I first went to Solomon’s because Solomon and I have mutual friends. To me it was “the only place in town where I will drink gin martinis”. (I don’t really like juniper so normally I order vodka martinis.)
After that I went probably more than anything else because my friend Dan lived upstairs. Around this stage of my life, Manhattans became my signature drink at bars that had things like vermouth. I drank a lot of Manhattans and Old Fashioned at Solomon’s, although I was usually too busy talking to notice the craftsmanship.
Solomon always sucked as promotion, particularly using social networking. Somehow I heard about an introduction to cocktails class. The class got cancelled for lack of interest but there was a martini class coming up: I went despite my distaste for gin.
The class was a lecture on the evolution of the martini from Manhattan through the martinez combined with a tasting of gin, vermouth and bitters. It created the abstract mental structures I needed to learn about other cocktails. Solomon says he’s going to focus on education in the future: I can’t wait for the next class.
Then I went to the Art of the Cocktail festival, where Solomon and his protege Katie competed in the mixing competition. I learned that Sean at Clives was “the other bartender” in town – he’s not quite as good as Solomon but knowing there were two made me think that artisan cocktails were a movement in Victoria.
Right after the festival I went on a trip to Portland and Seattle that included pilgrimages to some artisan bars: Teardrop, Zig Zag and Vessel. I got exposed to much more challenging cocktails than what I had been ordering at Solomon’s and chatted up bartenders to learn more about the artisan cocktail scene.
By this point, every time I went to Solomon’s I had a list of things I wanted to try. I don’t go out drinking very often and I don’t drink that much when I do, so it took me a long time to work things through. Most recently I came home from amazing service by David at West, eager to order some new experiences at Solomon’s.
It feels like a blow to Victoria to lose such a hip place. I blame city council for their overpriced liquor license addiction and the lack of population density near Herald Street. Solomon’s didn’t have great food or promotion, but I think the prices and the service time for drinks were reasonable for the care that went into them. My biggest regret is that I didn’t spend more time sitting at Solomon’s bar.