The essence of a speakeasy can be stepping into a different world, the taste of a different time or just a sense of ambiance that is both cool and inviting without being overwhelming.
In creating District Elleven, built within the husk of an old fur building through the vault entrance of the Moon Tapas Bar on North Tejon Street, the key is a sense of place with a taste to match. Colby Carlson, lead mixologist and bartender at D11, sees the balance but also the necessity for gut instinct and craft.
Carlson says that most bars “in the way they should be done are kind of a way to escape the normal world you are living in.”
“We’re in Harry Potter”
D11 has no windows and Carlson hears that when people step through the vault they sometimes say “We’re in Harry Potter” or some kind of movie set. “It’s really cool, to experience people’s reaction when I go back there.” The vibe, he says, that he tries to give off there is a high-volume yet custom-catered experience focusing on whiskey.
When he first began at District Elleven, whiskey was not at the top of his personal drinks hit list but the key was leaning into the possibilities. “I’ve always been a taste guy more than I’ve been a knowledge guy. I think that if you ask any of my peers, they’ll tell you the same thing.”
“If I’m mixing a drink, of course I’ll know what a whiskey tastes like and then I’ll know what bitters to put in and perhaps how to mix it with an amaro or an egg white.” But when it comes down to building a whiskey cocktail, he’ll talk to customers, ask them what their palette is like and then move on from there.
Background in wine
A lot of Carlson’s background is in wine, which provides an interesting parallel to whiskey. District Elleven serves a huge selection of whiskeys and allocated ryes, including those hard-to-find aged jewels. When whiskeys are high-end, more often than not, service professionals, bartenders and educated consumers will recommend and/or know to drink that product: neat or on the rocks. “So we don’t even touch those because we know that the creators, on their end of that product, did such a good job”
When it comes to mixology though, the essence becomes one of a signature taste with an identity of its own. One such cocktail at D11 is “The Lord Of Bones,” which was created by the first manager of the bar: David Frink. It begins with a bone-marrow-washed bourbon. As Carlson likes to explain to guests, the washing of bourbon (or spirits of any kind generally) changes the texture more than the taste of a spirit.
“So when we wash our bourbon with bone marrow, we break it down, and we pour it over the bourbon and then strain it through coffee filters. So you’ve taken the heat off of the whiskey, but you’ve also made it have a little bit more of a buttery mouthfeel,” he says.
Adding to the experience at District Elleven
Carlson likens it, for wine drinkers, to a chardonnay that has undergone malolactic fermentation versus one that has not. They then add barbecue bitters, which he says is not a blast like a potato chip flavor…it is more subtle. Honey simple syrup is then mixed in. The result gives people an experience they are not expecting and goes great, he recommends, with their pork belly or tenderloin.
For a different balance, Carlson also mentions “The Rabbit’s Foot,” which was created by Brie, one of their bartenders. The drink intertwines beetroot powder and egg whites with lemon and honey simple syrup. “It’s going to have ginger liqueur and cynar, which is artichoke-based, wild amaro – and then rum.” The key in making a drink with this kind of balance is that the egg white has to be double shaken. “You dry shake it, which is with no ice, and then you wet shake it with ice and then double strain into a coupe [glass].”
The aspect of being able to have the freedom to create at a place like District Elleven is what gives the place its identity and its vibe. “Both of the owners have both given us a lot of freedom of expression and rein, while not holding on too tightly to the creative control. They’ve put a lot of trust in our ability to do what we do and be a little fun and wild with it.”
For more information, visit districtelleven.com.
