Noble Experiment – San Diego

[Kouign Aman]

This is a place that studies its ice, and prides itself on the craft of cocktailing. I am not competent to say if they are good or not, but quirky? Yes.

Their website is minimal,Noble Experiment website

their entrance somewhat hidden.

People seem to appreciate the drinks. Other aspects perhaps are not so consistent:

description

, reviews.

There's a piece on NPR which discusses the right kind of ice for serving vs shaking, the sound of ice hitting the bottom of the shaker, and letting the ice warm just enough to be resilient during shaking instead of brittle.

The preferred method of making a reservation is by text message, apparently.

Cocktail aficianados, do please visit and report back.

[FrogPrincesse]

Kouign Aman,

I just saw your post. Here are my impressions on The Noble Experiments (with pictures) from my Foodblog last summer. Needless to say, I LOVE this place. Anthony Schmidt, the bar manager, has become a friend. He has won the Bartender Challenge two times now and is truly talented.

Note that they now accept walk-in customers, so we sometimes go on the spur of the moment and bypass the (somewhat annoying) reservation system.

It is really a treasure to have such a fine establishment in San Diego. If you are at all into cocktails, you must visit this place!

[FrogPrincesse]

There's a piece on NPR which discusses the right kind of ice for serving vs shaking, the sound of ice hitting the bottom of the shaker, and letting the ice warm just enough to be resilient during shaking instead of brittle.

Here is a link to the piece on KPBS with Anthony Schmidt.

[FrogPrincesse]

Here is a recent interview with Anthony Schmidt where he talks about being mentored by Sam Ross from Milk and Honey, and how he approaches his job.

[FrogPrincesse]

A cocktail created by Anthony Schmidt, The Ophelia, is featured in this month's issue of Southwest's Spirit Magazine.

For Anthony Schmidt, Valentine’s Day means chocolate, cherries, and bourbon.

"The first step in creating this drink was replacing sweet vermouth with Barolo Chinato—a gorgeous fortified Italian wine that has a complex cherry flavor—in a Manhattan. Having Valentine’s Day in mind, I reached for crème de cacao next. It has a strong chocolate flavor, but it doesn’t take over the drink. The bourbon is dominant, and Angel’s Envy is just phenomenal for this recipe. Because it spends several months in port wine casks after being aged in charred oak barrels, it takes on a very subtle wine flavor—which becomes quite evocative when paired with Barolo Chinato. Combined with the notes of chocolate and cherries, it comes together for a very elegant cocktail." Anthony Schmidt is the head bartender at Noble Experiment in San Diego.

Ingredients:

2 ounces Angel’s Envy bourbon

¾ ounce Barolo Chinato

¼ ounce white crème de cacao

1 dash Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged bitters

Luxardo maraschino cherry

orange peel

Directions:

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir. Strain into a chilled 5-ounce cocktail glass. Garnish with the cherry and orange peel.

Article here.

[FrogPrincesse]

There is an illustrious visitor coming to Noble Experiment next week...

East Village Is Getting an Infusion of Milk & Honey

Brandon Hernández, April 6, 2012

The East Village is about to get an infusion of milk and honey when bartender Sam Ross ventures beyond a wall of fake kegs and behind the bar at cocktail heaven Noble Experiment. [...]

[FrogPrincesse]

We had a lovely evening last week at Noble Experiment with guest bartender Sam Ross.

For our first round, we asked for cocktails that I've been wanting to try for a long time: the Penicillin and the Paper Plane.

Both were really great. The first sip of the Penicillin was a slap in the face with the strong taste of the Laphroaig float. It mellowed over time and the ginger became more noticeable. I really liked the Paper Plane too, I need to get a bottle of Nonino so I can make it at home.

For the second round we asked him to pick something for us based on our preferences. We love tiki drinks so we got a Jungle Bird with Cruzan black strap. The other drink was a Sunflower, which is a variation on the Corpse Reviver No. 2, one of my favorite cocktails, with St Germain replacing the Lillet.

I was a little skeptical regarding the Jungle Bird. I had the original version from Beachbum Berry Remixed before, with Appleton as the dark rum, and felt that the Campari clashed with it. In general, I don't really like Campari with rum (or bourbon). But the Cruzan black strap rum went surprisingly well with it, standing up to the Campari, and bringing coffee/maple syrup notes to the drink. Sam Ross explained that this drink reminded him of breakfast! I liked it so much that I got a bottle of black strap to try it again at home.

Edited April 23, 2012 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Noble Experiment's current cocktail menu.

We tried: Tin Pan Alley (a long drink with scotch and ginger a la Penicillin), Kiki's Call (a honeysuckle with Diplomatico anejo (?) rum boosted with Campari and plenty of bitters), Hunters Moon (a creamy orgeat/egg white aromatic drink), and the Fashionably Late (a classic old-fashioned with Buffalo Trace and Licor 43 as the sweetener).

We also tried a daiquiri variant with JM aged rhum agricole, allspice and angostura bitters + egg white.