London is also unique. Cocktails were not something they invented and therefore they are not tied down by tradition. They have a little more fun with it. They like their cocktails to be entertainment so they have very elaborate preparations and presentations that make you ooo and ahh. These people are showmen. Bartenders are always showmen but much more so in London than here.
I’ve also found that the cocktail centers in the middle of the country are much more interested in customer service and hospitality. They are focused on the patron. They bend over backwards to make sure the customer knows they will be welcome.
Q: Where do you think this cocktail revival will go from here?
A: I think we’re going to get more and more cocktail bars in more and more cities. It would be good if everyone got past this idea that they have to have original proprietary cocktails. If they just figured out how to do the classics really well, that’s fine. One trend that will happen is that the big restaurateurs are going to get into cocktails in a big way. The people who started this revolution aren’t necessarily business people. Danny Meyer (GreenRiver in Chicago, Gramercy Tavern in New York) recognized this and has gone all in for cocktails. He’ll be followed by others.
“A Proper Drink: The Untold Story of How a Band of Bartenders Saved the Civilized Drinking World” by Robert Simonson, Ten Speed Press, 342 pages, $27.
The Violet Hour, 1520 N Damen Ave., (773) 252-1500, theviolethour.com