Bartender Michael Bowers, The Modern Hotel And Bar, Boise, ID, Idaho, Where to drink, Where to eat, best bars in Idaho, Best Bars In Boise, Portland, Oregon, OR, San Francisco, CA, California, Seattle, WA, Washington, Cocktail Tools, Cocktail Resources, Where to buy cocktail tools, strainers, jiggers, Mallet, Lewis Bag, Espresso Machine, Coffee, Hailey, Ketchum, Peeler

Q & A with Bartender Michael Bowers

Q. Tell us about The Modern Bar:

A. The Modern Bar is situated in the Modern Hotel and Bar, but unlike most hotel bars our clientele is predominantly local. We opened in 2007 in a former Travelodge, fully remodeled and redesigned with a clean, mid-century aesthetic. We’re smallish, with seating for about 35 inside and an additional 40 on the patio when it’s warm. We have a short, frequently changing list of classic and original cocktails and a small, expertly executed menu of seasonal food.

Both food and drink at the Modern follow a philosophy of letting the ingredients speak for themselves. Like with the physical design of the space, we prefer the straightforward to the ornate. Above all, our ambition is to do what we do well.

Q. What defines someone as a “good bartender?”

A. The making of craft cocktails seems to have completely overshadowed the craft of bartending over the past several years. I’ve gotten plenty of brusque and condescending service in bars that are considered to be among the best bars anywhere. And it’s a shame, because as much as I might enjoy the cocktails, it doesn’t make me want to go back. A good bartender is, first, a good host.

Q. What makes a “good customer?”

A. Good customers understand what kind of bar they’re in and act accordingly. It’s sort of like going to a concert. There are different modes of dress and behavior at a classical music performance versus an Iggy Pop concert versus jazz in a club. It’s not that one type of music or one type of bar is better than another, it’s just that there are different expectations and if your behavior falls outside those expectations you’ll either have no fun at all or you’ll be disruptive to others.

Q. Bartender or mixologist? What do you consider yourself and what’s the difference?

A. I’m a bartender. Most of the time, the term ‘mixologist’ strikes me as an affectation. It’s something a customer might say about a bartender and mean it as a compliment—which is great—but if you use it to describe yourself, you run the risk of seeming impressed with yourself and more than likely have a distorted view of your role behind the bar. Unless you work a back-of-house service bar, bartending involves quite a lot more than mixing drinks.

Tips & Advice

Decode A Cocktail Menu

I don’t think menus are the best way to tell if the drinks are going to be any good. It’s pretty easy to put forward the appearance of a craft bar on a menu, even if your staff is poorly trained and your cocktails are poorly balanced.

How Can You Tell A Bartender Knows What He’s Doing

Order an Old Fashioned and see what you’re served. If it comes with an orange/cherry slurry in the bottom of the glass, then they aren’t even trying and you should order beer and hope they have better than Sam Adams. If it is served sans garbage, not too sweet, and without the bitters dominating the whiskey, then they probably know what they’re doing.

Bartenders Recs

Drink | Bartenders

Q. Fellow barman Daniel Shoemaker, of the Teardrop Lounge in Portland, recommended you to Find. Eat. Drink. In the spirit of passing it forward, who would you recommend in your field as someone people should know about and why?

A. Murray Stenson at Canon in Seattle. I haven’t sat at his bar since he left Zig Zag, but he has always been an impeccable host, and mixes a hell of a drink.

[See details.]

Drink | Spirits

Rhum Agricole

We just got some good Rhum Agricole into Idaho, which makes us very happy. So far, we’re making more Ti’ Punches with it that anything else, but we’re looking forward to using it more extensively this summer.

Smoky Spirits

Speaking of smoke, I love it. Smoky mezcal, smoky scotch, smoked salt all see a fair amount of use in cocktails at the Modern.

Find | Cocktail Tools

Swissmar Y-Peeler

A lot of peelers cut too deep for making proper citrus twists. They pull off pith with the zest. Smissmar peelers are dirt cheap, scalpel sharp, don’t cut too deep, and keep their edges for a long time.

[Buy]

Conical Strainer

More efficient than round-bottom strainers for double-straining shaken drinks.

[Buy]

Uber-Tools ProJig

The ProJig is a divided jigger including ¼ oz, ½ oz, ¾ oz and 1¼ oz measures. I find it most valuable for its ¼ oz measure, which I haven’t found otherwise available in a jigger.

