Classics with a twist
When celebrated chef Tony Maws recently uprooted his popular Craigie Street Bistro and moved to a larger space in Central Square, he provided the new Craigie on Main with more room to flex its culinary and cocktail-mixing muscle.
An elegantly rustic space, the barroom has a lived-in charm. Low lights, muted green paint, well-worn wooden floors, and a steady warmth off the open-air kitchen add to the sense of comfort and style. Maws's dedication to seasonal and locally grown ingredients carries over to bar manager Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli's concept for the cocktail menu as well.
"We wouldn't be true to what we are doing in the restaurant if we didn't think about seasonality and try to make as much in house as possible," he explained from behind the bar. He was cracking ice cubes and measuring ingredients at a hurried but precise pace. "That means artisanal and small-producer sipping spirits.
"We're steeped in classics and classic techniques," he added as he presented the Martinez (Old Tom Gin, Craigie's Antica Replica, maraschino, bitters, $10), a cocktail from the late 1800s that many consider to be the predecessor to the martini.
"We put this on the menu because we make the vermouth here," he said. A Carpano style vermouth, it's made with a base of red wine, which gives it a spicy, tannic quality. Extraordinarily aromatic, with bitter tannins and touches of cinnamon and cherry, it certainly lives up to its billing on the menu as "the rebirth of martini's mother cocktail."
The description of the Camino Cocktail (Rittenhouse rye, Mirto, Craigie Ambre Vermouth, $10) was a bit more poetic: "Myrtle Berry, Pennsylvania Fire." "I'm a rye guy, the bartender explained, testing a row of cocktails he'd just lined up across the bar. "This is what I would order off the list." Served straight up in a rocks glass (above), he added a kiss of burnt orange oil made by touching a lit match to an orange peel. It's a nice bit of showmanship, but it also brings out the spice of the rye.
Using locally grown pumpkin for a puree made with cardamom, cinnamon, and other spices, and finished with nutmeg, The Hunter's Moon (Reyka vodka, Musque de Provence, honey, $10) was eye-opening as well. It's lighter and cleaner than you'd expect, but there's a richness in the taste that comes from the squash and the rounded sweetness of the honey.
"It's meant to be a seasonal option for a vodka drinker," Schlesinger-Guidelli said. "It fits into what we do." Yes, and they do it quite well.
Craigie on Main, 853 Main St., Cambridge. 617-497-5511. www.craigieonmain.com 