The year was 1956. As they frequently did, Bob Waters, Jack Zimmerman, and Joe Brundage sat at the pub  on a Friday afternoon. The topic of conversation revolved around a simple question, “Why not golf in Medina?” The drive to Lockport was getting old, and so they set off on a plan to bring a course between Shelby and Ridgeway to life. 

While I knew him as Grandad, Jack Zimmerman gave me my first mixed drink. The elaborate concoction consisted of water from the pantry (which he convinced me was different), a bar spoon of maraschino cherry juice, and a cherry in the bottom. While this drink is long in the past, the glass in which he served me is on the top shelf at the Shirt Factory. A tribute to those three individuals and the conversation they had in 1956 is something I pay homage to with our Tavern Talk cocktail. 

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For me, cocktails became a learning experience. From Tiki drinks to gin and tonics, it became more about the stories behind decisions and popular drinks. Then came my favorite: bourbon. Lots and lots of bourbon. 

The more I played in our small apartment kitchen, the more questions I had. Todd Thrasher’s PX taught me to love speakeasies and made me realize you can concont many of your own ingredients. A mixology class in DC taught me about the rivalry that existed between Trader Vic and Don Beach, and the art of Tiki cocktails. While those lessons were helpful, it was a friendship with our bartender Nick in Old Town, Alexandria, that fueled my passion for mixing. My cocktails tended to come from a little book he kept in his back pocket full of ideas he was considering. Sours, sparkling cocktails, and a rum old fashioned were all part of the experience. Today, when I’m trying to fine-tune a new idea, I often throw the concept his way for comments and critique. 

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Nick’s “Gaia”

A couple years before moving home, I had to ask the same question my grandfather and his friends asked before: why not Medina? The idea of opening a cocktail bar with local beer and wine that ties in the historical fabric of the community became my focus, and recently – my reality. 

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We are two weeks in, and tonight launches another weekend of bartending in Medina. Though mixing for friends and family at home was fun, there is little else that compares to the fulfillment of mixing behind the bar at the Factory.  The thrill of sharing the art of the craft cocktail with you has already been an experience of a lifetime, and one of my favorite endeavors yet. 

Cheers!