Trenchermen to Preview Cocktail Program at Latest Pop-up

By Roger Kamholz in Food on Dec 7, 2011 9:20PM

To run the beverage program at the forthcoming restaurant the Trenchermen, chefs (and brothers) Pat and Mike Sheerin and their business partners tapped bartender Tona Palomino, who is coming off five years of making cocktails at WD-50, the innovative New York restaurant run by chef Wylie Dufresne. Given Palomino's pedigree, we are more than a little excited to see what he has planned for the Wicker Park restaurant slated to open early next year in the space formerly occupied by Spring. Well, looks like we won't have to wait too long to get a good look: Palomino will be hosting a pop-up on Wednesday, Dec. 14, starting at 9 p.m. at 711 N. Damen Avenue (aka Bar Deville), to present a selection of Trenchermen cocktails.

The pop-up is open to the public and does not require any tickets or RSVP. Just show up and drink. There's been no further word out of the Trenchermen camp about what Palomino will be mixing up on the 14th. But we got to sample some of Palomino's concoctions at another of the Trenchermen's preview events recently and were impressed by his creativity, use of unusual flavors and attention to textures (he's a proponent of carbonating cocktails, for instance). The event flyer is below:

UPDATE: We got word on a couple of the cocktails Palomino will be making at the event, both of which will be carbonated: candy cane infused gin with clarified pear nectar and lemon juice; and a celery gin & tonic with Batavia Arrack, pineapple juice, all-spice liquor and sparkling wine. Cocktails will be $7 apiece and admission is free. The event will be held in the back room of Bar Deville, so enter at 711 North Damen (as opposed to the bar's front entrance at 701 North Damen).