‘Cocktail evangelist’ shares her favorites. Plus 5 Lexington bars for great drinks

Jennifer Brian loves all things vintage — movies, fashion, dishes and stemware, but most of all, cocktails.

“It all dates to when I first saw the movie ‘The Thin Man,’” she says. “The scene where martini-loving Nick Charles (a debonair detective played by William Powell) is teaching a bartender how to make his favorite drink.”

Brian says that’s when it all came together for her — how a perfect cocktail could capture and enhance the joy of a special moment.

With her experience as a luxury caterer, event planner, certified executive bourbon steward and owner of Make & Muddle LLC, a Louisville-based company that offers a full line of products for the home bar, Brian has slipped effortlessly into her newest role as a self-proclaimed “cocktail evangelist.”

This evangelist engages in her own kind of revival — talking about the love of spirits, particularly bourbon — that led to her first book, “Classic Cocktail Revival,” published by the University Press of Kentucky.

As she likes to say, “I am here to bring you good news about booze.”

She concludes that the revival of the classic cocktail — whether it be James Bond’s Vesper martini, Carrie Bradshaw’s Cosmopolitan, or Don Draper’s Old-Fashioned — is due in equal parts to nostalgia and the appeal of something that is simple, clean, elegant and able to withstand the test of time.

During a recent interview, I posed a few questions to Brian. And her answers were, to say the least, evangelical.

Question: What was the first classic cocktail you learned to make?

Brian: “A Cosmopolitan. When I was in my 20s, I set out on an extended search to find the perfect Cosmo. So, I guess you could say that it was the first classic cocktail I perfected.”

Question: What is your favorite classic cocktail?

Brian: “A Manhattan, hands down. I love a spirits-forward cocktail, so I make this one with half bourbon, half rye and sweet vermouth. It’s elegant in its simplicity.

“However, coming in at a close second would be a barrel-aged gin martini — filthy dirty and served with blue cheese stuffed olives.”

Question: Where are your favorite places to go for a classic cocktail?

Brian: “Unfortunately, I don’t know Lexington’s bars very well, so most of my favorites are in Louisville.

“I always order Malachi’s Manhattan at Jack Fry’s — not only because it has walnut bitters which I love, but because it has so much depth. It does everything a pre-dinner cocktail should in creating a heady anticipation of what’s to come.

“I also really like Watch Hill Proper in Prospect for their Paper Plane, an elevated whiskey sour with bourbon, Amaro, Aperol and lemon juice. The combination of sweet and tart gives it such depth.

“Finally, for that filthy dirty martini, it is Repeal in the Hotel Distil on Whiskey Row in downtown Louisville.”

Brian is full of evangelical zeal for classic cocktail culture. As she writes in the preface to her book, “I hope to introduce new drinkers to my favorite spirits, as well as expand the libraries of tried-and-true cocktail fans. The Classic Cocktail Revival is here and it is delicious.”

Brian may not know the best bars in Lexington get a classic cocktail but fortunately there are plenty. Here are five great options.

Constitution Speakeasy Cocktail Lounge

Ring the bell in this vintage bookstore and you will be ushered into a space that doesn’t specialize in classic works of literature, but in classic cocktails.

Enter a 21st century version of the 1920s speakeasy where a skilled bar staff is adept at turning out artistic interpretations of classic drinks. From the bittersweet, botanical flavors of a Negroni to the sass of a Sidecar, this talented mixology staff is up to the challenge.

Constitution, 109 Constitution St. Open Wednesday 4 to 10 p.m., Thursday 4 to 11 p.m., Friday 4 p.m. to midnight, Saturday 2 p.m. to midnight, Sunday 4 to 10 p.m. Closed Monday and Tuesday. Constitutionbookstore.com/ring

The Willow

This newish spot on National Avenue is a women-owned collective which welcomes patrons into a plant-filled conservatory where they can do a downward dog (yes, they offer yoga) or listen to a pianist tickle the ivories (5 to 7 p.m.)

But they can also get a classic Old Fashioned, Manhattan or Gimlet, as well as a specialty Espresso Martini, the Lexington Lady (vodka, Kahlua, Irish Cream, Greenery cold brew, black walnut bitters) inspired by the bold spirit of Lexington’s own Mary Todd Lincoln.

The Willow, 825 National Ave. Open Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday 1 to 7 p.m. Thewillowlex.com

Lost Palm

A rooftop oasis at the Manchester Hotel in the Distillery District, this place combines a great view with a great cocktail menu.

While you can certainly get all the traditional classics here, the most popular drink, according to the bar staff, is a traditional Mai-Tai (rum, orange Curacao, orgeat syrup and fresh lime juice). They even serve it in a frosty glass with an etching of a Polynesian god to further enhance the aloha spirit.

Lost Palm at The Manchester Hotel, 941 Manchester St. Open daily 4 to 11 p.m. Lostpalmky.com

Mileta

The bar at this trendy Italian restaurant is so devoted to the classics that it not only has a menu just for cocktails such as the Negroni, Old-Fashioned and Aviation, but according to bar manager John Shelton, “we also have a specialty cocktail list of eight drinks, four of which are riffs on classic cocktails.”

On that list are drinks such as the Paradiso (an homage to Dante’s Inferno) which Shelton describes as their riff on a classic Margarita.

“It has the basics of the traditional Margarita,” he says, “but we add hibiscus, smoked jalapeno and blueberry compote.”

However, Shelton says the most popular classic with his customers is the Aviation, a Prohibition-era cocktail with a gin base to which they add a violet flower liqueur.

“Because it’s so refreshing, it was a very big seller for us this summer.”

Mileta, in Fayette Mall, 3656 Nicholasville Rd. Suite 932. Open Wednesday and Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Closed Monday and Tuesday. Miletarestaurant.com

Harvey’s Bar

At this popular downtown bar (coincidentally created by the same founder— Avena Kiely— as The Willow), they get as creative with the names of the cocktails as they do with the drink itself.

For example, their Old Fashioned made with Maker’s Mark bourbon, Demerara, Bitters, Hickory, Orange and Luxardo Cherries, is known as Elwood’s Old Fashioned after Elwood P. Dowd (played by Jimmy Stewart), the befuddled human companion of the giant rabbit Harvey in the 1950 film.

And hopefully, Harper Lee would have approved of their Tequila Mockingbird, a mixture of Jose Cuervo Silver Tequila, Blackberry Brandy, Lime, and Grapefruit Soda.

Harvey’s Bar, 200 W. Main St. Open Wednesday through Sunday 3 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Closed Monday and Tuesday. Thegrovelex.com