Wednesday, May 29, 2013

The Corner, Huntington Beach


The Corner might the place to beat and I am only 3 weeks into this experiment. After living in Orange County, CA for just under a year, I have conversations with two knowledgeable  bartenders. And Josh and Matt both work at The Corner.  This place will be open for two years on June 15, 2013.  



As you pull into the ample parking lot, the first thing you’ll notice is the unusual yellow paint on the storefront. Inside you’ll find a nice, very sparcely decorated bar that runs the length of the room with a second perpendicular bar perpendicular running to the right.  There's one modest sized television at each end of the bar (dining room is off the second leg of the bar).  The couple who arrived seconds before I did were trying to arrange other patrons at the first side so they could sit together (even though the entire second side was almost empty). I just grabbed the seat at the front end near the door.  



Matt comes down and asks me what I'd like. A perfect manhattan. I go into my usual spiel about my preferences. When I inquire what the house bourbon is, he tells me The Corner doesn't use house bourbon in their manhattans. They make them with Buffalo Trace because they like to kick it up a notch.



According to their website, Buffalo Trace, which operated out of Franklin County, Kentucky, is still family owned and operated.  Like McCormack Distillery, they claim to be the oldest continuously operating distillery in America (also making whiskey for "medicinal purposes" during Prohibition). They have won an unmatched seven "Distillery of the Year" titles.

Their website is pretty pedestrian and repetitive until you get to the Buffalo Trace Saloon.   There you'll find tons of recipes and not just for drinks.  I'm anxious to try Chocolate Bourbon Creme Bundt Cake.



Josh is the bartender who ends up making my manhattan. Right off the bat, I’m impressed. He fills my cocktail glass with what I later learn is soda water (because, he tells me, it chills the glass faster) and ice. He stirs a few drops of bitters into my drink and I think I fall a little in love with him (How many places in OC do this without being told? My estimate after a year is a big fat zero).  And over it comes. It's a much richer gold than my photo indicates.  My only, minor, issue is the twist which is a thick, untwisted peel of lemon. 



He volunteers that they use Carpano Antica and Noilly Prat. Carpano Antica red or sweet vermouth comes from the same Italian producer of Punt e Mes (can't find an English version so this link will only work for Italian speakers). It is made from an original recipe by Antonio Benedetto Carpano, the man credited with creating modern vermouth in Turin in 1786. Carpano originally developed vermouth by mixing herbs with a base wine and then sweetening it by adding spirit. His new drink proved so popular that soon his shop had to stay open 24 hours a day to satisfy demand.


Noilly Prat's recipe was created by Joseph Noilly in 1813 in the south of France. His daughter and the widow of his partner, Claudius Prat, Anne-Rosine, took over the family business in 1865. It's unusual to find a woman running a business around this time and even more unusual for the business to be spirits.  She is credited with Noilly Prat Original Dry being the first dry vermouth to be exported to influential markets around the world.



My manhattan ($7 during happy hour – daily 4-7 pm) has a slightly sweet smell and is slightly sweet taste on the first roll on the tongue but it’s got a nice bite to it.  Matt so quickly recommends the charcuterie ($10) when I ask if I should get that or the fish taco ($1.50 each), that I order it.  It’s a decent sized plate filled with marinated mushrooms, baby pickles, two types of cheese (one a cheddar and another, softer, mellower cheese), salami and prosciutto, about 6 pieces grilled bread lightly brushed with olive oil and some mustard.   Very decent and plenty of it.  When Matt brings the plate, he asks how the manhattan is compared to Boston.  Did I tell him that or is he psychic? 


Both bartenders check on me throughout the evening and I am well pleased with everything about this place. Would it be wrong to just have 49 more manhattans here? I am sorely tempted but I will soldier on.

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