Getting drunk for the hell of it is a fad that your 20-somethings enjoyed courtesy of those zero hangovers and bodies of steel. The thirty and forty-somethings are no longer for those jogs and, on top of that, They get special when it comes to choosing what liquors to consume (or not).
Before you drank it all and now you order your drinks like you order your morning coffee: bothering the waiter and demanding precision and quality. Because nobody like you to differentiate warm from hot milk, reheated coffee from freshly ground, and brown sugar from white. Or at least that's what you like to believe.
Well, the same with gins, bitters, the temperature and structure of the ice or the shape of the glass. You get close to a bar and you know what you want but what is more important, you need the one behind it to understand you.
Of these individuals there are few, but luckily, there are more and more.
The last to prove it? Diego González, creator and founder of the Baton Rouge cocktail bar _(Victoria Street, 8) _ , located a hop from Puerta del Sol and in a space that was once occupied by a victim of Nightmare in the Kitchen, but now houses a southern-style bar wrapped in brick, dim lights and a huge wooden bar that transport the good drinker at a typical New Orleans bar.
Gonzalez opened Baton Rouge last April, having lived in London and worked at the city's first boutique hotel during a time when the Metropolitan Hotel's Met Bar attracted some of the world's best bartenders. to the city.
He learned from them and in 2007 he returned to Madrid to take charge of projects such as the now defunct La Floridita or the opening of Tatel, although always with the desire to exhibit his talent in his own venue and with a philosophy tailored to his tastes. “At Baton Rouge we dedicate ourselves to adapting the classics to our way of seeing things, but always respecting their structure,” he says from the bar.
“We have cocktails like the classic Pigeon, which we adapted in a smoked version and replacing the tequila with mezcal, adding a grapefruit soda and decorating the edge of the glass with tagine. Our Sazerac It comes with a triple form of brandy, rye whiskey and bourbon. We also assemble –which we don't– our own vermouth, which we have managed to achieve levels of elegance, body, notes of orange and a bitter finish, perfect for adding complexity to our cocktails”, explains Diego.
With about 16 preparations , his offer is balanced, without great decorations and avoiding sweet mixtures. In addition, they have a section of fresh and "ethanol-free" cocktails for those who do not drink alcohol. Acid, bitter, citrus, fruity, tropical, floral...
All kinds of cocktails make up a letter that illustrates and explains in an easy and perceptible way , both for the experienced drinker and for the amateur, the type of glass in which it is going to be drunk, as well as the way in which it is executed, the flavor that is going to be obtained and the liquor with which it is going to be elaborated, so that the client knows first-hand the type of concoction that they are going to drink.
Although the international tourist is fascinated, It has cost the cocktail bar to penetrate the Madrid public , but little by little one begins to fall once again into that long dream begun by authentic masters of liquor such as Pedro Chicote, Fernando del Diego or the Cock cocktail bar, taking advantage of the fact that the minds and palates of the Spanish begin to explore new territories and drink (and pay) for a well-prepared cocktail.
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Address: Victory Street, 8
Schedule: 19:00 – 2:00
Half price: €9