It's Mixology, Man

Last Saturday night, we went to The Varnish. It's downtown, it's in the back of Cole's, it's cloaked in secrecy, it's "old timey," and it's a shrine to mixology. I am a HUGE fan of great bartenders, but something about this movement has gotten a little bit too distilled and syrupy. While the drinks we had were good, piled on top of each other they dissolved into a sugary, acidic excess in the back of my throat. I eventually moved on to scotch on the rocks, a bold and not readily acceptable move in these parts. Mixing things together well is an art, but I fear that in this current mood of master bartender fever craze, their fervent adherence to simplicity, organic, and homemade has led to a rapid overuse, overextraction and perhaps too much mixing. Suddenly, it's not the bartender that I see behind the bar, but the cocky/sulky/chubby/stinky/ eight year old who couldn't get enough candy. I digress, the place is lovely, aside from the underutilized piano. The drinks, are good, in fact some are great like the Brown Derby, or I am sure they make a killer dry martini.