The hospitality industry has weaved its way into Dave Danger’s life for years — during his two overseas tours in the Army, his time earning a degree in anthropology from the University of Minnesota, and his stint in Perth, Australia, where he worked at a beach bar in Sorrento. When he moved to NYC in 2013, he landed a job at Jeffrey’s Grocery. “There I was given the tools and the education to really become a cocktail nerd,” he says. Most recently Danger can be found at Brooklyn’s Kimoto Rooftop Beer Garden, where he presents daring (pun intended) takes on classics with an Asian twist. Here, the Midwesterner talks about the woman who changed his career, his ultimate food and drink pairing, and the classic cocktail that anyone will surely master under his tutelage.
BoozeMenus: What’s your approach behind the bar?
Dave Danger: Throughout my bartending career I have always focused on the basics and worked towards mastering the classics of the cocktail realm. When I train my bartenders I instill from day one the same values. If they learn nothing else from me, it's how to make an amazing Old Fashioned. If you can make the classics really, really well, everything else is just about knowledge and practice.
BM: Which cocktail on the menu are you most excited about?
DD: At Kimoto Rooftop Beer Garden I've tried to create a cocktail menu that is both adventurous and accessible. I think that when you're trying to do something that not a lot of other places are doing, it's easy to go overboard, right into the realm of pretension. That's not who I am as a bartender and that's not what Kimoto is as a restaurant. It's a delicate balance that Chef Brian Tsao really understands. The drink that I'm most excited about on the menu is The Humidor. It's a concept drink that was inspired by a cocktail that I tried at a bar in Williamsburg a couple of years ago. That drink ended up being really bad though. It was a deconstructed margarita, where the margarita mix was frozen into ice cubes and tequila was poured over it. Great idea, but your first sip was straight tequila and your last sip was straight margarita mix. There were only a few sips in between that were really good. The Humidor instead is a sort of deconstructed Boulevardier with bourbon, Campari, and sweet vermouth. Here I've taken bourbon, sweet vermouth and aromatic bitters and made a Manhattan cocktail and poured it over Campari that has been frozen into ice. Your first sip is of a Manhattan and as you continue to drink, the cocktail morphs into a Boulevardier.
BM: What seems to be the crowd's favorite cocktail right now?
DD: The crowd seems to really be responding well to the No Sleep Till..., which pairs Aperol, lychee liqueur, mint, and sparkling wine. It's a light and refreshing cocktail that goes down easy. And also the Ronin, which marries reposado tequila, Ancho Reyes chili liqueur, and Mexican mole bitters with lime and raspberries to create a smoky and spicy, yet light and fruity balance.
BM: What's the best food/drink pairing you've had at the restaurant so far?
DD: For me, the perfect snack and cocktail combo here would be the Spicy Wings and the Peat's Dragon. The wings are slathered in a spicy and tangy gochujang-barbecue sauce. The Peat's Dragon is the perfect complement. First, the cocktail itself is an homage to the late Sasha Petraske of Milk & Honey. It's based on a modern classic cocktail pioneered at his bar by Sam Ross, The Penicillin. The Peat’s Dragon version uses Iwai Japanese blended whisky, Laphroaig single malt Islay Scotch, togarashi infused yuzu, and galangal ginger honey. It is smoky and peaty, with a hint of spice, while at the same time light and balanced.
BM: What's the most daring ingredient you've incorporated into one of your cocktails here?
DD: Creating this menu was the most fun I've had bartending in a very long time. Experimenting with Asian ingredients was a challenge, in the best way possible.The Shogun Michelada really pushes the envelope. Chef Tsao and I played with a few savory elements and finally I settled on unagi sauce and dried seaweed. All of the flavors, from the Vietnamese peppercorn, to the wasabi, the kabosu, and the Sriracha meld well with the tomato juice and Sapporo lager to create a surprisingly light beer cocktail. That is finished off with one of our house pickled shishito peppers.
BM: What should folks know about Japanese whiskey vs. American whiskey?
DD: One thing I want everyone to know about this restaurant is that even though I'd love to put a cocktail in every single person's hand who comes through the door, we do have an amazing Asian beer selection, including some really special Japanese craft beers. We also have a small, but really great selection of Japanese whisky. It's almost unfair to compare Japanese whisky to American whiskey. Almost all Japanese whisky is modeled after Scotch. They have amazing single malts and out of this world blends. I think that if you enjoy Scotch, especially from the Highland region, you should try some Japanese whisky.
BM: What was the last conversation that inspired you?
DD: I don't know about the last conversation that inspired me, but my girlfriend Betsy inspires me on a daily basis. She is in her third year of medical school and I see almost every day how stressful it is. I love seeing people follow their dreams and do the things that they are passionate about, especially when they are willing to go all out and sacrifice everything for it. It puts my own life into perspective and makes me excited about getting to do something that I'm passionate about.
BM: Where are you traveling to next?
DD: Ahh, travel. If I have one thing that I love as much as cocktails and bartending it’s travel. It's something that my girlfriend and I have really embraced. Last year we backpacked through Tanzania and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. Before that we hiked to Machu Picchu. With how busy we are now, it's tough to plan another trip, but I would seriously love to visit Vietnam, where my mother is from.
BM: Who has been a mentor for you in this industry?
DD: Probably the bartender that had the most profound effect on me was the first bartender that I worked with at Jeffrey's, Prudence Groube. She is a bartender, artist and all-around talented human being and she taught me to have high expectations, both of others around me and especially of myself. Most of the knowledge I gained from her was just from watching her work behind the stick. She is methodical and knowledgeable. She works efficiently and with skill; no wasted movements or second-guessing. I still look up to her and I pop into Jeffrey's every now and again to have one of her cocktails — though we mainly just drink all the whiskey.
By Nicole Schnitzler
(Photos by Michael Tulipan | From Left: Interior, Dave Danger, Cocktail)