Press & Accolades
Margaritas made from coconut milk? A cocktail garnished with house-cured bacon? Sometimes that stiff price for a drink is worth it, especially when ultra-creative Whisknladle bartender-in-chief Ian Ward is at the helm. The unassuming Ward sowed his spiritual oats in New York and Atlanta before heading to La Jolla, where he’s known to obsess over his craft by puréeing his own juice, infusing the liquors in-house and growing and making his own ingredients. He can spend up to 10 minutes crafting one cocktail. Don’t think it’s worth it? Try the crazily smooth “Smoked Pear and Vanilla” (be careful, though—they may taste as right as rain, but they’re dangerous). Or forgo the usual Sunday morning bloody mary for the Thai chile-garnished London’s Burning, with Tanqueray and lime juice mixed with a puréed mix of avocado, cilantro and roasted jalapeños.
–V.H. McLoughlin
Snake Oil mixologists Ward and Conner continue to turn taste buds with their fresh array of liquid blends, most recently at chef Brian Malarkey’s Searsucker eatery. Concoctions like the Peter Rabbit (Pimm’s No. 1 Cup gin, with bruised basil, fresh lemonade and house-pickled baby globe carrot) and the ever-popular Treaty of Paris (burnt sugar – cherry – nutmeg reduction, aged rum and housemade tobacco cologne) are just two of the duo’s big hits. In 2011, they’re slated to create drink menus at the Sundance Film Festival and at the Concours d’Elegance in Pebble Beach for Aston Martin, as well as for the new brunch program at Quality Social downtown
–Erin Chambers Smith and Adam Elder
