Wine Geek and Spirit Savant Steve Olson: On What We're Drinking Now and What We'll Be Drinking in the Future

By Nikki Buchanan Mon., Feb. 11 2013 at 11:00 AM

Categories: Buchanan, Chef Salad, Cocktails

Continued from page 2

Buchanan

Gin is in

Gin is probably the hottest spirit in America now. We carried 5 or 6 gins at Christopher's back in the early 90s, and that was considered crazy overkill, but that was all that we had available to us. Tanqueray Ten was released in 2000, followed by Hendricks, and the renaissance began, but in the past four years we have jumped from about a dozen Gins to over 200 available currently. In fact, Tanqueray recently distilled a one time only limited release of their coveted Malacca Gin, from the late 90s, only because of bartender demand.

Bourbon has never been hotter than it is right now in terms of both quality and in terms of sales, and American RYE Whiskey has become the bartender's favorite whiskey for making cocktails.

Irish whiskey -- not in cocktails much but sipped and shot -- has expanded from a few brands available in the US to dozens in just a few years, including some amazing, rare, special whiskeys, and the category has literally blown up.

Enjoy this Chef Salad? Check out Nikki's previous interviews with:
Steve Olson of Valley Ho
Dough Robson of Gallo Blanco
Edward Farrow of The Cafe at MIM
Greg LaPrad of Quiessence & Morning Glory Cafe
Joshua Johnson of Kai
Joshua Johnson of Kai
Todd Sicolo of T.Cooks
Josh Riesner of Pig & Pickle
Lester Gonzalez of Cowboy Ciao
M.J. Coe of Federal Pizza
Steven "Chops" Smith of Searsucker
Aaron Chamberlin of St. Francis
Michael Rusconi of Rusconi's American Kitchen
Chrysa Robertson of Rancho Pinot
Lynn Rossetto of The Splendid Table
Cullen Campbell of Crudo
DJ Monti Carlo
Pete DeRuvo of Davanti Enoteca
Chuck Wiley of Cafe ZuZu
Justin Beckett of Beckett's Table
Bryan Dooley of Bryan's Black Mountain Barbecue
Silvana Salcido Esparza of Barrio Cafe
Jeff Kraus of Crepe Bar
Bernie Kantak of Citizen Public House
James Porter of Petite Maison
Johnny Chu of SoChu House Neo Asian + Martini Bar
Stephen Jones of Blue Hound Kitchen & Cocktails
Chris Gross of Christopher's Restaurant and Crush Lounge
Chris Curtiss of NoRTH Arcadia
Payton Curry of Brat Haus
Mark Tarbell of Tarbell's
Josh Hebert of Posh
Kevin Binkley of Binkley's Restaurant
Lori Hashimoto of Hana Japanese Eatery
Larry White, Jr. Lo-Lo's Fried Chicken & Waffles