Seattle Celebrates the Golden Age of Cocktails

Becherovka.  Sounds to me like a dance done at Slavic weddings.  Or maybe a primitive music instrument.

But in fact, Becherovka is a prized alcoholic drink, made in Karlovy Vary (aka Karlsbad) in the Czech Republic, from anise seed, cinnamon and a secret mash of 32 herbs. It’s showing up a lot these days at upscale bars such as Tavern Law, the popular new bar/lounge/speakeasy in Seattle.

Billed as a digestif in its homeland (meaning it aids digestion after a heavy dinner), the liquor has a lively, herbaceous flavor and a soft golden color. Czechs usually drink the stuff straight up over ice, but on occasion they enjoy a popular drink of Becherovka and tonic water that’s called a “beton.” Since that translates into English as “concrete,” I’m not rushing out to try it.

A far more palatable choice is Tavern Law’s “Eastern Waterfront,” a fragrant mingling of gin, Peychaud’s Bitters, Martini & Rossi white vermouth and Becherovka. It’s one of the many fascinating cocktails dreamed up by the eatery’s talented bartender/mixologist David Nelson (pictured here). On the same night that he splashed Becherovka into my son Nicholas’ cocktail, Nelson swirled together for me two types of rum (Rhum Agricole and blackstrap), allspice liqueur, lime juice, Chartreuse  and Demerara sugar. Though it didn’t have a name yet, the “work-in-progress” was an aromatic and warmly satisfying cocktail, perfect for sipping while the rain drummed the sidewalks in front of the atmospheric new saloon.

(Since that night, Nelson has christened the drink “The Indecent Monk,” a reference to the French monastery where the liqueur was originally produced and the green-brown color of the monks’ robes.)

 

Tavern Law is the baby sister of Spur Gastropub, one of Seattle’s trend-setting bistros. (This year Food & Wine magazine called it one of the country’s best gastropubs.) Open just since early fall, the Tavern is part of the nostalgia-driven “speakeasy” mini-craze afoot in the country. (A New York Times article earlier this year wrote of the hidden doors, darkened stairwells and pre-Prohibition brews.) From the sidewalk, there’s just an easily-missed façade, with tall frosted glass windows and a non-descript door. But step inside and you’re enveloped in instant warmth and quiet energy, thanks to dark paneled walls, a long, curvy vintage bar, soft lighting and a spirited buzz from patrons who are drinking and having fun as opposed to drinking to have fun.  (A Seattle Times restaurant reviewer called Tavern Law “a thinking drinker’s watering hole.”)

If this room were the whole operation, I’d be satisfied. But, in keeping with the speakeasy “theme,” there’s also a “secret” upstairs room, accessed through an old bank vault door (call for entry on an antique phone) and up a darkened staircase.

However, this is not just a Disneyland-with-Dewar’s. Tavern Law offers an exceptional array of  handmade cocktails (using Nelson’s fresh squeezed juices and housemade syrups, tinctures and bitters), and a small but stellar menu of cod fritters, braised short ribs, baby beet salad, truffled risotto and the like, from the dynamic duo of Brian McCracken and Dana Tough, who also man the stoves at Spur. (This photo of a classic Julep is by Kristin Zwiers.)

A quick word about its name. Tavern Law is a nod to the Pioneer Inn and Tavern Law, passed by Congress in 1832, which allowed inns and saloons to serve alcoholic beverages without requiring customers to rent a room for the night, effectively legalizing drinking. The “Golden Age” of cocktails came to an abrupt end in 1919 when the Volstead Act outlawed the production and possession of alcoholic beverages.

Seattle’s Tavern Law successfully invokes the glory days of American bartending while also offering the best food, drink, talent and know-how of the new millennium.

It's located at 1406 12th Avenue, Seattle; 206.322.9734.