Q & A With Brooks Reitz

Q. As a mixologist, what did you think was missing in the market that led you to create Jack Rudy?

A. I do some consulting work for hotels in the states and abroad, where we basically go in and reinvent their F&B [food and beverage] operations from the inside out. My focus, as part of this team, is always the bar.

Depending on the operation, the first thing I usually suggest is moving away from soda guns and replacing them with bottled sodas, tonic, soda water, etc. I think it gives you a fresher, better product, and provides the chance to introduce some new products, rather than being tied to the major soda brands that make their products available for that system. That way you can use some local sodas, some handcrafted products, and just improve the whole experience and make it more reflective of where you are. 

My favorite summer cocktail has always been a gin & tonic - it's restorative properties are insane - but I could never find a tonic that I really loved.

Fever Tree, out of England, was my favorite, but it was hard to track down in a lot of markets. Most other tonics were too sweet, or too bitter for my tastes, so I set out to create my own - something that was bright, fresh, zesty, and soft enough to not overpower a good gin. It started out as a practice for some of these hotel properties, and I fell in love with it, so I made it my own, tinkered with the recipe until it was perfect, and then set out to begin bottling it.

Q. What makes the Artisan Tonic different from mass-produced tonics?

A. The most important thing is the flavor. It's light, crisp and refreshing, with a soft backbone of quinine that makes it incredibly quaffable. Beyond that, the tonic is in syrup form, so it won't lose it's edge. Behind a bar, you might pop a bottle of tonic, and it could lose its bubbles before you sell the next Gin & Tonic.

Since Jack Rudy isn't carbonated, it won't go bad between drinks, and most bars are going through a consistent amount of soda water, so the carbonation stays strong throughout the night. It also has a use as a cocktail ingredient for shaken drinks. Some of our customers use it outside of a gin & tonic, which I love.

Q. Other than the classic gin and tonic, what other suggestions / recommendations do you have for the best ways to use the Artisan Tonic?

A. You can have some fun with it by simply switching up the gin you use.

116 Crown in New Haven, CT uses it in a Jack Rudy Margarita.

[See recipe]

The Cocktail Club in Charleston pours it in their spin on a Paloma.

Husk in Charleston uses it with tequila as well - is there a pattern forming?

Peels in NYC pairs it with Farmer's Gin. It's also good for treating malaria.

[See details.]

Advice / Tips

Q. When making cocktails, the one ingredient I won’t skimp on is:  

A. Everything. If you skimp on anything, you get a drink that tastes like you skimped on something.

Q. My favorite ingredients are:

A. Low proof aperitifs: Campari, Aperol, Cocchi Americano, Lillet Blanc and Pastis. BUT, if I had to choose just ONE ingredient, I would say fresh-squeezed juices.

Q. Every home mixologist should have these 5 tools / ingredients at their disposal?

A. Naming only five is difficult. I think if you are making drinks at home, you are entertaining and you just want to have a good time and a delicious drink without too much fuss. That being said, I don't worry about shakers or strainers.

I think you need:

1. A great bottle of gin.

2. A bottle of Campari.

3. A bottle of Lillet Blanc (or Cocchi Americano if it's available where you are).

4. Fresh citrus.

5. Soda water.

If it's winter, replace the gin with bourbon, the Campari for Sweet Vermouth and the Lillet Blanc with Averna, and you're set.

Recommendations

FIND...

Q. What’s your favorite resource (websites, guides, books, etc.) for drink related information?

A. I obsess over Eater and visit specific restaurant and bar websites they highlight.

I don't read a lot of drink related blogs, but instead find inspiration from what other restaurants and bars are doing with their cocktail menus, and research new products that I might find on those lists.

Mud Puddle Books has done a great job with re-issuing some classic cocktail books, but many of them are too esoteric for my tastes.

I love the Savoy Cocktail Book.

I can always count on David Wondrich to be right on the money in his Esquire articles.

Imbibe is a great magazine and certainly has their finger on the pulse of all imbibe-able liquids - coffee, beer, spirits, etc..

I read Class Magazine online, because I can't afford a subscription.

[See details.]

EAT...

Charleston

Q. With so many chefs visiting Charleston these days, where would you recommend they eat and what should they order?

A. FIG for the seafood - I've never seen such consistent quality in my life, and chef Mike Lata is the king of seafood in Charleston, in my opinion.

Wild Flour for the sticky buns.

Monza for the pizza and the butter bean salad.

Husk for the beef rinds and all things brunch.

Glass Onion for fries with béarnaise and well, anything on the menu,

Trattoria Lucca for pasta and again, anything.

Oh, and McCrady's.

Damn, we have no shortage of fine food!

[See details.]

