Mayur
Cienfuegos 
95 Avenue A, New York, NY

So talk us through what you're going to make here.
I'm going to make an Arrack Swizzle. This uses a very unusual variety of spirit, which is arguably a kind of rum, called Batavia Arrack. It's made out of fermented red rice, and it was originally developed as a flavoring for chocolate by the Dutch.

I did not know that.
It's from the Dutch East Indies, it's one of the oldest continually produced spirits on record, and it's got a very funky taste. That taste usually when we talk about rum is called "hogo." It's a very prickly, woody taste, and in this particular case, I'm taming that a lot and making it into a drink that's very accessible and very summery. It uses the funk of the arrack to really give it some backbone, so you're drinking something that's light and refreshing, but at the same time it doesn't let you forget you're drinking a serious cocktail.

This is very advanced.
It's kind of very much in the spirit of what we like to do here. We like to do things that are about taking unusual rums and unusual sugarcane spirits and taking this huge array of wonderful stuff that we have and showcasing each of these individually.

What kind of drink would you send to a girl you were trying to impress?
That one's easy. I would do the Queen's Park Swizzle. It's a classic, invented in Trinidad in 1906. It's very pretty. Not that we don't do pretty drinks in general, but this is especially. It's just lime juice, simple syrup, El Dorado three-year rum, and ice.

What's a drink that you'd be embarrassed to order?
Inappropriate drinks are the only things that are embarrassing to order. If you're going to a beer and shots place, don't order a fancy cocktail, and if you're going to a place like this, order a serious drink. It's very much a situational thing.

What about an apple martini? 
Never order an apple martini. That's not a serious drink. Plus there's a much better alternative to the apple martini, which is the Jack Rose cocktail. 

What makes a good bar for a date?
I can't believe I'm saying this, because I'm kind of shooting my own commercial prospects in the foot, but — and part of this is about the appropriateness — I wouldn't go to a serious cocktail bar like this on a first date.

Why's that?
Because I take this too seriously, and I think it's a lot nicer to order something simple on a date. If you do come to a place like this, you want to embrace the experience. Coming here is like going to the theater on a date and then not paying attention to the performance. If you're not going to embrace this experience, why would you bother coming to a place like this?

Do you consider yourself a mixologist?
I hate that word.

All right, then, forget I said that.
I consider myself a bartender. But I understand why people need to use the word mixologist. You need to use it if you have consulting gigs, because people who are not serious about this take that word seriously.

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Arrack Swizzle
3 dashes Angostura bitters
1oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ oz sweet vermouth
2 oz Rum
2 oz Arrack
½ oz sugarcane syrup (or simple syrup)
Crushed ice
Finish with 3-5 dashes of bitters for color and aromatics, garnish with mint.

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Queen's Park Swizzle
Muddle lime and mint in the bottom of a glass, add:
3 oz Rum
1oz simple syrup
½ oz freshly squeezed lime juice
Crushed ice
splash of grenadine for color

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