Craft cocktail bars have been all the rage these last 20 years allowing for alcohol consumption to begin a new era. Some, like Death & Co are calling these decades the New Golden Age. Fine spirits, craft breweries, artisan winemakers & creative bars are emerging everywhere. Death & Co has started small, but got big pretty quickly & is now considered one of the most enduring establishments of this movement. It’s an institution close to its community & which concentrates its efforts towards quality products & hospitality. It felt like a good introduction for articles on the bar scene of the world.
History
Death and Company, a.k.a. Death & Co opened in January 2007 in East Village, Manhattan. The owners David Kaplan, the host & Ravi DeRossi, the businessman, teamed up to create this speakeasy-style place. None of them are really bartenders although both are huge fans of alcohol. They don’t see it as a drug or a way to get intoxicated but more as a gateway into various cultures & flavours. Since then the company grew at a fast pace, quickly being talked about in the newspaper & in alcohol-related media. In 2016, it opened a new location in Colorado with a much brighter style, appealing to a more daily or evening clientele. In spring 2017, it released a cocktail book containing some of the most famous ones made at the bar.
Philosophy
The ambiance is based on the speakeasy era with dark wooden walls, a study bar made of marble & candles for lighting. The drinks, however, are very modern & reflects the care in which they were made. The same focus for quality spreads into the spirit, wine & beer selections as well as the food available.
Other than the ambiance, the booze & the snacks, the bar pours a lot of effort in their crew, which leads to well-trained & very knowledgeable staff members. Pretty much anyone can make any drink requests or discuss about the ingredients & the balance of a cocktail.
Famous Cocktails
Naked & Famous by Joaquin Simó in 2011
- Equal parts Apérol, Mezcal, Lime juice & Yellow Chartreuse to create a sweet & tangy citrusy drink with herbaceous notes.
The Outlaw Country created by Tyson Buhler in 2017
- A variant of the Old-Fashioned including a pineapple rum & vanilla syrup.
Oaxaca Old-Fashioned created by Phil Ward in 2007
- A mix of Mezcal & Tequila with Mole bitters to make a riff on the Old-Fashioned.
Famous Bartenders
Joaquin Simó - A bartender who wasn’t aiming to be in the business but managed to revolutionize many cocktails with his own style.
Tyson Buhler - Tyson is a world class bartender who combines his culinary background to make ridiculously good drinks.
Eryn Reece - An experienced mixologist who honed her skills at Death & Co & who now works as the head bartender at Banzarbar.
The Reference
More information @deathandcompany.com
D. Kaplan, N. Fauchauld, A. Day. Death & Co: Modern Classic Cocktails
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