On Tuesday, my wife and I were invited to attend Death &Co.’s event at the intimate Rob Roy cocktail lounge in Belltown.
Death &Co., a trendy cocktail lounge started by David Kaplan and Ravi DeRossi in New York City, put out its first cocktail book, “Death and Co.: Modern Classic Cocktails,” last year. Some of their bartenders took over the Rob Roy on Tuesday and it was awesome to watch. Making eight cocktails from the book, the bartenders were poetry in motion, measuring, mixing, shaking, stirring. It was beautiful to watch.
And watch we did. After a 45-minute wait outside, the wait for drinks inside was nearly as long. But that’s OK, it was worth it.
My wife and I strategically placed ourselves at opposite ends of the bar and ordered drinks for ourselves and each other. We whisked away two drinks each from the bar and found a small table in the corner to imbibe and dissect.
I ordered the Kew Gardens Cooler, made with gin, aperol, grapefruit and cucumber, and the Little Engine, made with The Famous Grouse Scotch, tawney port, lemon juice, maple syrup and apple butter. The Kew Gardens was too sweet for my liking, but the Little Engine — a little sweet, a little smokey — was perfection.
Besides also getting a Little Engine, My wife ordered the Elder Fashion, which is made with gin, St-Germain, orange bitters, and a grapefruit twist. The drink, which is a take on an Old Fashioned, looks simple, but tastes complex, with the citrus complementing the gin nicely.
We ended up going back for two more: House of Payne, an adaptation of a Negroni, is made with Beefeater London Dry Gin and Plymouth Sloe Gin, Campari and raspberries. It was sweet but the gin played a nice strong role.
I didn’t taste much of the Moon Cocktail — I had to drive at some point — but my wife said it, made with gin, creme de peche, amontillado sherry and lemon twist, was a nice cap: fruity and dry.
To buy the book, which I highly recommend for any cocktail connoisseur, visit deathandcobook.com/.
Aaron Swaney: 425-339-3430; aswaney@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @swaney_aaron79. Follow the Hops and Sips blog at www.heraldnet.com/hopsandsips.
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