Alloy is an oft-overlooked oasis of dining awesomeness in the city’s southeast. It’s just a five-minute drive from Inglewood to the industrial park that houses Alloy, a fact that always makes me scratch my head over why we don’t dine there more often. Now we have another reason to visit: cocktails.
Alloy has given its bar a makeover and a new name — Back Bar — and brought in former Candela bartender Jake Hewitt to create a bar menu. The result is a small list that takes classics and gives them a modern twist. Do try the Smoked Old Fashioned, The Pullman (like a Sidecar, with rum) and the Aeronautics, which is Hewitt’s take on an Aviation. I couldn’t resist the colour of this gin-forward but well-balanced spring sip. The bar snacks, specifically the pulled pork belly slider, are delicious, too!
Aeronautics
- 1-1/2 oz Tanqueray gin
- 1/4 oz Giffard’s Creme de Violette
- 1/4 oz Ginja cherry liqueur
- 2 lemon wedges, squeezed
- Garnish: lemon twist
Method: Combine ingredients in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir until drink is well chilled. Strain into a coupe glass. Rim the glass with expressed lemon disk, then twist over drink and drop in.
— Recipe courtesy Jake Hewitt, Back Bar at Alloy