I like gin.
Correction: I LOVE gin. I worship at the altar of gin.
Seriously, gin is my favorite libation, so imagine my delight when a gin-centric bar opened right in my own neighborhood. And it took me less than a week to make it here.
The atmosphere is dark, intimate and sexy; perfect for a Saturday night date, which is when I went. It was crowded, and all the seats at the bar were full, but after a few minutes, a table opened up. There are two rooms; one is more warm and muted; the back room is more vibrant and better suited to a larger group.
We had just eaten dinner, so while much of the menu looked very appealing (and priced at $4/$8 for small plates), we focused on the cocktails.
As I mentioned, Scofflaw concentrates on gin-based drinks, and they offer many different brands, mostly organic and small batch (think: North Shore, Death's Door, and my new favorite: Journeyman Distillery Bilberry Black Hearts). Obviously other liquors and craft beer are offered, so if gin's not your thang, fear not, you won't go thirsty.
Cocktails are a quite reasonable $8, or at least that seems reasonable to me. Aren't we all a bit sick of paying $12+ for a cocktail? Nowadays, $8 for a cocktail seems like a veritable bargain.
And they are indeed a bargain, especially when you consider the attention to detail paid to these hand-crafted delights. We had several drinks: a rosemary collins (okay, 3), a Rocket Frost, a "Bourbon," and the Basil Bramble. To be honest, I only tried the rosemary collins because once I tasted it, I didn't dare switch to anything else. I am currently obsessed with Tom Collinses, and I love when fresh herbs are used in cocktails, so this beverage was delightful. My more adventurous drinking companion also loved the three different cocktails he tried.
I can't write this review without mentioning the ice. That's right, ice. It may sound pretentious, but they use different sized cubes (or in some cases, none at all) in their cocktails, depending on what liquors are in it. Hey, it works.
They also use other interesting ingredients in their cocktails; stuff like orgeat, aperol, and root beer bitters. While this may sound complex, the cocktails are quite accessible.
The staff was super friendly (and they handled the St. Pat's revelers quite well who stumbled in and promptly left when told there was no Miller Lite on tap. Note: they do have PBR tall boys for $3). Cocktails this expertly prepared naturally take a bit longer, so do what I did and immediately order your second (or third) cocktail when your first is brought out.
Scofflaw has quite a pedigree: the owners hail from The Whistler, Simone's, and Boiler Room (and the chef is a vet from Longman and Eagle), so I can't imagine that this place won't soon be packed to the gills.
If it's not patently obvious by now, I will be visiting here often. It's got gin and $8 cocktails in one place that's walking distance from me. Instant love.
And fallen goat cheese souffle? I'm comin' for you.... read more