[Buy]

Wooden Mallet & Lewis Bag

Crushing ice the old fashioned way (in a canvas bag with a mallet) yields ice that ranges from dust-speck to pea-sized which is ideal for juleps and such. The super fine ice brings immediate dilution and super-chills your drink, while the larger pieces have a bit more lasting power.

[Buy Mallet | Buy Lewis Bag]

Extractor

Last summer we got our hands on an extractor and started making cocktails incorporating vegetable juices, namely celery and beet. One of my favorite cocktails we’ve ever made at the Modern is the Celery and Smoke using blanco tequila, celery, lime, agave nectar and smoky mezcal.

Espresso Machine

Wouldn’t have thought it was essential until working behind a bar with one. Instead of drip coffee gone stale, we use fresh Americanos anywhere coffee is needed.

[See details.]

Find | Where To Buy Cocktail Tools

Cocktail Kingdom

www.cocktailkingdom.com

The Boston Shaker

www.thebostonshaker.com

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Find | Cocktail Resources

These are a few that I reference regularly.

The Chanticleer Society (www.chanticleersociety.org)

A web forum hosted by Robert Hess.

Alcademics (www.alcademics.com)

A booze industry blog written by Camper English.

Imbibe Magazine (subscribe)

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Bartenders Recs | Idaho

Eat | Restaurants

Where I’d Take A Visiting Chef

Basque Block

Boise has a huge Basque population, so a stop on the Basque block is required.

Basque Market

Tapas at the Basque Market.

Bar Gernika

For a spicy lamb sandwich with a side of croquettes makes a great lunch. 

Café Vicino

For their sea scallops on mashed sweet potatoes with cilantro pesto.

The Modern

For our pan seared gnocchi with seasonal vegetables.

CK’s Real Food

Hop in the car, drive up to Hailey (just south of Sun Valley) and make it for a late reservation.

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Drink | Cocktails

Restaurants With Craft Cocktail Programs

Boise is a small city and liquor licenses here are obscenely expensive so there aren’t a lot of options. There are definitely great bartenders to meet and drinks to be had, but the craft cocktail scene is still developing in Boise.

Red Feather Lounge

It’s the only restaurant, other than the Modern, with a craft cocktail program. I like their grilled Idaho haloumi appetizer with a couple of aperitifs.

Cornerstone

It’s a drive, but another great option is Cornerstone in Ketchum (a small town right next to Sun Valley).

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Tour Around Town With A Visiting Bartender

Red Feather Lounge

Start out classy at Red Feather with a Penicillin (made with bourbon, brown sugar, Fernet and bitters—not to be confused with the Milk and Honey cocktail of the same name).

Bittercreek Ale House

Next door to Red Feather is the Bittercreek Ale House, dig into their enormous beer list.

Pengilly’s

A stop at Pengilly’s for a slug of bourbon with a beer back is about as authentically Boise as possible.

Neurolux

A lot of nights, we end at the Neurolux, pumping quarters into the jukebox drinking draft beer and shots of Fernet. Not a bad way to spend a day, really.

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Bartenders Recs | Around The Country

Drink | Cocktails

San Francisco | Rickhouse

They prove that a high volume craft bar is possible.

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Seattle | Canon

Murray Stenson and Jamie Boudreau are two of the best bartenders anywhere and I’d drink anything they set in front of me.

[See details.]

Portland, OR

Cassidy’s

It’s on the edge of the Pearl district in Portland. Good drinks, absolutely no pretension, and awesome food that’s served until 2 am.

Clyde Common

Jeffery Morgenthaler’s cocktail program has always been innovative (he kicked off the barrel aged cocktail trend a couple years back) but it’s also straightforward and accessible. I’m dying to try one of his latest great ideas: bottled carbonated cocktails. He takes an Americano cocktail and carbonates the Campari, the sweet vermouth and the water, then seals it in a bottle ready for service.

Teardrop Lounge

Daniel Shoemaker is a madman with a prep schedule that gives me nightmares. Teardrop keeps a huge variety of housemade ingredients from an Amer Picon replica to aged creole shrubb, a ton of tinctures and god knows what else.

[See details.]

Cocktail Recipes

- Celery & Smoke

- Devil Heart

Recommendations

Details of Michael Bowers’ recommendations on where to eat and drink in Boise, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle.

City Guides

- San Francisco: Download

- Portland, OR: Download

- Seattle: Download