"People think that if you work with high end cocktails you spend all your time drinking in upscale bars," says Eric Alperin, the bartender behind The Varnish. "But that's not necessarily the case." And while Alperin says he does spend a lot of time checking out his friend's bars to see what the other top bartenders in town are up to, his go-to spots are a little less swank. 
Anne Fishbein Eric Alperin at The Varnish
It's a good day when the first meaningful thing that's put in your hands is a drink: a good drink, a weird drink, a purple drink, one so chock-full of fruit it almost tastes like it'll boost your immune system, the rye expertly disguised in blood orange juice and an indigo robe of cassis, girded by Cynar, the whole effect refreshing as hell. 
The drink was the Never Let Me Go, fashioned by Matt Biancaniello of the Hotel Roosevelt's Library Bar. And it was, for me, how the afternoon began at Art Beyond the Glass, a benefit for Inner-City Arts held on a recent sunny Sunday at Sadie Kitchen & Lounge in Hollywood, which on this June day was definitely more lounge than kitchen.
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For the past three years, one of the most interesting invitations a 21-and-over person in Los Angeles could secure was for The Pharmacie, a Mad Men-esque cocktail party organized by gentleman "drinkist" and handsome bow-tie wearer Talmadge Lowe. For those of you who never made it to the party -- or maybe never heard of the party in the first place -- your time has come. The idea has now evolved into a bar-for-hire.
Next Exit Photography Cocktail by Talmadge Lowe
We've already mentioned Richard Horne, the man behind our Best Bloody Mary in L.A. top pick. But what we didn't tell you about the Fig Santa Monica bartender, who has been shaking there from day one, is that he has a thing for straws. Really good straws. 
jgarbee Richard Horne Behind The Bar At Fig
"You'd be surprised how hard it is to find a good straw," Horne says, trying to shove as many Dixie black straws into a display container on the bar as he possibly can. "Especially one that's black like this."
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When we called Jared Mort, manager at the recently revamped Oldfield's in Culver City, with a question about a cocktail, the conversation suddenly took a mixology versus Scientology turn. We'll let you ruminate on that for a moment. In the meantime, we found the hauntingly fantastic portrait of Mort by artist Jaxon Northon, above. ("Hahahaha, my friend Jaxon painted that years ago!" was the "Sent from my iPhone" message we got back upon announcing our online find). 
Flickr user casenar (left) + Guzzle and Nosh (cocktail) Portrait Of Oldfield's Jared Mort + The Dauntless Cocktail
Back to those mixology and Scientology parallels, and our chat with Mort about Oldfield's complete bartender overhaul earlier this fall (the bar was formerly known as Saints & Sinners). And yeah, that "Dauntless" pear-ginger beer holiday cocktail recipe.
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The new Chapter & Verse in Downtown's Arts District is not a bar. It is created by bar dynamos David Kaplan and Alex Day of Proprietors LLC, a hospitality firm responsible for Death & Company (NYC), Bar & Kitchen and the cocktail programs for Stella Rosa and Rosa Mexicano. 
Caroline on Crack Proprietors' Alex Day and David Kaplan.
And although it does have a cool "bar" name, C&V is simply, or not so simply, an office/cocktail lab. Bars are created and born there, yes, but you can't just show up at the Traction Avenue office and bend the bartender's ear over a well-made cocktail. Well you could, but you'd have to be invited.
Don't be disappointed that you can't add this to your bar hop route, though, because Proprietors has a downtown nightlife project in the works -- a two-bar venue with live music that's scheduled to open August 2012.
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It's spicy, it's smashing and it very well could get you smashed. The Three Clubs in Hollywood, made famous by the movie Swingers, has rolled out some fancy new cocktails created by mixologist Joel Black. One of his most popular new drinks is the savory Pepper Smash ($12), which contains lemon, honey, basil, red bell pepper and whiskey. (With its whiskey base, it's traditionally more of a dude's drink, unless you have a name like Calamity Jane.) 
The Three Clubs
"The Pepper Smash is a cocktail very near and dear to me," Black tells us. "It's one of the first savory cocktails I created, and the recipe has transitioned over the years as I have grown as a mixologist."
When we interviewed Gabriella Mlynarczyk at Eva, she was sharing her first impressions on the L.A. mixology scene after nearly 15 years in New York. ("But remember I haven't been here long," she reminds us, laughing).
flickr user vintage roadtrip Welcome To California
One of the differences is her checkbook power, so she now makes more of her own ingredients, including liqueurs. Turn the page for her easy lapsang souchong liqueur recipe (holiday gift, anyone?), plus two cocktails inspired by the tea liqueur: one with Scotch and mole-flavored bitters and another with rye whiskey, allspice dram and a Mezcal-washed glass. Ah, the California cocktail dreaming life.
What does a former New York City mixologist think of life on the L.A. cocktail circuit? Gabriella Mlynarczyk, now at Eva after nearly 15 years on the New York scene (most recently, she was behind the now-closed Manhattan speakeasy Woodson and Ford), shared her thoughts on the coastal cocktail variances. 
GMlynarczyk Gabriella Flaming An Orange Peel
Turn the page for the interview, and check back for several of her latest cocktail recipes.
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We recently caught up with Julian Cox, the award-winning bartender at Playa, the Latin-inspired restaurant on Beverly, and Picca, the Peruvian-inspired restaurant on Pico -- two of the hottest new restaurants of 2011.
Caroline on Crack Julian Cox at Playa
What's your favorite part about being a bartender?
Probably taking care of people, having conversations with people. The whole interpersonal interaction is pretty awesome. That's what I enjoy.
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