There have been a lot of projects I’ve had to unpack over the past several months. A new job, DJ gigs, picking up guitar, just to name a few. But there’s nothing I’m more excited about than my current endeavor, a home grown speakeasy called Guerilla Bar.
It’s taken some time to come to fruition because I’ve been very deliberate with the planning of it all. Everything from the name down to the menu, font, and individual drinks has been tested. But by no means is any of this a final product, I only have 5 infusions perfected and need another 5 more to be confident.
I want Guerilla Bar to be in the same vein as underground restaurants like Hush or Hidden Kitchen (both amazing, please check them out!), so as hopefully illustrated by the menu, I’ve tried to make the cocktail experience more thematic and balanced, as opposed to simply serving up a menagerie of food and drink. In fact, every ingredient is natural and homemade. I’m very serious about this last point. Mixes and already-infused liquors rob cocktails of their taste, skirting flavor in favor of a sugary cover-up. I’m learning how to make my own vermouth (taking a lesson from Derek Brown of the much-famed bars Gibson, Cork, and The Passenger), to make sure every ingredient used is natural. Mark my words, I will not serve anything diabetic.
So, take a second and check out the menu, share with me your thoughts on what you like, don’t like, what to add, remove, and improve. Democratize my bar. I’m looking at end of March for the first Guerilla Bar, in Washington, DC, with the following one taking place in Manhattan (or Brooklyn, depending on demand). No tentative dates yet, but if you’re interested shoot me an email at arthur.j.nelson@gmail.com and you’ll be the first to know when and where. There’s a suggested donation of $15 per person, with limited space available (each night has a 20 person cap). Best of all, at Guerilla Bar you’ll get to see me sport a shirt, tie, and skull & cross-bones apron. Sartorialist, here I come.
