If there’s a great Gimlet at one bar, but the one down the street offers a version with a bubble dome on top along with all sorts of other bells and whistles, odds are customers are going to gravitate toward the latter.
We’re in an era where many bars aren’t just trying to be a reliable watering hole for their respective communities. They’re looking to be a bar that people travel for. And to do so, it seems that cocktail bars need to pull off the avant-garde rather than just make well-executed drinks. Will this last, or will drinks culture follow the way of the culinary world and gradually return to the familiar basics done well?
On this episode of the “VinePair Podcast,” Adam and Zach discuss the state of modern bartending and the growing gap between bars that aspire to a certain kind of global fame and acclaim and the bars that want excellent cocktails, but not necessarily drinks that can only be had at that specific bar. Are those kinds of destination bars built for the long haul, or just capitalizing on a trend that might lose steam at any moment? Tune in for more.
Zach is reading: The Most Iconic Booze Brand Name-Drops in Music History
Adam is reading: NYC’s New Wave of Seafood Restaurants Is Shaking Up Beverage Pairings
