2019 Q4 Spirited VA - 72

BEHIND THE BAR

Kaitlin Edinger, Laura Lee's, Richmond

K

aitlin Edinger began working behind
the bar when she turned 21. During
college she worked at Amuse, a fine-dining
restaurant at the Virginia Museum of Fine
Arts, and transitioned to bartender after
her birthday. She now plies her trade at
Laura Lee's, an independent restaurant
in Richmond's Forest Hill neighborhood.
What do you enjoy about bartending?
It's different every day. You do a lot of
multitasking-you come in and do your
prep work and make sure you're all set to
go, but then from the time the door opens,
you don't know what to expect. People
come in and chat, you're making drinks,
and that's where the creative part comes in.
What's the creative part?
A lot of people want to see if I can make
them something different, so I'll try to figure
something out, and that's always fun. I've
had people ask for spicy cocktails, and
we have a good amount of spicy stuff on
hand to play with-jalapeño honey that the
kitchen makes, bitters that are spicy, and
habanero shrub. I made a whiskey-based,
spicy cucumber-sour cocktail. [For spicy
liquors], we work with Belle Isle Honey
Habanero Moonshine (for my own drink, I

like subbing that for tequila in a Margarita).
Menu concepts are a seasonal thing,
and it's fun to play with what's local and
in season. Laura Lee's does a good job of
that. In the bar, we garnish our cocktails
with local flowers.
What's Laura Lee's most popular cocktail?
I think our flagship cocktail, Tiger's Eye: Four
Roses bourbon, lime, simple syrup and a
half ounce of Angostura bitters. We have
The Paul Hollywood, a play on Pimm's Cup,
that features cucumber juice, lemon, Aperol,
Belle Isle Ruby Red Grapefruit Moonshine,
and a couple of other ingredients.
What's one of your favorite bar techniques?
I love to do bitters on top of egg white drinks.
You have to stop and steady yourself to
make a really beautiful design.
How do you keep up with industry trends?
I follow a lot of accounts on social media.
My Instagram feed is cocktails and bar stuff,
like Punch Drink and female bartenders
that I get inspiration from.
What's your favorite spirit?
I've always been a whiskey girl. I like
bourbon or rye in Manhattans, but just

BILLY FELLIN

to sip, I'm a big fan of Irish whiskey. More
recently, I've been playing with rum, because
rum is delicious but also really interesting.
Like with wine, it has a lot to do with terroir.
Do you have any favorite whiskey brands?
Hell-Cat Maggie. It's relatively cheap, nice to
have at your home bar for whoever wants to
sip whiskey. For rye, Rittenhouse is great. For
bourbon-my dad's been drinking Maker's
Mark, and it's available at most bars. For
local, Kopper Kettle in Culpeper makes a
really good bourbon.
What percentage of bartending is mixing
drinks versus communication?
I'd say 50/50. Sometimes you're doing both
at the same time, and you have to figure out
how to do that the best way. You're doing
service, but you're also putting on a show.
What is your best strength as a bartender?
Multitasking. I really like to feel in the
rhythm. It's a bit of a dance, being able
to find that balance between chatting up
regulars, or explaining to new customers
about our menu or what you're doing, while
also busting out five cocktails at a time. Or
when people are asking for bartender's
choice -you have to be creative .

-Annie Tobey

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2019 Q4 Spirited VA

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