Interview: bartender Greg Best (Holeman & Finch)

Bartender Atlanta

Photo courtesy of Greg Best

INTERVIEW CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Who are some bartenders you haven’t worked with that you admire, and how come?

Ironically enough, one of them is Chad [Solomon], who put us in connection with each other. In the early days, going into places like Pegu Club and seeing Chad, Christy and Sasha was really, really exciting. It was a benchmark, but you close your eyes and it’s five years later. I still think it would have been cool to do an event with Chad or Sasha. Actually, this year at Tales [of the Cocktail], I’m doing an event with Jim Meehan, who’s another one of my early influences. It’s one of the spirited dinners that take place every year at Tales. It’s a 6 or 7, maybe more, coursed dinner with a local chef, and each course is paired with different cocktails from around the country.

What’s the key to a great cocktail and food pairing?

Just fundamentally understanding that simplicity is always the solution, whether it’s a cocktail or plate or food. It’s meant to be a balanced tapestry. If you understand the building blocks of a drink, you can see the patterns and see how they fit together. Understanding your ingredients and keeping the composition simple.

What was the last cocktail you developed, and what was your approach?

The very last one I did was for a barbecue dinner, in Charleston, South Carolina. This group got a whole bunch of different pitmasters from around the Southeast to do barbecue, and they wanted me to create a cocktail that welcomed people into the event and hit that heartstring that said comfort and relax, just good food and good people. I wanted to go with a real simple and recognizable flavor format. I started with the idea of bourbon and lemonade. The Perfect 10. I used a modifier spirit, Cocchi Americano. It’s a fortified white wine, but it’s actually a little closer to the lillet formula, it’s got a little quinine in it, really light and refreshing. I used that in complement with 10-year-old Rip Van Winkle small batch bourbon, fresh citrus, and cardamom tincture. It was fantastic. People tore it up. We actually ran out of the pre-batch cocktail, which was great.

What’s a great simple cocktail recipe for people to make at home?

Harkening back that Cocchi, it’s really good with crushed ice, a couple ounces, a couple dashes of orange bitters, finish with club soda and fresh mint, it’s really refreshing and what I’m into right now with the weather changing.

Where and what do you drink when you’re not at work?

Usually, when I’m not at work, neat rye whiskey and a hoppy American pale ale. Sometimes at home, sometimes at a local dive bar. Sometimes at a cocktail bar that one of my friends runs or works at. It’s all situational. I like drinking in different environs based on my mood. The Sound Table is a great spot, in the old Fourth Floor here in Atlanta. Another place I go to quite a bit is a locals’ pseudo dive bar called The Local. Then it’s a subdistrict of Atlanta called Decatur, and there’s a place there called Leon’s Full Service. Those are probably my top three.

If you could only fill your glass with one more cocktail, what would be in it?

It would be a Sazerac, definitely my deathbed cocktail.

Who would make it?

Any outstanding barkeep in any bar in New Orleans, because they do it with the soul it requires. It’s not necessarily a cocktail defined by the recipe, it’s defined by the person making it and just the soul of it. That’s one of the few cocktails that exists that way.

Tags:

Joshua Lurie

Joshua Lurie founded FoodGPS in 2005. Read about him here.

Blog Comments

[…] Perkins+Will to thank them for being our sponsor (shameless plug!), a Southern Cola hand crafted by Greg Best at Holeman & Finch, chips and salsa at Jalisco, a visit with Elton John to see his private art […]

[…] “Greg Best because he is the best ! He is a pioneer in Atlanta his southern flair and education make him an innovative  inspiration..  I also respect  Nate Schumen because he is funny, focused, and determined. He won’t compromise and produces some of the best bitters in Atlanta.” […]

[…] “Greg Best because he is the best ! He is a pioneer in Atlanta his southern flair and education make him an innovative  inspiration..  I also respect  Nate Schumen because he is funny, focused, and determined. He won’t compromise and produces some of the best bitters in Atlanta.” […]

[…] “Greg Best because he is the best ! He is a pioneer in Atlanta his southern flair and education make him an innovative  inspiration..  I also respect  Nate Schumen because he is funny, focused, and determined. He won’t compromise and produces some of the best bitters in Atlanta.” […]

[…] “Greg Best because he is the best ! He is a pioneer in Atlanta his southern flair and education make him an innovative  inspiration..  I also respect  Nate Schumen because he is funny, focused, and determined. He won’t compromise and produces some of the best bitters in Atlanta.” […]

Reply

Atlanta, GA » What’s Hot in The ATL!!!

[…] “Greg Best because he is the best ! He is a pioneer in Atlanta his southern flair and education make him an innovative  inspiration..  I also respect  Nate Schumen because he is funny, focused, and determined. He won’t compromise and produces some of the best bitters in Atlanta.” […]

[…] Fernet Leopold came about after a number of long conversations with a bartender, in this case Greg Best at Holeman & Finch in Atlanta, who mused about an American made fernet. After years of […]

Leave a Comment