About this item
A Kitchen Confidential for the cocktail profession, Unvarnished is a fly-on-the-wall narrative peek at the joys, pains, and peculiarities of life "behind the stick."When it opened a decade ago, the acclaimed Los Angeles speakeasy The Varnish - owned, designed, and managed by award-winning cocktail aficionado Eric Alperin - quickly became the stylish standard bearer for modern bars. Unvarnished is a candid, voice-driven, no-holds-barred look at the workings of a bar, and the foundation of The Varnish's success: attention to hospitality and an abiding belief in the nobility of service. Alperin and veteran bartender and writer Deborah Stoll push back against the prevailing conceit that working in the service industry is something people do because they failed at another career.
About the Author
Eric Alperin's first experience behind the stick was at The Screening Room in New York City, followed by the Michelin-starred Lupa and Sasha Petraske's Little Branch. In Los Angeles, he created Osteria Mozza's liquor and cocktail program before opening The Varnish in 2009. The Varnish was a James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Bar Program from 2013 to 2017 and won Best American Cocktail Bar at Tales of the Cocktail in 2012. He is also a co-owner of Half Step in Austin, Texas; the acting Director of Cocktail Bars for Pouring with Heart; and a co-owner of Penny Pound Ice, The Slipper Clutch, Bar Clacson, and The Streamliner at Union Station, all in Los Angeles. He will launch the Red Dog Saloon in Pioneertown, CA in early 2020.
