San Diego Unseen: An Urban Portrait
Anthony Schmidt
- Photo by Marshall Murphy
When the final secret ingredient of the night was revealed to the last two survivors, Anthony Schmidt knew immediately what cocktail he’d make. He believes that the extra moment this lack of hesitation gave him to get everything just right may have been the edge that led him to win San Diego’s first Bartender’s Challenge at El Dorado last November.
“The ingredient was fernet. And I thought, Wry Grin,” Schmidt says. “Not an original. It’s a drink invented by my mentor, Sam Ross: rye whiskey, fernet, a little sugar, muddled lemon and mint. A variation on a Smash.
“My competition in that round was Tim Stevens from Prohibition— a great bartender,” he adds. “His drink was probably just as good. But since I didn’t hesitate, I had time to think, to present. Little things, like making sure the garnish is perfect. I knew they’d like it. And, of course, I served it with a wry grin on my face.”
That competition was to many in the local craft-cocktailing community the culmination of a year in which it became clear that San Diego had at last truly joined the cocktail renaissance already underway for years in cities like New York and San Francisco. As the managing bartender at Noble Experiment, the bar at the pinnacle of the local movement, Schmidt was the guy to beat.
He says that to avoid conflict of interest, Nate Stanton, a partner in El Dorado, Noble Experiment and Craft & Commerce, invited a panel of diverse, neutral cocktail connoisseurs to serve as judges, including local food critics and a former bartender from San Francisco’s famed Bourbon & Branch. Schmidt competed against drink makers from some of San Diego’s leading craft-cocktail destinations: El Dorado, Noble and Prohibition, as well as Jayne’s Gastropub, Starlite, Cowboy Star, Snake Oil Cocktail Co. and URBN. The prize was a little trophy and a lot of glory.
His winning drinks in previous rounds that night were his own creations: Easy Street Fizz, a gin-based concoction featuring St. Germain, and No. 16, a citrusy rye drink showcasing Benedictine. All three of his winning drinks included fresh lemon juice.
“Those aren’t even my personal favorites,” he says. “I don’t make drinks tailored to my taste—if I did, I’d be serving Campari bombs all night! The most important thing is to make a good drink for the person that’s sitting right in front of you. That’s what I think this contest is about.”
Is Schmidt going to defend his championship in November? “Yes, if they ask me,” he says. “Because the real reward is bringing all these great bartenders together—the fun of it.”
