Approaching cocktails with a foodie’s desire to find the perfect “bite” drove Los Angeles bartender Emily Robin to be patient with an unusual, smokey rhubarb-based drink recipe.
It’s been oddly gloomy in L.A. this summer. Colder than expected and a great excuse to use when people ask us why we prefer to be indoors at our favorite watering holes. Also… bartender banter is most entertaining!
Tonga Hut is an SSS favorite place. We love everyone who mixes there, and have no favorite children. We do, however, have favorite drinks. This week, it’s a tree fruit cocktail with a soft ginger spice. Emily Robin’s Wha’Sfumato You took a while to mature into a truly refined recipe. We think it was worth the wait.
The Bartender
Originally a “Beertender” in New York, Emily shifted to California following her heart; the heart-throb faded, but LA kept her focus. After settling in as a “regular” customer at Scotland Yard in the valley neighborhood of Canoga Park, management asked her to give up her seat for a place behind the bar.
She joined pal (and Scotland Yard crew member) Sydney Palco, working primarily as a “jack-and-coke-and-a-shot” slinger. In retrospect, Emily picked up a mad bar combo skill there – a natural ability to embrace volume and speed, while keeping calm and carrying on.
But really… what career mixer wants to stick to spirit and soda pairs when there are new tastes to discover and recipes to innovate? After leaving Scotland Yard, Emily interviewed with Marie King, Tonga Hut’s (now former) manager, and was hired on the spot.
She learned the well, the house menu, and Tonga Hut’s adaptation of Don the Beachcomber’s Grog Log while bar-backing and taking what shifts she could. Did we mention her natural ability with order volume and speed? Emily ended up behind the stick in about four months, joined by friend Sydney Palco. A dynamic drink duo, and major score for the bar.
The Evolution
Emily enjoys and is inspired by drinks that celebrate and take credit for the ingredients. One of her personal favorites is the classic Chartreuse Swizzle. Around Valentine’s Day 2020 a bottle of Amaro Sfumato Rababaro walked into the bar and took a liking to Emily. It was the start of a beautiful friendship.
Emily began experimenting with Sfumato’s homage to the fine art movement for which it was named –– dark to light transitions in flavor. The deep smokiness, bitter high notes, sweet alpine berries and (most prominent) Italian rhubarb combined well with Cognac. Emily augmented the earthy quality with cinnamon and gave us a first taste.
We thought it was a fine start, but it was far from Emily’s vision. It wasn’t quite “gelling” in a way she’d hoped. After more attempts, Emily shelved the recipe and allowed the idea to ruminate.
Raised in a family of cooks, Emily enjoys flavors and eating, but is neither a cook herself, nor driven by cooking techniques. She begins her explorations from base flavor combinations that often arise around three in the morning.
Our observation is that Emily is a bit like a liquid architect, working upwards from a solid foundation. She starts by embracing the base flavor, adding one or two other components, then steps back to thoughtfully consider the modifiers and her path forward.
Unlike many cocktail creators who obsess on a recipe until it’s perfect, Emily makes only a few attempts at a concept before backing off. She feels that too much iteration causes flavor confusion and muddies her idea about where to take the drink. She has a deep admiration for bars and bartenders that spend far more effort and time on receipt –– such as Death & Co –– that invest in as many as 75 versions for their creations; however Emily’s approach is more straightforward and clean. Over-layering flavors is definitely NOT her jam.
The Drink
For this cocktail, the flavor concept started with Pomegranate and Rye –– she favors Rittenhouse. Her intended direction of bright, dry, and bitter took off when Sfumato re-emerged from the earlier drink’s purgatory.
The flavor chain extended with the addition of lime juice and falernum to accentuate the Rye spice. She fattens with a combination of ginger and passionfruit syrups that add to the mouth feel, spice zing, and bright personality. The addition of fruit juice and syrups calls for a vigorous shaking.The drink is topped by orange zest and speared candied ginger garnish to kick off the customer’s enjoyment with a fresh citrus hit and a surprising, spicy note.
Balance and consistency are important to Emily. Her mixing style is to carefully measure/jigger all of the ingredients while building her drinks.
The Recipe
Wha’Sfumato You
Rye Whiskey (Rittenhouse)
Pomegranate
Falernum
Lime Juice
Amaro Sfumato Rababaro
Ginger Syrup
Passionfruit Syrup
Garnish:
Expressed Orange Peel
Speared candied ginger pieces
The Tasting
This is a delight to experience – a fully cohesive flavor profile where every element confidently peeks through at just the right moment. There’s a huge burst of tree fruit flavors on the first sip –– cherry, pomegranate, and the star of the drink, rhubarb. It has a light, summery body and triggers a sweet anticipation of the budding summer season. There’s a gentle spice from both the smoke of the Sfumato, and the ginger syrup. The dark and light transition is reminiscent of the art movement for which Sfumato was named. The candied ginger makes it a delightful child-like treat – but don’t let that fool you, this is a full-strength drink!
Nightcap
Emily’s creations tend toward bright and light, though are definitely not insubstantial. Most of her cocktails include at least a little heat and spice –– absolutely not just a muddle of fruit.
Some of her recipes are seasonal; others are perennial. When you visit her behind-the-stick at Tonga Hut (most weeks, Wednesday to Sunday) or wherever she’s tending bar, you can expect thoughtful and flavorful creations. We love many of them: Wha’Sfumato You, Baskerville, MezSkullF*cker (mezcal, ya think?), Munson (Rum Fire over-proof and guava), and the seasonal COgNAc the ruBARBARIAN (with hints of strawberry)
#rittenhouse #sfumato #amarosfumato #amrosfumatorababaro #tiki #tongahut #newscotlandyard
So Many Cocktails, So Little Time
Did we pique your curiosity? Did we get your taste buds all in an uproar? If yes, then GOOD. That’s our mission.
Hi there, We’re Tracy “Ty” Hall and Lisa “Lulu” Hall. We drink adult beverages.
We absolutely love food and drink. We think the best table at a restaurant/bar is – where else? – at the bar. For us, one of the best parts of our weekend is watching someone behind the stick move at lightning speed, mixing and shaking – especially when they are concocting something new and delicious.
Over the years, we’ve made friends with so many bartenders and restaurant managers, and eat/drink establishment owners, we thought it was time to share the adventure. We started our Instagram channel (follow us please) in 2019 and pivoted our blog this year from food to (mostly) all cocktails.
So glad you found us! Now comes the big pitch. We want to feature you and your cocktail on our blog. Are you a bartender with a fantastic recipe you want to talk about? Are you a bar manager with an amazing story? Just leave a comment below.
Salt, Sweet, Spirits. 