Find Seattle’s best cocktails with Terry Jaymes and Katie O

By Jillian Raftery

Terry James says he isn’t a foodie, but he does love his
gourmet cocktails. This week he’s joined by the Seattle
Kitchen Show’s Katie O to investigate the best cocktails
Seattle has to offer.

For many restaurant owners, cocktails are almost as
important as the food. Owners must stock wine and beer
that pair well with menu items, as well as unique
signature cocktails that are such an important part of a
meal.

“They want to connect, they want to have that ‘in vino
veritas’ kind of moment that usually takes a couple of
cocktails,” says Katie O.

Chef Thierry Rautureau, of The Seattle Kitchen, cans fruit
from his Mirabelle plum tree so that he can use the fruit
and juices all year.

Seattle Kitchen co-hostTom Douglas,
who owns restaurants Lola, Dhalia Lounge, Serious Pie, and
Brave Horse Tavern among others, has recently hired an
expert beverage director for his restaurants.

Seattle has a great nightlife scene with many bars and
restaurants that make fresh, unique cocktails. With so
much competition, individual talent and creativity matters
a lot.

“Quite a few people take a great amount of pride in their
bar tending skills. The level of effort that goes into a
craft cocktail in this city is remarkable, it’s really
quite astounding,” says Katie.

One of Terry’s favorite cocktails is actually
nonalcoholic. He recommends the sour cherry fizz at Palace Kitchen. Katie loves hers
with a little kick, but agrees that Palace Kitchen is a
great place for cocktails.

“It’s such a bar-centric restaurant with that big horse-
shoe bar and the tiles. And the later it gets, the better
it gets,” says Katie.

Terry’s favorite cocktail of the moment is the “Poppy
delicious” at Poppy on
Capitol Hill. It takes advantage of the tequila trend,
with flavorful cocktails reminiscent of margaritas – with
plenty of heat.

“Tequila, red bell peppers, jalapeno, lime, curacao, it’s
spicy and I love this thing,” says Terry.

Poppy also stocks a unique house-made cardamom cola for
customers who don’t drink.

For ambiance, it’s hard to beat Canlis on
Queen Anne Hill, though cocktails there are pricey. The
restaurant overlooks Lake Union and has a piano player on
staff to create a unique mood.

“I will always crave any cocktail from Canlis,” says
Katie.

Terry, on the other hand, craves the old fashioned
cocktails at Rob Roy in
Belltown.

“They do have the throwback cocktails and I love that,”
says Terry.

The atmosphere screams class and elegant drinks like the
sandlewood saffron sour or the huntsman will impress
visitors.

Katie also loves Canon on
capitol hill for consistently quality drinks. Canon is
right next to Lark, which
is also a good bet for dinner and drinks.

Recently, many craft distilleries have popped up around
town to compliment the hand-made cocktail culture in
Seattle. Katie and Terry both love the Oola
Distillery on Capitol Hill.

Listen to Terry Jaymes and Katie O on KIRO 97.3 FM’s
newest weekend show: