Interview with Eric Alperin, the brains behind the Varnish

May 2, 3:52 AMLA Cocktails ExaminerAaron Vanek

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the LA Cocktails Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Eric Alperin pouring a perfect cocktail at the Varnish

The lead bartender of Vanish who also created the cocktail menu for Cole’s, Eric Alperin, kindly answered a few of my questions in between his busy engagements like hosting the Edison’s temporary guest bartenders Alex Day of Death & Co., and Richie Boccato of Milk & Honey, both being New York’s premiere cocktail establishments. The drink Jedis of the Big City have come to Mos Eisley (Los Angeles), some to visit, some to set up shop.

Eric grew up in the Big Apple, tasting alcohol at an early age: sips of red wine from his French mother and sampling his dad’s Bloody Marys. The first drink Alperin made, he sadly admits, was a Cosmopolitan: “It was during its hey day…now it’s just a bad excuse for lack of bartender/customer education.”

Landing on the left coast two and a half years ago to open Varnish, Eric is helping midwife our beloved city’s cocktail rebirth.

Q: Milk & Honey: A great NY cocktail bar, or a Beck (a native Angeleno) song?
EA: A great cocktail bar and a great Beck song.

Q: According to the New York Times, there are eight philosophies of cocktails. Which one would you say you are?
EA: Oh yeah... I remember reading that. Confirm this with me, but I think the category I'm in is the Neo-Classicist group. Classic cocktails all the way. Block ice. Vests, ties, garters, slacks, the whole enchilada. We also do little twists on classics by replacing a certain modifier in a classic recipe to make a new drink. I forget which category that was, but we do a bit of that too. I guess you could say we're a throwback to the 20s too.

Note: Neo-Classicist with shades of Pre-Repeal Revivalist is precisely what Eric is. Besides the vests, ties, garters and slacks, he wears a heavy-metal studded belt.

Q: Do you think there’s a Cocktail Renaissance going on now?
EA: Yup. Nightlife Denizens are slowly joining the fight against the Vodka Red Bulls and the Jack and Cokes of the world.

Q: Why downtown Los Angeles for Varnish/Cole’s, as opposed to Hollywood or the Westside?
EA: It's got a NYC vibe. It's where we wanted to start. There's more of a walking life we wanted to help conjure and emphasize. People should move down here. Less drinking and driving to worry about. That's not to say that we won't open outside downtown, but you gotta land somewhere.

Q: Tell me about setting up Cole’s drink menu and the Varnish: how did they come to be?
EA: Sasha [Petraske, of Milk & Honey] and I consulted on Cole's drink menu. We wanted to make straightforward classics more of a vocabulary in the downtown LA nightlife. The Varnish List is a selection from our canon of classics and classic spins from our Milk & Honey / Little Branch family.

Q: What’s your current favorite drink to drink, and/or drink to make? Are they the same?
EA: It depends what hour it is. Sazeracs are always fun and so is a Queens Park Swizzle (Trinidadian Mojito), The Bee's Knees, Havanna Cocktail, Coffee Cocktail... I could go on.

Q: Do you find that most Varnish patrons are respectful while imbibing, savoring your creations, or are they looking to get blitzed on Red Bull and vodka?
EA: Yeah, most people get it before they walk in or are willing and looking to be introduced to a new way of imbibing. It's great to turn on a group of USC students to great cocktails all the while steering them away from the tragic Red Bull complex: "have ginger juice, natural energizer! It's better for you and we care for your health."

Q: Explain why ice is so special to preparing a proper drink. Isn't it just frozen water?
EA: Yup. It is frozen water, but in a larger block it dilutes the drink properly and doesn't rapidly melt like a lot of the machine-made ice. We also have a machine that takes the minerals out of the water called a Reverse Osmosis Tank. Sans minerals, water can freeze clearer and harder.

Note: So that's one reason why good cocktails are $12 a pop.

Q: How do you think the economy affected the cocktail scene?
EA: In the Depression, sales of tobacco and liquor went up or at least stayed strong. I think that holds true now for liquor. People still want to imbibe to celebrate or drown their beings.

Q: Any other shout outs or plugs, people or things you want to credit, mention, etc.?
EA: Go LA. Keep on shaking...hard.
 

Click here to access an index of all LA Cocktails Examiner articles on one page.

 For more info: Another interview with Eric from Joshua Lurie's Food GPS

Please Subscribe to Email my column by clicking on the link at the top or bottom to get my latest cocktails recipes, cocktail bar reviews, and other random cocktail knowledge.