Bartender / Restaurateur Thad Vogler

Thad Vogler, Bar Agricole, Bartender, Restaurateur, San Francisco, CA, California, Where to eat in San Francisco, Where to drink, Chef Recommendations, Best Bars, Best Wine List, Best Cocktails, Insider Recommendations

Who

Bartender Thad Vogler is the co-owner of Bar Agricole in San Francisco, CA.

Why

Known for crafting his bartending skills around the world, and in San Francisco at the Slanted Door, Bourbon And Branch, and Jardiniere. He opened Bar Agricole with the goal of creating an urban tavern named after his favorite liquor: rhum agricole.

Recommended By

- Chef Traci Des Jardins (Jardiniere, San Francisco, CA)

- Bartender Brooks Reitz (creator of Jack Rudy Cocktail Co, bartender at FIG in Charleston, SC)

Recommendations

Thad Vogler’s recommendations for his favorite rums and cocktail resources and where to eat and drink in San Francisco.

Bartender / Restaurateur Thad Vogler

September 8, 2011

Q & A WITH Thad Vogler

Q. Please tell us about Bar Agricole:

A. Bar Agricole is an urban tavern that celebrates the Northern California tradition of ingredient driven food and drink.

Advice / Tips

Q. What drink and food is the best way to start the night at Bar Agricole?

A. Start with a Ti Punch and an Old Fashioned with some of our charcuterie.

Q. How should we end the night?

A. End with some single estate drip coffee and a taste of aged agricole rum.

Q. What’s your "desert island drink" - the one drink you never tire of making for yourself? And why does it keep you coming back?

A. A simple shaken daiquiri. Like a lot of the great 3 ingredient drinks, it begs all the essential questions of how a drink is made: dilution, temperature, sweetness, texture, acidity, the quality of your sweetening component, the quality of your citrus, the quality of your base spirit... the more of them you make, the more you realize you will never make a truly perfect drink.

Recommendations

Q. FIG bartender Brooks Reitz recommended you... in the spirit of passing it forward, who would you recommend, in your field, as someone people should know about?

A. Erik Adkins is the best bartender in San Francisco, maybe the country. You need to sit at his bar at Slanted Door. He is a great technician, as well as a historian, but most importantly, he is sincere and gracious.

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FIND...

Q. What interesting spirits / bitters / sweetening agents are you working with that you’re excited about using?

A. I am most excited about the maraschino that Todd Leopold has just released. Maraschino is a classic ingredient that shows up countless times in all the great old books. With this version of the cherry cordial, we finally see a dry aromatic version that you would be proud to serve straight, as well as feature in a mixed drink.

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Q. What are your favorite resources (websites, guides, books, etc.) for keeping up with the cocktail community and what do you love about them?

A. I just love the old books. There are scores of them, but honestly, the ones I use most are The Waldorf Astoria Book, the Savoy, the Stork Club, La Florida Bar Book, Boothby's, and all the Charles Baker books.

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EAT...

Q. San Francisco offers amazing food for visitors. But as a local, where do you love to eat and what do you love about the places?

A. Right now I eat at Mission Chinese at least once a week.

I go to Bar Jules all the time as well. Jessica's ingredients are great and her food is so honest and tasty.

Regalito -- I love too for sit-down Mexican.

For old school San Francisco, I love Swan Oyster and Red's Java House.

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DRINK...

Q. Bar Agricole is named after rhum agricole - what are your top five favorite rums and how do you like to used them?

1. El Dorado 3 Year

Perfect for all the great old recipes that call for a dry, Cuban-style rum.

2. Smith & Cross

An archetypal Jamaican rum and perfect in recipes that call for the same.

3. La Favorite Blanc

Huge and aromatic and my favorite for a Ti Punch.

4. Neisson Blanc

Probably my favorite white spirit in the world.

5. Havana Club Anejo

It will always be an emotional favorite because of its scarcity and also the time I lived in Cuba. It will always make me think of those beautiful cigars -- especially the Montecristo #2.

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Q. Favorite watering hole that you love to visit in SF and what do you love about it?

A. Tosca has always been a favorite. It's just such a beautiful and timeless space. I hope it never changes. The opera on the jukebox and the beautifully aged surfaces and the long, beautiful bar from a single piece of wood. It's a perfect interior. I wish I could run it.

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Q. Where would you want to take a visiting mixologist to drink in SF and what should they try?

A. I would go first to Smuggler's Cove. No other bar has such a clear and well-articulated concept. Those guys are really passionate and focused. Try anything on that list. It is such a thoughtful and well developed list.

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Q. What are some off the beaten track places that should be on our radar?

A. Be sure to get Indian food at Shalimar.

The drinks at Camino in Oakland are the most under-appreciated in the Bay Area. They use awesome ingredients and are refreshingly unpretentious solid drinks. Best food in the Bay, too. Perfect example of the cutting edge of the tradition Bar Agricole works to be a part of.

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Q. Where would you send someone for a classic SF experience?

A. Honestly, you should just wander down Valencia - Locanda, Regalito, Dosa, Delfina, Delfina Pizzeria, Bar Tartine, Tartine, Beretta, the list goes on and on. Soon, the original Slanted Door location will be back too.