For years, in a city that prides itself on having world-class wine and world-class dining, we Seattleites seemed to pride ourselves on having our martinis being the biggest, the most creative and complex—and having everything in them BUT gin! For instance, go down to Belltown on any given night and have yourself a "martini" in a glass that seems more suited to a shrimp cocktail for two than an actual cocktail. In a town where in some contexts big is better … well … for reasons that are too wonky to get into here, that won’t get it for a martini, which classically, is a cocktail made with gin and a touch of dry vermouth, not the birdbath variety we’ve become accustomed to drinking.
New times mean new opportunities! Change is good! For instance, two weeks ago, the quaintest of the quaintest bars opened just up the alley from David Nelson ‘s all "molecular mixology " spot, Spur Gastropub , on 1st Ave. This new place, Bathtub Gin & Co, is the tiniest of tiny bars and harkens back to the good ol’ days of martinis and has some great bartenders behind the bar, none less than Zig Zag’s Erik Hackinen, who bartends there on Tuesdays.
And soon, when you walk through the door at Bathtub Gin, you’ll have the choice of sitting upstairs at the tiny, six-seat bar with the bartender, or downstairs at one of the two small rooms.
Photo by Jamie Bourdreau
Also, starting the first of this month, the old Viceroy—re-named Rob Roy a few months back, then sold into the lov’n hands of Anu Apte and the incredibly lucky Zane Harris, both from Vessel —will be showing the rest of 2nd Ave what a real cocktail looks like (note to Zanu: keep the goldfish, lose the "art").
P.S. And come next week, there will be another new jewel in our city’s cocktail crown: Opening on 12th—on the same block as Barrio , and created by the same people who brought us Spur—watch for Tavern Law. And…well…you just wait. There are some surprises in store there. I’m happy to mention the law library’esque theme now, but watch BarNerd for news of the official opening and special attractions you’ll find there at 12th and Madison.
