Craft cocktails are sexy for guests, but brutal for business. Programs built on bespoke ice, house-infused everything, and endless prep bleed money and time. They look like the future, but function like a hood ornament — shiny, expensive, and nowhere near the engine that actually keeps a bar alive.
My business brings me all over this wonderful country, and there are two places I always try to check out when I’m somewhere unfamiliar. The oldest (or divey-ist) bar, and the highest end cocktail bar. I’ve always been fascinated by the juxtaposition of the high and the low. I love drinks made with love, care, and purpose. The thought behind every ingredient. The precision in the execution. By the same token, there’s purity in simple, old things. The simple joy of a shot and a beer. The warmth (or extreme lack of it) from a dive bartender. Also I usually get my drink pretty quick…
For all the love I have for high end cocktail bars and what they produce, when I’m in these markets away from home, I usually find myself spending more time, and more money, at the dive bar. Why? That answer is just one of many gripes with the “myth” of elevated bartending. But to really understand it, we have to start with the why.
The Allure
It’s hard not to love the idea of high end cocktails and “mixology.” There’s a theatrical razzle-dazzle to a beautiful cocktail and while the mixology revival has been going on for 20+ years at this point, theatrics in the bar are nothing new.
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