One of the things I truly love about my job is that it requires me to spend inordinate amounts of time in bars, chatting with people who are not only highly skilled in mixology, but also extraordinarily passionate about their craft. That latter attribute is always evident in the way they grow excited and sometimes extremely animated when discussing new techniques and ingredients—especially ingredients.
Still, I wasn’t quite prepared when Spencer Warren, proprietor of the Firehouse Lounge in Pittsburgh’s downtown Strip District began a lengthy treatise on the benefits of antioxidants, those funky molecules that inhibit the production of free radicals in our systems and apparently may be able to keep us healthier and happier and even more beautiful for extended periods of time. My surprise was largely based on the fact that I associated such talk more with clinics and spas than I did swank cocktail lounges built in decommissioned fire halls.
“We don’t cater to a lot of 21-year-olds,” Warren says, explaining his cocktailian fascination with antioxidants. “Our customers are more likely to be in their late 20s or 30s and they’re more aware of what they’re putting in their bodies. They read a lot about antioxidants, and then they see that we’re using some in our drinks. They like that.”
Blue Coat Blossom recipe courtesy of Spencer Warren, Firehouse Lounge, Pittsburgh 1 teaspoon orange blossom water 1 tablespoon pomegranate simple syrup 1.5 oz. gin 6 seedless grapes 2 oz. champagne edible orchid for garnish In a cocktail shaker, muddle the grapes with the orange blossom water. Add simple syrup, gin and ice and shake well. Pour into a chilled Martini glass and top with champagne. Garnish with edible orchid.
The most immediately recognized antioxidant-rich food is pomegranate, Warren says, which he does employ in some of his cocktails, such as the Blue Coat Blossom, named after a regionally produced gin. However, he also has another antioxidant-packed trick up his sleeve that he and many of his customers enjoy even more: acai juice.
The fruit of a Brazilian palm tree, the acai berry is about the size of a large blueberry and touted by some as a sort of “super-fruit.” It contains as much as 10 times the antioxidants of red grapes as well as assorted other vitamins and minerals. Among the claims some of its proponents make is that it can help you look younger, live longer and even act as a sort of natural Viagra.
But what about its flavor?
“It has a really nice, fresh taste,” Warren says, adding that he personally has been on a “bit of an acai kick” ever since he first sampled it.
Rio Rumba recipe courtesy Spencer Warren, Firehouse Lounge, Pittsburgh 1.5 oz. rum 1 oz. acai juice 3 oz. organic mango juice 3 oz. organic passion fruit juice splash soda mint for garnish Combine all ingredients except the soda in an iced cocktail shaker and shake well. Strain into a pint glass filled with ice and top with a splash of soda. Garnish with a sprig of mint.
Not that the rainforest berry is the only thing in Warren’s antioxidant arsenal. In addition to acai and pomegranate juices, the Firehouse Lounge serves drinks made with fresh, organic blueberry and blackberry juice, “depending on what’s in season.” He’ll also muddle whole fruit like blueberries and grapes into what he calls “old-style cocktails with a twist,” such as a blueberry Manhattan, or original inventions, like the eccentrically named Label Whore, consisting of muddled grapes, vodka and fresh citrus, topped with rosé wine and a splash of champagne.
In both his fruit and juice, Warren says he places a lot of emphasis on keeping things fresh and organic, a task made a little easier by the presence of an organic farmers market in the parking lot beside the Firehouse every Saturday from Easter through Thanksgiving.
“That might be the thing we’re most known for, the organic juices,” Warren says. “It’s part of the general trend toward eating and drinking more healthily.”
Maintaining a relatively healthful bar may not seem like the most important element in running a cocktail lounge, but it has resulted in a slew of awards for Warren, including “Best Cocktails” from Pittsburgh Magazine in 2006 and 2007, and “Best Cocktail Bar” from AOL CityGuide 2007. If it works in Pittsburgh, where even Warren admits that trends “are a little behind a lot of other places,” then it seems likely that it could also work almost anywhere.