Bartender Michael Bowers | Recommendations - Find. Eat. Drink.
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
Drink | Bars - Boise, ID
Recommendations
THE BASQUE BLOCK
One-block area located on Grove Street
between Capital Boulevard and 6th Street, Boise, ID 83702
Downtown
Basque Neighborhood
Find. Eat. Drink. | Boise, ID
Boise has a huge Basque population, so a stop on the Basque block is required.
BAR GERNIKA
For a spicy lamb sandwich with a side of croquettes make a great lunch.
Downtown
Spanish / Basque
Who
Michael Bowers is the head bartender at the Modern Hotel and Bar in Boise, Idaho.
Why
Michael Bowers has gained a following within the US mixology crowd for his classic and modern cocktails. Before becoming a bartender, Michael earned a degree in Music Theory and honors composer Arnold Schoenberg with a tattoo bearing his name on his right forearm.
Recommended By
- Bartender Daniel Shoemaker of the Teardrop Lounge in Portland
Bartender Michael Bowers | Recommendations
March 16, 2012
The Modern Hotel & Bar - Boise, ID
Photographs courtesy of The Modern Hotel & Bar
Eat | Restaurants - Boise, ID
BASQUE MARKET
Downtown
Spanish / Basque
Tapas at the Basque Market.
CAFE VINCINO
808 W. Fort Street, Boise, ID 83702
T: 208.472.1463 (make a reservation)
For their sea scallops on mashed sweet potatoes with cilantro pesto.
North End
Italian
THE MODERN
Downtown
Modern American
For pan-seared gnocchi with seasonal vegetables.
RED FEATHER
Red Feather has a great craft cocktail program. I’d go here for their grilled Idaho haloumi appetizer and a couple aperitifs.
Downtown
Northwest
CK’S REAL FOOD
Hailey
New American
Where I would take a visiting chef to eat.
Eat | Restaurants - Hailey, ID
BITTERCREEK ALE HOUSE
246 N. 8th Street, Boise, ID 83702
T: 208.343.3119
Downtown
American / Pub
Dig into their enormous beer list.
PENGILLY’S SALON
513 W. Main Street, Boise, ID 83702
T: 208.345.6344
A stop at Pengilly’s for a slug of bourbon with a beer back is about as authentically Boise as possible.
Downtown
Bar
NEUROLUX
Downtown
Cocktails
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.
RED FEATHER
Start out 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).
Downtown
Northwest
CORNERSTONE
Ketchum
American
Ketchum is a small town right next to Sun Valley. It’s a drive, but this is a great option for their cocktail program.
Eat | Restaurants - Ketchum, ID
Drink | Bars & Restaurants - Portland, OR
CASSIDY’S
Pearl District
Lounge
Cassidy’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.
Southwest Portland / Downtown
American
TEARDROP LOUNGE
Pearl District
Lounge
Because Daniel Shoemaker is a madman with a prep schedule that gives me nightmares. Teardrop keeps a huge variety of house-made ingredients from an Amer Picon replica to aged creole shrubb, a ton of tinctures and god knows what else.
RICKHOUSE
Financial District
Cocktail Bar
Because they prove that a high volume craft bar is possible.
Drink | Bars - San Francisco, CA
CANON
Capitol Hill
Whiskey & Bitters Bar
Murray Stenson and Jamie Boudreau are two of the best bartenders anywhere and I’d drink anything they set in front of me. Murray Stenson has always been an impeccable host and mixes a hell of a drink.
Drink | Bars - Seattle, WA
CONICAL STRAINER
Buy on Amazon.com
More efficient than round-bottom strainers for double-straining shaken drinks.
Cocktail Tool / Strainer
Find | Cocktail Tools
UBER-TOOLS PROJIG
Buy on Amazon.com
Cocktail Tool / Jigger
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.
SWISSMAR Y-PEELER
Buy on Amazon.com
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.
Cocktail Tool / Peeler
WOODEN MALLET AND A LEWIS BAG
Cocktail Tool / Jig
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.
ESPRESSO MACHINE
Buy on Amazon.com
I 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.
Coffee / Espresso Machine
Find | Cocktail Resources - Websites & Magazines
ALCADEMICS
Website / Blog
Cocktail Resource
A booze industry blog written by Camper English.
THE CHANTICLEER SOCIETY
It’s a web forum hosted by Robert Hess.
Web Forum
Cocktail Resource
I reference these regularly.
IMBIBE MAGAZINE
Cocktail Magazine
Find | Cocktail Tools - Where To Buy
THE BOSTON SHAKER
Cocktail Tools
COCKTAIL KINGDOM
Cocktail Tools
