When Freddy Smalls opened in 2012, people responded well to Charlie Parker’s food, but my friends lambasted the cocktail program. This year, owner Jeff Weinstein hired Johan Stein, a Venice native who received a cocktail education at Red Medicine and Sotto, to run the cozy West LA eatery’s L-shaped bar. On the night I was there, he created a blackboard special called the Anti-Depressant, which called to me after a long day. The compelling cocktail combined a smoky base spirit, Del Maguey Vida Mezcal, with a house-made Champagne shrub of champagne vinegar, allspice, and elderflower berries, a judicious amount of fiery habanero tincture, lemon juice, muddled, mild shishito peppers and sweet strawberries, served on the rocks. The cocktail had a lingering kick that definitely lifted my spirits.