Sometimes I get an idea, I try something new and it actually works and then I feel like you actually know what the hell Im doing (apostrophe button still down). I’ve fooled them all! The imposter syndrome is pushed down a little further until next time and hey what the hell? In the long run its just a goddam drink right? Why take it all so seriously? Well…One, people spend a shitload of money on a drink now. I was forced to raise prices to $19 which to me is insane. And two, yes there is probably some sort of massive overcompensation going on. I mean, I was technically a child prodigy…Anyway…Three, if you’re going to do something then do it the best you can, make it the best you can, make something you’d want to spend 19 bucks on. Go all the way.

Where the hell was I? Uh…Oh yeah. Each year behind the bar we really focus on a new ingredient/technique and then just go haywire with it. Eventually the techniques all stack up and then you put them all together and youve got yourself some really great drinks. Lets see…In 2018, when I started at Rustic as the bar manager I was basically thrown to the wolves. I had no clue what I was doing. I only had one real technique in my breadbasket–muddling. Our old bar manager the Ranfer was a big muddler. He loved to muddle. A fantastic way to make drinks especially if you have the produce we have but also an ultra annoying and messy thing to deal with during service. There was a time he had three or four muddled drinks on the menu and we all despised him for it.

When I took over it was all about the sherbets. Man oh man. That’s all I ever did and to tell you the truth, if you just made great sherbets, that could be all you ever did and that would be just fine.

2019 for sure was about the bitters. We made all sorts of our own bitters back there. Experimented like crazy and now its just an ordinary part of what we do.

2020, well…Lets skip it. This was the last year of Kimmy. She was the one who showed me how to do ultra clear clarified milk punch without using coffee filters. Thanks again, Kimmy. Youve saved me literal days of my life.

2021 was a sort of next level year where dairy products found their way into nearly everything. This may have been the first calpico year as well as taking the leftover whey from the kitchen and making syrup out of it and having our collective minds blown. Using clarified milk punches in cocktails became another huge flavor hack.

If 2021 was about dairy, then 2022 was about the alternative side. I started on this insane path to amazake orgeats. Nuts, water, koji rice. Cook at 135° for ten hours or so and do a few other things and voila, you have yourself an orgeat which is adding, not only body to your drink but umami. Yes. Eventually some really weird shit like the Black Hole Sun cocktail came out of this.

Pinpointing anything about 2023 is difficult but if I had to pick something I think it would be a focus on more better thoughtful usage of ingredients. Taking an entire ingredient, including parts youd normally throw away and going all the way. Some truly spectacular drinks came out of this one. Corn Identity being one. Then the Triple Whammy and an all time fave Freedom of 76.

Lacto fermentations were always something on the periphery but not a whole hog situation until the last few months. Maybe because its been so slow? Probably. Slow nights for sure create better cocktails, especially since we do all our own prep and when its busy have no time to do anything. So yes, we’ve dallied and dicked around in the past but got more serious about it with the inclusion of lacto plum honey. And now…Well theres a lot more in the pipeline. We will have to see whether it works or not before I print it here…Once I get to work today I will find out. Very excited/nervous…

The lacto fermented syrup is now a thing. Take a fruit, lacto it and then puree it with some sugar. Pretty easy. You can even use past its prime juice instead of water for some extra oomph. It isnt so salty if used sparingly and a little salt in cocktails is great anyway…But just a little…The lacto fermentation adds a layer of umami in most cases and also accentuates flavor, again in most cases. Plus, you get to open a jar and have it go all fizzy on you which is my personal favorite thing. A deep dive on this is on the horizon as I have some idea as to the why and how but have yet to fully commit it to my memory banks in an easy to explain way.

I do the lacto thing a little differently. I just use the brine. So, 2% brine over the fruit. That is it. Yes, I know other, more relevant institutions recommend weighing salt out by total weight of everything in the jar. I am fully aware of The Noma Fermentation Guide. This just works for me and it also takes the total salt down by a lot. It does help that LA is very hot right now, even Santa Monica is experiencing some temps in the 80° range, but ah, that is perfect for your ferments.

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