El Bulli cocktails, Party at the Aviary

After a short, shivering wait outside, we were ushered in and seated with champagne in short order – a welcome change from the EMP party, where the crowd was almost overwhelming.


Then the cocktails began parading out; I had Aviary’s el Diablo served in a paper bag-wrapped bottle, and the delicious brioche syrup-infused sparkling Pear.  There were also large bowls of rather tasty punches on the credenzas at the side of the room, a clever way to ensure that the impatient wouldn’t have to wait too long for a drink.  (Yes, you can count me among that group.)


As an added treat, there was a bourbon tasting – I’ll admit, I’m not enough of a connoisseur to make an informed report, but according to the Aviary, the tastes featured Heaven Hill (Evan Williams, Elijah Craig 12 and 18 year, Parker’s Heritage 10 year).


Ultimately, I think most of us were waiting for the El Bulli cocktails, and the stars of the evening arrived fashionably late, at the height of the party.  Each was served in a small glass and topped with foam, but they were very different – a whiskey sour with passionfruit, an Americano, and a shandy.

Americano

A bit of research led me to a cool online catalogue of El Bulli creations, and I discovered that all three of these cocktails date from 1999.

The whiskey sour was my favorite, with its intensely flavored passionfruit foam – unusual, tropical, and complex.  The Americano (Campari and vermouth) was more straightforward, and beautifully colored.  The shandy, a cocktail of beer with lemon foam, rounded out the El Bulli trio.


This probably isn’t the last appearance for some of these drinks, since the Aviary will be rolling out an El Bulli menu of its own to coincide with Next’s El Bulli run.  So if I don’t manage to get tickets to Next, I’ll be able to drown my sorrows next door – not a bad consolation prize.

Shandy