Poggio Trattoria

The cloak-and-dagger entrance requirement is only one reason for the buzz PDT has generated. People also are talking about its signature cocktails, such as the Benton's Old Fashioned, which combines bacon-infused Tennessee whiskey with bitters and maple syrup. That drink is just one of several on PDT's cocktail menu that uses house-made ingredients. Behind the bar are not only expected mixers such as grenadine and fruity simple syrups but also such exotic blends as popcorn-infused rum and house-made bitters.

“It's great to mix your own tinctures, syrups and bitters,” says Jim Meehan, PDT's general manager. “You learn more about the ingredients, and they lend great insight into how you make drinks.”

Meehan isn't alone in his enthusiasm for made-on-premises mixers. At The Slanted Door, a Vietnamese-fusion restaurant in San Francisco, the bar serves house-made orgeat, an almond syrup, in its Japanese Cocktail. Mill Valley, Calif.-based Paragon Restaurant & Bar's locations in Portland and the Bay Area create the ginger-lemongrass syrup used in the concept's Thai Basil Mojito, and The Violet Hour in Chicago offers a Blue Ridge Manhattan featuring house-made peach bitters.

“People are taking their cocktails a lot more seriously,” says Ana Jovancicevic, director of public relations for the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS). “It's about drinking better, not drinking more.”

DISCUS identified house-made mixers as one of five hot trends to watch in 2008, but make-your-own mixers are nothing new. Before Prohibition, bartenders routinely created their own ingredients and had drink mixing down to a science.

When Prohibition began, many bartenders found other jobs or moved out of the country, says Jennifer Colliau, a bartender at The Slanted Door. “Prohibition really killed the amazing cocktail culture in this country,” she says.

Commercial mixers remained the primary option until the mid-1980s, when mixologist Dale DeGroff revived the gourmet approach to bartending, says Willy Shine, co-owner of New York City consulting company Contemporary Cocktails Inc. “We lost our way, and Dale DeGroff brought us back,” Shine says. Serious bartenders started finding old recipes for classic cocktails, and because many ingredients weren't commercially available, resourceful bartenders created their own.

Another factor fueling the house-made mixer's resurgence is the adoption of seasonal menus, as this often translates to fresher beverage offerings.

Hibiscus Bud at Bong Su Restaurant

“The whole industry is going to fresh,” says Bob Brunner, beverage director for Paragon. “Bars across the country are bringing the kitchen to the bar. It's a fun way to set your drinks apart.” In addition to the ginger-lemongrass syrup, Brunner makes a pineapple-, strawberry- and red-jalapeño-pepper-infused premium tequila and a lemon-lime sour mix.

Bernie Sun, beverage director for New York City-based Jean-Georges Management, says the company's focus on house-made sodas and mixers was meant to complement Chef-owner Jean-Georges Vongerichten's menus across his 15 restaurants worldwide.

“These are the bases he uses for his cooking, so we thought about what else we could do with them,” says Sun. The result? An array of sodas that includes a ginger-lime ale, a lemon-thyme lemonade and a cherry-yuzu soda. Other bases, such the passion-fruit-and-Thai-chile base, are used in alcoholic drinks, too.

At Poggio Trattoria in Sausalito, Calif., the house-infused Meyer limoncello, limecello and orangecello not only serve as bases for such popular cocktails as the Rubino (limoncello, prosecco and pomegranate juice), but also they reflect the restaurant's focus on Italian cuisine and local, organic ingredients.

“We wanted to stay connected with the organic community and the Italian concept as well,” says Amy Svendberg, managing director of Poggio.

Across the board, the house-made approach seems to appeal to all ages. At least, that's the belief of John McDaniel, beverage director at Bong Su Restaurant & Lounge in San Francisco and Tamarine Restaurant & Gallery in Palo Alto, Calif.

“I see a younger crowd as well as an older crowd coming in,” McDaniel says, adding that drinks such as the Hibiscus Bud (bourbon, apple brandy, hibiscus-bud syrup, Wuyi-oolong syrup, ginger mix and bitters) are among his most popular.

Although these cocktails are resonating with consumers, the trend doesn't come without its challenges. One is keeping up with supply and maintaining consistency.

“When you continually have to make a number of batches, the flavor profile can change, which can change the flavor profile of the cocktail,” says PDT's Meehan. And because some juices and purées can spoil easily, mixologists need to keep making fresh batches, alternating fruits depending on the season.

The obvious advantage, though, is that restaurants can create drinks that can't be found anywhere else. “Our cocktails are tough to duplicate because the kitchen is involved in making the mixes,” says Sun of Jean-Georges Management.

Industry insiders predict that the trend will spread beyond major metropolitan markets and trickle down to fast-casual establishments, but the sky's the limit for house-made creative concoctions.

“It's been tremendous for the industry to be heading in this direction because customers are benefiting the most from this creative infusion,” says Brunner. “This isn't a trend; it's 21st-century mixology that's going to continue.”