Happy Hour with Eric Simpkins

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As rockstar bartenders go, Eric Simpkins keeps a pretty low profile. The Lawrence in Midtown, where he has run the bar for the past four years, remains slightly under the radar. It’s the kind of place where regulars relish the fact that not too many folks are in the know - all the better for them to enjoy the exquisite cocktails Simpkins and his crew produce. I must admit, I too often forget about the Lawrence when I’m craving a drink and a bite, but Simpkins gave me a proverbial slap upside the head when he won a recent cocktail competition I was judging. To put it mildly, his cocktails blew away the competition with their thoughtfulness and flat out deliciousness. This is a bartender you need to know.

Give us your history in cocktail making:

I guess I always thought bartending would be a fun job to have. Kind of on the bucket list of occupations it would be interesting to try at least for a while. I certainly had a romanticized idea of the profession from movies, books, etc., something akin to storyteller, confidant, philosopher. As soon I was working in places that served alcohol, I was trying to get behind the bar. Even before I was legal to drink I was asking questions about bourbon and wine. I had my first Blanton’s single barrel bourbon when I was 18, very briefly working at a certain late-night cafe during the ‘96 Olympics, many years before decent cocktails had made their way back into the general drinking consciousness. I soon became a whiskey lover and cork dork and followed my bliss as they say.

I moved to New York in the summer of 2005 to attend what was then called the French Culinary Institute ... I knew it would challenge and focus me, which was what I needed. It was a short program, and it just so happened that pioneering cocktail bar Pegu Club opened in August of 2005. I started working there in September. After graduating in the summer of 2006, I was lured back to Atlanta to create the cocktail program at Trois.

It was still the dark ages of cocktails outside of New York, San Francisco, London, etc., so I learned a lot trying to pull that one off, also a lot of what not to do. Looking back, I don’t think I was really ready for it, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I met my wife working there, and got to work with amazing people. After that I jumped at the chance to work directly with Petraskehttp://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/22/nyregion/sasha-petraske-bar-owner-who-revived-luster-to-cocktail-culture-around-the-world-dies-at-42.html?_r=0” rel=”external”>Sasha Petraske the late famed bartender from New York’s Milk & Honey to put together Drinkshop at the W Downtown. I felt like that time really helped me continue my education as a professional craftsman, but also...I don’t know... humbleness, perseverance, gratitude, not being an asshole. I really treasure that experience, and it makes me very sad to think that about his absence both personally and professionally. So many bartenders have no idea who he is, and I think his ideas about what we do are important especially now.

After that I spent some time moonlighting, starting to do some consulting, freelance events, and other things working alongside T. Fable Jeon. Fable actually started out working on the Lawrence with me until he got the chance to open his first brainchild bar, the Pinewood Tippling Room. The rest is history.

How do you think your culinary training shapes your approach to cocktails?

I always found a lot of parallels between the bar and the kitchen. I think learning real craft cocktail bartending at Pegu while learning classic French technique was a perfect match. If I had to pick only two big lessons I learned from culinary school that carried over, I would say one is mis-en-place and the importance of good prep and organization to creating efficiency. And two, understanding the how and why of classic technique and mother sauces and foundation cocktails, as a starting place to understand cooking and bartending. I have definitely evolved in the past decade, but both of those educations were invaluable tools.

Would you say you have a certain style or philosophy to your cocktail making?

I am somewhat of a classicist about cocktails, although I do also love seasonal, local fresh ingredients. Creating truly memorable cocktails takes perseverance, and the difference between a good drink and a great drink could be 1/2 tsp more or less of anything... but unless you continue pushing during the development phase you might miss out. I prize balance and cleanliness of flavors in a cocktail, which are what make a guest want to drink more than one. Ultimately we are serving people, whether that’s simple gracious hospitality or finely tuned delicious drinks.

Since you’ve been at the Lawrence, how have things changed in the ATL cocktail scene?

As the our cocktail culture has matured and with bartenders migrating more, regional differences have largely dissipated. There has been some movement away from serious cocktails, while there have also been a few places doubling down in specific cocktail genres like Japanese style bars, or being amaro-centric. Cocktails have become less a trend and more simply part of the culinary experience. I think now, after all the excitement of rediscovering a craft that had largely been bastardized for so long has calmed down, we can see how service and hospitality are the real heart of our craft. Arcane spirit knowledge and classic cocktail know-how are great foundations for any type of bartending but they are just a starting point. I don’t think we as a city have seen everything yet in the realm of cocktails — we’re still evolving. I certainly have more to say and do.

You don’t do many cocktail competitions, but when you do, you seem to win pretty frequently! What’s the value of these for bartenders?

I enjoy cocktail competitions for the most part. Some certainly more than others, especially when you have good judges who understand the craft and have helped build it locally, or nationally, or internationally. It’s a great opportunity to meet some of your heroes and share a little bit of your point of view with them. They are a great way to sharpen your skills, whether it’s being calm under pressure, public speaking, or simply learning to work within a specific framework, which is how most consulting works. Often, it challenges bartenders to really think about the hows and whys of what we do, from the cocktails themselves to techniques. It’s important to take your craft seriously, and even more important to not take yourself seriously. If you do that at these competitions, you can learn a lot, have a lot of fun, and make some great friends, not to mention the opportunity the competitions provide for travel. The travel I have done for competitions has been life changing.

Here, Simpkins shares his award-winning cocktail creation the Ciclope from a sherry-based cocktail competition that won him a trip to Spain.

I started creating these types of drinks I called café racers, drinks inspired by apéritifs like the Americano — long, tall coolers with a bitter herbal edge, a touch of refreshing sour, and lighter in alcohol. Something you could have and still drive a motorcycle without becoming too intoxicated. This one is named for a custom-built café racers from the Spanish motorcyle shop Café Racer Dreams. It has a dry nutty character from the sherry, which plays well with the apple and whisky notes from the applejack, plus the sweet bitterness of amaro and honey. There is just enough lemon to ripen that fruit flavor and brighten the drink as a whole without making it sour. The soda draws all the flavors out with the refreshing fizz, and the nutmeg and bitter nail down a fall spice component on the nose every time a sip is taken. It is a fantastic patio apéritif for the transition from summer to fall.

No value assigned

The Ciclope

- 1.5 ounces Lustau “Los Arcos” Dry Amontillado Sherry

- 3/4 ounce Laird’s Bonded Applejack

- 3/4 ounce Amaro Averna

- 1/2 ounce honey syrup*

- 1/4 ounce lemon juice

- 2 ounces club soda

- 2 dashes Angostura bitters

- fresh grated nutmeg

Build in mixing glass, combining sherry, applejack, amaro, honey syrup, and lemon. Add ice, and stir vigorously to combine. Strain over fresh ice into a Collins glass. Float 2 dashes Angostura bitters, grate fresh nutmeg. Express and garnish with medium-size lemon peel.

• For honey syrup, combine two parts honey to one part water, bring to a boil, then take off heat, stirring until honey is fully dissolved. Cool and refrigerate.