Saddle: the best restaurant cocktail bar in Spain
Christmas is coming and why not, it's time to enjoy and toast. We know that the situation does not lend itself to doing it in a big way, but there is always a desire to celebrate something. That's how it is. That's how we are. And it's not enough for us with a boring and routine drink , we demand combinations that impress us. A demand (ours yes, but yours too) that is making cocktails increasingly powerful in our country. Until very recently no one wanted to see life beyond Gin tonic . That there is no one who forgives them after a meal, yes, they have not disappeared nor do they ever intend to do so from our radar. And there is no need to. But they have opened the way for the Dry Martinis, Negronis and Half Mixes triumphantly enter our cups. And that deserves an award, one that reaches all the professionals behind the bar who strive to make us travel to new horizons sip by sip.
The FIBAR fair has been held since 2013 and is the highest award for cocktails offered in Spain, which, this year, dropped in the category to Best Restaurant Cocktail Bar to Saddle who, with only one year of life, is on his way to becoming a legend.
"I suppose they have chosen us because we are committed to clear ideas of representing what classic with new techniques and newer flavors," explains Alberto Fernandez Saddle's bar manager. Something they achieve with a menu that is divided into three different sections and brings together the classics of yesterday with the novelties of today. "One of them is the one dedicated to the sour that were sold in the old Jockey , which is the location where Saddle is located," Fernandez explains. "They sold the Whiskey Sour, Pisco Sour and Gin Jockey, which was made with grapefruit and egg white. In that category we keep the Whiskey Sour but made with johnnie walker gold butter ", he explains to us.
Adding Alberto's baggage in his passage through Dr Stravinsky , in Barcelona, in Saddle has also added a Whiskey Sour with sherry wine and port; as well as a version of the Gimlet, made with a home distillation of vodka with eucalyptus . "Then we have the section of classic cocktails but with a 'return', which is a trend that has been going on for about six or eight years in the world of cocktails and that we promote by carefully choosing decorations and liqueurs."
Their best selling cocktail is proof of this, a reinterpretation of the ** Dry Martini **, this time, with dill , a base of Tanqueray 10 redistilled to incorporate the aromas of all the ingredients and served in a frozen Japanese glass. "The other one that we sell the most is the Andes , our version of the Pisco Sour with a purée of pickled strawberry (so it lasts all year) and keeps the flavor fresh."
To complete his proposal, the third step is given by the elaborations without alcohol , achieved with different citrus fruits, syrups and sodas.
The trajectory of Alberto Fernandez It is not a sudden success, it is a career that has been forged since the day he was born, in Cadiz . His family has always been dedicated to the hospitality industry, so the bar is his home. His love for cocktails is a passion and authentic vocation that has led him to be behind the bars of Michelin-starred restaurants such as El Chaflan –now defunct, in Madrid and chef Juan Pablo Felipe– and Tierra –at the Valdepalacios Hotel Relais & Chateaux–; and hotels such as the Bless Hotel Madrid or the Alfonso XIII, in Seville. Finally, this November, FIBAR has recognized a career that now goes hand in hand with that of Saddle.
“This award is one of the best anniversary gifts that could be given to us. Receiving the award for Best Restaurant Cocktail Bar is, along with the enjoyment our guests enjoy with each visit and each drink, the best reward we can get for our daily work”, he tells us.
With a food menu that accompanies its bar area full of oysters, whole foie gras with brioche toast or Caviar Caspian Pearl with blinis and crême fraîche; their drinks stand out for their originality and the power to make our mouths water just by counting them. At aperitif time, his version of the Negroni , with pickled strawberry puree and a mixture of vermouth and amaro . Served with a chunky ice cube and a slice of charred orange. Or the Ms. Maria , his way of seeing the Bloody Mary : with tomato juice and beetroot pickled.
Already in the living room Fernández says that yes, it is possible to combine each of the dishes on the menu and on the tasting menu of Saddle with a cocktail. its spectacular wood pigeon tortelloni with game consommé, infusion of chestnuts and wild eel is allied, for example, with the Barrica Berenjena: with Cardhu Gold Reserve macerated with roasted aubergines and extra aged in oak barrels. Although Fernández's favorite preparation is a perfect Sherry Cobbler . "In which we use a base of fine wine and whiskey, lemon balm and bergamot cordial." And, according to him, which one best defines Saddle? " The Crystalline , a Gimlet of eucalyptus and Belvedere vodka with extra virgin olive oil ", he continues.
All these references are now classics on the menu, which usually changes each season, adding truffles or mushrooms as seasonality allows. "Now for Christmas , we will dedicate ourselves to devising cocktails with teas and creams " Fernández tells us. And if the cocktail does not fit into your plans (although it should), Fernández solves it with a trolley of distillates in which there are more than 460 references, some of which come from extinct distilleries.