We’ve always enjoyed drinks created by bartender Matt Obermark, so when we heard he was charged with the bar program at chef-owner Wes Johnson’s newly opened restaurant, Salt, in the Central West End, we were doubly excited. And being the antsy elixir enthusiasts we are, we headed over as soon as Salt had that liquor license in hand to check out Obermark’s lineup.
To align the drink menu with the restaurant’s namesake, Obermark wanted to give a creative sprinkle of sodium to a couple signature cocktails. For the Salt Smash (pictured), that meant capitalizing on the sweet and salty flavors of a house-made salty caramel syrup. This variation of a Whiskey Smash is made by muddling fresh chocolate, mint and Angostura bitters with the syrup, then adding blood orange juice and two ounces of Buffalo Trace bourbon. Obermark deemed this wonderfully drinkable elixir a “gateway cocktail,” noting that even people who don’t think they like bourbon are falling in love with this drink, which has been the top seller at Salt since the cocktail menu debuted two weeks ago.
Ornery Hound, the other salt-themed drink, finds its sodium slant via a salt tincture and a rimming of sel gris. This gin-based drink is highly fruit forward, with ruby red grapefruit juice, honey-happy Yellow Chartreuse, agave nectar and a couple dashes of grapefruit bitters combining for a palate-pleasing patio drink.
Another sipper that gets commendations is a play on a Pisco Sour. The drink, called A (Pisco) Sour, By Any Other Name, requires prepping a few days in advance when Obermark drops lavender essential oils on a carton of eggs. Through this process – called diffusion – the aromatic oils permeate the shell and spread their scent throughout the egg white and even to the yolk. The egg white is then shaken, along with Pisco (a brandy made in Peru), honey syrup and lime juice, then spritzed with Peychaud’s bitters to create a highly floral, frothy drink – and our hands-down fave on the list.
In the coming weeks, look for Obermark to add another handful of culinary-minded cocktails to the current slate of five. When coupled with Obermark’s creativity and ability to create balanced drinks that take into consideration visual appeal, aroma, flavor and mouth feel, we are excited to include Salt as a regular stop on our craft cocktail circuit.
This article appears in April 2011.