Sunday, June 28, 2009 | Opinion, Food, Wine, Beer & Spirits, "Behind the Bar"
SP Smooth libations

SP chats with JCT Kitchen & Bar’s beverage manager Lara Creasy

Spark St. Jude
Lara Creasy making a Little Havana cocktail

By Hope S. Philbrick

A former magazine editor, Lara Creasy headed to culinary school after deciding that working in an office and sitting in front of a computer weren’t what she wanted out of her career. Since graduating with a degree in Culinary Arts from the Art Institute of Atlanta in 2000, Creasy has been mixing things up behind several bars. After stints at Shaun’s and Watershed, she’s now beverage manager at JCT Kitchen & Bar. Based on the accolades she’s getting and how happy she sounds, The Sunday Paper is convinced she’s found the right career path now.

As a culinary school grad, why did you choose the bar and not the kitchen?

I worked a bit in kitchens. Restaurant work is hard in general. It takes a particular type of person to thrive in the kitchen; it’s just hard stuff. After awhile, I gravitated to the front of the house and being involved with guests. The bar is a natural perfect step for me: I’m still producing something and also get to interact with guests. That interaction happens while I’m making drinks for them. In the kitchen, you never really see the people who you’re making stuff for. It’s a big difference.

You’re credited with transforming cocktail menus to reflect Southern flavors old and new. How do you accomplish this?

I’ve worked at restaurants that focus on regional cuisine as well as on using local farmers’ seasonal produce. It’s something that I’m used to and feel is important—for chefs and also increasingly for mixologists. It’s the way people used to do things, and we’re really getting back to that, which is better for people and the planet and results in better quality. I’m trying to continue what Ford Fry started here. I use seasonal things. Right now, I’m using local strawberries and will be working with watermelon and also fresh mint as it becomes available. A lot of those things are reflected in the food here and so the menus blend really well.

    Georgia has really embraced the local food philosophy in the last several years. Several young farmers have gotten into it, which is extremely important. People talk about patriotism, and there’s nothing like being able to support our own people in our own region with our own food.

What are your most innovative cocktails?

One of my favorites has muscadines in it, which is a fruit that people outside of this region often have never heard of. That cocktail has muscadine, honey, cognac and Lambrusco Bianco—a sparkling wine from the same region where they make Parmesan cheese. The combination is delicious, and the cocktail is called Redd Fox.

    I love to work with herbs, things that are floral like lavender and jasmine, which work very well in drinks—especially with gin that has a floral quality to it. I love using tea. I guess floral, fresh fruit and fresh herbs give my drinks a somewhat feminine quality, which is a counterpart to what a lot of other mixologists do. But I definitely don’t try to make chick drinks. When you’re making a great cocktail, you definitely want balance between the alcohol and any flavors you’re using. I like drinks to taste like the spirit and don’t try to mask it, which is what a lot of chick drinks do. I emphasize the spirits and make drinks on the stronger side. So, yes, men do order the drinks as well. I love working with spirits that men think of as masculine, like whiskey, gin and cognac.

    I think our audience is a bit more interested in what’s new than classic cocktails, but the sloe gin fizz has been extremely popular because many folks haven’t had it before. Little Havana is my take on a traditional daiquiri, with muddled strawberries added. Another thing I’m doing is punch, which is one of the first cocktails ever created. We have a punch on our menu that changes daily, available by the glass or carafe. It mostly sells out every night. SP
JCT Kitchen & Bar is located at 1198 Howell Mill Road in Atlanta’s Westside Urban Market. For more information, call 404-355-2252 or visit www.jctkitchen.com.