On a recommendation from Tom Bulleit I visited the Edison (above, is a common scene, where some nubile Victorian darling spontaneously busts into a bar-topping cabaret). There I was introduced to a sub-culture known as Steampunk. Neo-Victorian is another phrase that describes the amalgamation of Victorian aesthetic principles with modern sensibilities and technologies. The dark historical interpretations of Steampunk contrast with its forward-looking optimism. In this way, it rejuvenates the will to dream - or even fly - again. Metaphysical questions present themselves in a way that challenges your subscription to western revisionist history. What if the industrial revolution had taken flight? What if John Stuart Mill’s utilitarian themes would have sparked a movement? What is mankind really capable of? Will it take a disassociative suspension of disbelief – like the steampunk sub-culture – to incubate the disruptive forms of innovation that will be responsible for the advancement of mankind? Or is this just an excellent bourbon cocktail and a theatrical representation of a by-gone era with themes that pleasantly recreate my childhood aspirations?

I caught up with Aidan Demarest (pictured above), mixologist at the Edison, and he shared some insight into the use of bourbon in the cocktail menu at the Edison.

B: What’s your favorite cocktail? If possible, please disect this cocktail for me.

A: The Enlightenment.   Edison Select Woodford Reserve (we batched our own barrell) Pomegranite Syrup,  Fresh Lemon Juice Shaken and strained into deep Cocktail glass and topped with Edison Light Beer.  It’s a poor man’s Champagne Cocktail or the Thinking Mans Bourbon and a Beer.  You Decide.  Created by Aidan Demarest

B: It seems like mixology is like trying to pour dry concrete. Ingredients mix best at higher temperatures – yet so many drinks are served with ice, either chipped or cubed. How do you overcome the inherent limitations in ingredients that do not want to mix in the conventional sense?

A: There are very few ingredients for a cocktail that cannot be balanced by an opposite.  The key is discovering the pairings.  The type of ice makes a big difference as well, are you looking to give it a clean chill or bust up the drink a little with good shaker of chipped ice.  Here in lies the basis of Mixology  , transforming 2, 3 or 8 ingredients into one cocktail that is a journey for the pallete.

B: What is your background?

A: I have been working in all aspects of the business for 20 years. I was a Boston first then Hollywood old school pump and dump bartender, before I started managing and building bar programs.  The last 5 years the bar business turned from a way to make a quick buck for artists and students to a carefully honed craft of social and chemical mixers. I am not a Mixologist as a Spirits Director , I bring together people who are, and people who are interesting.  It’s a delicate balance of people who make the bar come to life.  A bar is just a roomful of bottles and bartenders without the right program.  It’s really an exciting time.  Makes me happy I didn’t do better in School. 

B: If I’ve tried everything on the Edison cocktail menu (which I have), and I’m in the mood for something I haven’t yet tried, what would you pour?

A: Moscow Mule.

Edison Cocktail Enlightenment Steam