Tallboy: On the Menu – Imbibe Journal

Welcome to On the Menu, the place we discover what makes a bar’s menu distinctive, intriguing, and all-around scrumptious.

Opened in Might of this 12 months, Tallboy is the new challenge from bar business vet Den Stephens (North Gentle) in collaboration with beverage director Zach Edwards. Aiming for each irreverence and accessibility, the Oakland bar serves a playful lineup fastidiously honed Martinis and cocktails, Jell-O pictures, slushies, and a freezer stocked with pre-mixed craft pictures, dubbed “Cheekies.” We sat down with Stephens to speak about how the menu got here collectively, tips on how to rehab a drink with a nasty popularity, and what cocktail practically ended his partnership with Edwards.

Imbibe: You name Tallboy a “cocktail dive bar”— what does that imply to you?

Den Stephens: Dive bars have all the time been essentially the most democratic areas in meals and beverage. The hope was to say, “Why can’t we create an area for lots of people to congregate that’s heat, unpretentious, inviting and has a variety of regularity?” Whether or not that’s worth level, the service, a way of familiarity each in what’s being supplied and the way you’re being handled. Why can’t we rejoice all this stuff that we love about dive bars but additionally make you a Martini that’s going to alter your life? Or a Daiquiri that’ll provide help to see god? That was the complete purpose of this challenge … I needed a way of informal informality that belies the truth that we’re making actually formidable, well-crafted drinks.

What was your intention when constructing the menu?

We needed it to be irreverent, cheeky, enjoyable, and accessible. Any of the kind of “cocktail works” that we do, we needed to maintain that behind the scenes and current the drinks in a method that feels tremendous accessible. From the start, it was basically “‘tinis and weenies”—Martinis and scorching canine. I like Martinis—they’re one in every of my favourite cocktails, and I believe there may be a variety of room for interpretation in that style. And I believe the irreverence that we’re approaching these drinks with permits folks to say, “Hey, I don’t know precisely what which means, however I’m keen to strive it.”

How did you land in your lineup of Martinis?

We took a variety of inspiration from the late ’90s and early 2000s, going past only a sense of ironic detachment and saying, “We actually respect these drinks.” The DNA of those drinks is de facto good, usually one thing simply must be tweaked to make it match inside a contemporary palate. Take the Lychee Martini. Lots of people have baggage with a Lychee Martini as a result of that they had a two-ingredient model that was too candy they usually paid $20 for it 10 years in the past. So how can we make our model of that? We added fino sherry and a lychee liqueur but additionally lychee puree, with mezcal as the bottom. It’s floral, delicate, barely smoky, and it finishes tremendous lengthy and dry. It’s eminently crushable.

After which we in all probability made 30 or 40 Appletinis earlier than we landed on the one now we have. I assumed our beverage director and I had been going to have the battle that lastly broke us up after 5 years over this drink… But it surely was nearly determining what made every drink sing, all whereas staying true to the essence of the drink. So the Appletini is crunchy, tart, form of funky, and actually contemporary. We knew that we needed to work with Bitter Apple Pucker, as a result of it’s an indicator of that drink, and we knew we needed it to be vodka primarily based. However we’re additionally utilizing contemporary Granny Smith Apple juice, a 2:1 demerara syrup, lemon, and a tiny quantity of overproof rum, which was the je ne sais quoi that kicked it over the sting. It’s my favourite, so in fact, it’s our least-selling cocktail.

You could have some playful classes on the menu, just like the Cheekies shot and the Jell-O pictures; why had been these parts you needed to include?

Primarily only for enjoyable. It’s this little crushable second that allows you to dip your toe within the water of the cocktail expertise with out pulling the set off on a whole drink. I like a Boulevardier, however I don’t really need a complete Boulevardier, respectfully. However an oz. is nice. The format permits us to current them at a very accessible worth level, and permits folks to strive a variety of completely different choices. Plus it makes a very enjoyable boilermaker.

The Jell-O pictures had been a enjoyable template to revisit a few of the Martinis that we thought had been greatest left within the early 2000s, just like the Porn Star Martini. I all the time needed to find it irresistible as a result of I like ardour fruit, however I by no means actually received the entire ardour fruit-vanilla combo. So we took the vanilla out, we made it a Jell-O shot, and we name it the Onlyfans Martini. It’s one in every of our high promoting gadgets—we actually can’t make them quick sufficient.

What’s been the most well-liked drink on the menu?

It’s a lifeless warmth between our Tallboy Martini and the Soiled Martini. Folks took the idea actually actually, which is enjoyable. We shake our Soiled Martinis, and we don’t double pressure them—we would like there to be that little raft of ice excessive. Frankly, it’s scrumptious. It’s a house-made brine, and we don’t put any vermouth in there. The Tallboy Martini is stirred, and it’s a 50/50. However we use Manzanilla sherry as an alternative of dry vermouth, so it’s actually dry with the saline character. We use two gins, Gordon’s and Bombay Sapphire, and it’s very fragrant. We categorical a lemon disc excessive for lots of good oil, but it surely nonetheless will get an olive, and a pair sprays of Jacobsen sea salt saline simply to double down on the sherry. It’s a session Martini for certain.