I recently had a horrible experience in my new neighborhood. I walked into a bar and was asked (*asked*, mind you) what I would like to drink. I replied, “A Singapore Sling.” Because this is the drink that began Fear and Loathing in Los Vegas. When Raul and Doctor Gonzo are hanging around the Polo Lounge and receive the phone call from the publisher asking them to cover the Mint 500, that’s what they’re drinking. It’s also the kind of drink that astronaut’s wives would drink while watching their husbands get strapped to a missile to be either hurtled into space or blown up. This is a drink with a respectable history.

So I was somewhat surprised when the bartender looked at me and just said, “No.” Not, “No, I don’t know how to make it”, or “No, we don’t have the necessary shit to make that.” Just, “No.”

Well fuck that guy, because I just found the best bartender in the world.

I’m not actually qualified to make that judgement, but when I went to meet my friend Matt in Everett at the Anchor M Pub, this man, Mark Sexauer, made me a Singapore Sling that used his *own homemade grenadine*. Made with *cane sugar*. He also made me a cocktail with Elderflower liqueur, which is gathered by hand and transported to the distillery by bicycle. In France. And although I wasn’t taken with it, he did make me a Gin Fizz according to an 1840s era recipe.

So if you’re in Everett, you really, really need to stop in here. Excellent, educated, and erudite service. And if he has to tell you “no” when you order something, he’ll explain how it has to do with the economics of the bartending trade, and how that was influenced by the peculiar social history of America.

And if you can’t get to Everett, check out his blog and make some of the drinks. Or if you’re like me, and unable to make any drink more complicated than a shot of whisky, read it and just marvel at the ingenuity and dedication. The man has made Chartreuse *ice cream*, people. It’s like meeting the design guy who did the concept drawings for Blade Runner, and while he’s doing it, he takes the time to explain what he’s doing.

[Read Mark Sexauer’s Cocktail Blog]