Q. Where do the locals go in Charleston?

A. Taco Boy for guacamole and frozen screwdrivers.

Monza for pizza.

Hope and Union for coffee.

[See details.]

Q. What’s the best off the beaten track place to eat, that you’d be excited to take an adventurous eater?

A. Bowen's Island - roasted oysters, cold beer. It's a real South Carolina experience and the only place like it I've ever encountered.

[See details.]

DRINK...

Charleston

Q. Where would you recommend people go to in Charleston for a drink to start the night?

A. I would start with a Negroni at FIG. The bar is comfortable, the bartenders are knowledgeable, and because a Negroni is the perfect start to a long night of eating and drinking.

[See details.]

Q. To end the night?

A. I would end the night at the newly opened Cocktail Club. They did a great job with the space, and the patio is a welcome piece of calm on the busiest stretch of nightlife in Charleston. Drinking a Carpano Antica Formula over ice, or one of their house specialty cocktails - the selection is vast, and I haven't had the chance to make my way through it yet!

Also for drinks; FIG, Husk, the Cocktail Club (they all serve Jack Rudy), and Taco Boy for their insanely delicious frozen margaritas and screwdrivers. Closed for Business for beer.

[See details.]

Louisville

Q. You recently moved from Louisville, for bourbon lovers who visit there, what places should they go to and which unique bourbons should they take home?

A. Well, in the city, you need to visit the spots on the Urban Bourbon Trail. Louisville gave birth to some of the best cocktails in the world: The Old Fashioned, The Seelbach Cocktail, the Pendennis Cocktail.

Proof on Main and Bourbon's Bistro have great selections of bourbon.

The Seelbach Bar has great history.

For bourbon, I would skip the high-end stuff, because you can find a lot of those brands in bigger markets now (although a trip to Kentucky is a good excuse to stock up on Pappy). I would grab a bottle of some gritty, good stuff: Old Fitzgerald, Old Grand Dad.

Also, Louisville is home to, no lie, some of the best bread in America. Blue Dog Bakery - Kit and Bobby, the owners, make phenomenal breads, and their cafe is my favorite place to eat in the city. I LOVE that place. It exudes their passion and their hard work. A must visit.

[See details.]

Q. Who’s making some of the best cocktails in Louisville?

A. Jennifer Pittman and the bar staff at Proof on Main, and then a couple of guys who do some consulting work and stay hustling, but not behind a particular bar: Jared Schubert, Larry Rice and Josh Durr. I hear Larry and Jared are working on opening places of their own - Jared's is The Boiler Room and Larry's is Silver Dollar Honky Tonk. Keep an eye out for those guys.

[See details.]

Q. Which mixologists should be on our radar for the interesting things they’re currently doing with cocktails?

A. If people ask me where to go drink in America, I send them to my friends, because I know that the drinks are only half of the battle, and the hospitality is a huge part.

Boston

Go see Corey Bunnewith at Citizen Public House in Boston.

Chicago

I would tell them to go see Mike Ryan and Freddy Sarkis at Sable in Chicago.

I'm blown away by what I've seen/read/heard about Aviary in Chicago.

New Orleans

See Chris Hannah at Arnaud's French 75 in NOLA.

New York

Go see Maxwell Britten at Maison Premiere in Brooklyn.

Go see Yana Volfson at Peels in NYC.

San Francisco

Nine times out of ten, I want to drink something fresh, simple and approachable, so I really like what Thad Vogler does at Bar Agricole in San Francisco.

Tucson

Ciaran Wiese is also a friend, and a madman, and an uber talented bartender at Scott and Co. in Tucson.

London

Aside from those, go to London and have your mind blown. The cocktails at the Artesian at The Langham (ask for Simone Caporale), and the Connaught are heartbreakingly delicious and beautiful.

And have a proper Bicyclette at St. John Restaurant.

[See details.]

Q. Any other ingredient / syrup / soda producers that should be on our radar?

A. Of course! P&H Soda Syrup company. I don't know the guy, but I love what he is doing, and identify with him. My old friends in Louisville are using his stuff at their new project, Garage Bar, a pizza/oyster/country ham joint.

Morris Kitchen for their ginger syrup.

Small Hand Foods - Jennifer Colliau has certainly served as an inspiration for me.

Mikuni Wild Harvest - Tyler Gray is doing some cool things with his new maple syrups.

Blenheim's Ginger Ale - it’s based here in South Carolina. Their stuff is insane good.

[See details.]

Recommendations

Details on Brooks Reitz’s recommendations for where to eat and drink in Charleston, Louisville, Boston, Chicago, New Haven, New York, San Francisco and London and for which cocktail book and magazines to read.

Cocktail Recipes

- Classic Gin & Tonic

- Corpse Reviver #5

- Jack Rudy Margarita

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