Swedish Swizzle: How A Bartender Was Blown Away By The Craft Cocktails In Sweden

Brandyn Tepper is the bartender at Los Angeles hotspot  Hinoki and the Bird , the stylish pan-Asian restaurant with a decidedly Japanese bent and tremendous amount of elegant simplicity. The establishment is regularly found on lists comprising the city's best restaurants and top "power lunch spots". Equally as impressive as the cuisine at chef David Myers' restaurant is the cocktail program, which focuses on variations of classic drink presentations. Brandyn wrote in to us about a recent menu research trip to Sweden.

My recent trip to Sweden marked the first time I crossed the Atlantic Ocean. I split my time between the town of Bonäs – which is four hours northwest of Stockholm along Orsa Lake – and Stockholm.

Every dish at the Michelin-starred Ekstedt in Stockholm is cooked over an open fire.

The six-course chef's menu includes dishes such as scallops baked in hay with mussels and squid, and lemon and leek baked in embers. A third course consists of lamb baked on spicy applewood with peach, onion and herbs. It is fascinating to witness how they use old methods of Scandinavian cooking to execute fairly modern cuisine.

Södermalm is one of the up-and-coming areas of Stockholm. Many are quick to refer to it as "the Brooklyn of Stockholm," noting its blossoming culinary scene and an abundance of youngsters moving there. My last night was spent at the highly recommended Linje Tio (Line 10), a bar/restaurant located in the back of a bakery and barbershop. It is astounding that the craft cocktail movement finds even the tiniest of bars worldwide.

The craft cocktail movement is very much alive in Sweden. There are no boundaries to the drinks that bartenders are serving and how they are serving them. Mixing classic cocktails allows the craft to be approachable for just about anyone. For example, the average person can make a great gimlet with the proper knowledge of cocktail family formulas. It is this simple approach that has allowed the craft cocktail movement to spread globally.

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