LA's most expensive cocktail?

Matt Biancaniello of the Library Bar in the Hollywood Roosevelt is known for his market fresh cocktails, utilizing fruit and produce he buys at the Santa Monica and other farmers markets. This summer he created a cocktail called the Krisomou, which means "the Golden One" in Greek and is built around a violet infused grappa. At launch the cocktail was priced at $35. Now, thanks to buying the ingredients in larger quantities, what had been perhaps the most expensive cocktail in the city is now available for the more attainable price of $15.



The Krisomou includes 2 ounces of violet infused grappa, 4 lime wedges, 4 mint leaves and 1/2 ounce of agave. It is muddled like a mojito and then double strained into a rocks glass with a single large ice cube. It is finally garnished with edible pansies.

The Krisomou is much smoother than I had expected a grappa based cocktail to taste, without the bitterness that can be found in some grappas. The drink can also be served in a martini glass, as is shown in the photograph above. The double straining ensures that no mint leaves or lime flesh make it into the glass. The Last Tango in Modena is still my favorite Library Bar cocktail, but the Krisomou is now in rotation. Now that it is priced comparably to the other drinks at the bar, get it while the violet infused grappa lasts.