Critic Maureen Clancy Writes Up Tavern Law

Clancy stopped by the bar a few week's back and sipped some of David Nelson's creations. Today she writes, "Seattle’s Tavern Law successfully invokes the glory days of American bartending while also offering the best food, drink, talent and know-how of the new millennium."

In addition to diving into the allure of Becherovka (which she describes as "a prized alcoholic drink, made in Karlovy Vary (aka Karlsbad) in the Czech Republic, from anise seed, cinnamon and a secret mash of 32 herbs") Clancy also sips Nelson's Eastern Waterfront. Of it she says: "a fragrant mingling of gin, Peychaud’s Bitters, Martini & Rossi white vermouth and Becherovka. It’s one of the many fascinating cocktails dreamed up by the eatery’s talented bartender/mixologist David Nelson (pictured here, photo by Clancy). On the same night that he splashed Becherovka into my son Nicholas’ cocktail, Nelson swirled together for me two types of rum (Rhum Agricole and blackstrap), allspice liqueur, lime juice, Chartreuse and Demerara sugar. Though it didn’t have a name yet, the “work-in-progress” was an aromatic and warmly satisfying cocktail, perfect for sipping while the rain drummed the sidewalks in front of the atmospheric new saloon. (Since that night, Nelson has christened the drink The Indecent Monk, a reference to the French monastery where the liqueur was originally produced and the green-brown color of the monks’ robes.)"

To read the entire review, please visit her blog Matters of Taste: http://www.maureenclancy.com/2009/12/seattle-celebrates-the-golden-age-of-cocktails.html

Thank you for coming by Tavern Law, Maureen.