CONNECTICUT — A national drinks publication has named a Connecticut bartender among the 10 Best New Bartenders Of 2024.
Tavern culture digital magazine Punch has selected Justin Brody, head barkeep at The Port of Call in Mystic, for the honor. It’s the digital magazine’s 7th annual recognition of young talent in the mixology field.
Brody is not only the sole Connecticut bartender to make Punch’s list, he is the only representative of New England. The rest of Punch’s Young Elite hail from New York City, Detroit, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., Portland, OR, and Monterey, CA.
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Originally from Westville, NJ, Brody has only been a bartender for three years, the last two of those at Port of Call. Prior to his time behind the bar, he worked for ten years as a cook for restaurants such as Canlis, one of Seattle’s top dining spots.
It was at Canlis where Brody had his first “serious” cocktail, he told Punch. The “Almost Perfect” cocktail combined Cocchi Americano, Averna, pineapple rum, grenadine, maraschino, and Angostura bitters.
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“It’s a masterpiece that balances traditional with modern flavors, a template for an approachable and unique cocktail with dimension, something I strive for in every drink I create.”
Brody said he has been employed in restaurants since his mid-teens, and the customer expectations for those working in the kitchen and those behind the bar couldn’t be more different.
“Most people go to a restaurant and order what’s on the menu, and that’s it,” Brody said. “At a bar, you have to be ready to make about 200 different cocktails. And from there, we make bespoke drinks, we customize and tailor drinks to everybody’s preferences as they come in the door.”
The digizine praised Brody’s “creative, food-friendly cocktails,” singling out his Last Night by the Jetty. This “love child of a Margarita and an Old-Fashioned” is made with tequila, celery syrup, lemon juice and an absinthe rinse, “with a brackish finishing touch” in the form of a brined kombu garnish.
The bartender identified “The Family Business” as his most oddball concoction, a mixture “inspired by the mafia” that included olive oil, Calabrian chili and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
Punch described Brody’s “experimental streak” as “perfect for a bar that’s equally acclaimed for its adventurous kitchen, which plates fresh and fermented local seafood under the care of chef Renee Touponce.”
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The kudos for their head bartender Brody are just another in a string of awards that Port of Call has been racking up, both inside the state and on the national scoreboard, all fueling Mystic’s reputation as one of the best small towns for epicures.
For Brody, it’s a rung on a ladder. He told Patch he has given Port of Call notice that he plans on moving to Rhode Island and opening his own bar there “in the next couple of years.” He just bought a house in East Providence.
“It’ll be a bar with plants growing out of it called Green Thumb.”
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