Tequila!
LA mixologist Lindsay Nader liquors up the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek
Lindsay Nader believes that Dallas has the enthusiasm and potential to be one ofthe country's new mixology hot spots.Photo courtesy of Lindsay Nader
The Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek is unveiling its updated cocktail menuThursday, November 8, 6-9 pm.Photo courtesy of Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek
Lindsay Nader's new cocktail menu at the Mansion Bar focuses on using tequilaoutside of the traditional margarita.Photo courtesy of Lindsay Nader
Los Angeles mixologist Lindsay Nader had never been to Texas before this week. But in the few days since she got here, she noticed something important: Texans like their tequila.
Good thing, then, that the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek recently enlisted her services to create new cocktails for the Mansion Bar.
“I know this is a big tequila town and a big margarita town, which is great,” she says. “I really tried to focus on tequila on the menu, but instead of just putting a margarita on, it was about dressing it up a bit and broadening people’s horizons. I think everyone here is ready.”
“I really tried to focus on tequila on the menu, but it was about dressing it up a bit and broadening people’s horizons,” Nader says. “I think everyone here is ready.”
Nader is co-founder of Elysium Craft Cocktail Services in LA and worked on both coasts developing her brand of mixology. She also helped edit Food & Wine magazine’s 2011 cocktail guide, and she has written a column in Los Angeles Magazine called “Hey Barkeep.”
A fellow bartender in LA referred Nader to the Mansion when Rosewood began searching for a mixologist to rehab its bar programs.
One of the drinks that will be unveiled November 8 is Nader’s take on a margarita. It doesn’t have lime or Cointreau, which are generally agreed upon as important ingredients in the drink.
“It’s basically a sour,” she says. “We’ve got tequila, lemon, orgeat and a little bit of sherry. I feel like that is kind of appropriate for the fall moving into the winter.”
For Manhattan drinkers, Nader says she’s created a stirred drink featuring añejo tequila; Cynar, an amaro derived from artichokes; and sweet vermouth.
“They’re tequila drinks a little off the beaten path,” she says. “But they still hold some familiarity to people and are seasonally appropriate.”
“My challenge was to create a program that was accessible, progressive and allowed the bartenders to operate on a high level of hospitality,” Nader says.
Nader says that all but one of the new cocktails are original drinks designed for the Mansion Bar. As for featuring tequila, the idea originally grew back in California when Nader was developing the menu.
“It was kind of serendipitous,” she says. “For some reason, it was tequila on my mind when I was completing my program. Then when I came down here, I discovered it was really appropriate for the city. It was a happy accident.”
Nader says that working with a place that has as strong a reputation as the Mansion means that the cocktail menu means more than just drinks.
“It's about the experience,” she says. “My challenge was to create a program that was accessible, progressive and allowed the bartenders to operate on a high level of hospitality. The bar staff is incredibly talented, and I was so excited to work with them.”
Nader hosts the introduction of the new menu from 6-9 pm with complimentary bites and cocktails. She’s bringing a pair of flats in case she feels the urge to step behind the bar and make some drinks.
“I’m excited to talk to people and answer their questions,” she says. “I’d love to get their feedback on the drinks. I really enjoy being behind the bar. I don’t get to be back there very often anymore, but at the same time I don’t want to step on their toes.”
Salmon at Bar LouieCourtesy photo