Liberty Bar is one of my absolute Seattle favorites. The espresso, the drinks, the food, the vibe, the music, the people – it’s all here, and more than a few of my stories have been drafted from atop the leather cushions of Liberty’s comfy couches. Does it help that coffee, cocktails and sushi are three of my very favorite things? Absolutely, but there’s something for everyone here, whether you’re into holing up for a lazy rainy afternoon or meeting a boisterous bunch of friends on a Friday night.
Last time around, I chatted with Rick Evans of Evans Brothers; this week, I caught up with Andrew Friedman, owner of Liberty Bar, to hear his unique perspective on how coffee compares with cocktails, what baristas know better than bartenders, and how Liberty remedied the issue of Seattle not having its own sour.
How did the idea for a combination bar/coffee shop/sushi joint come about?
Liberty started 10 years ago, and immediately we did coffee, and sushi started at 7:00 in the morning until 4:00pm with coffee, 11:00am for sushi and then the bar took over at 4:00pm – but we still will serve coffee until we close at 2:00am. It started simply because we’re a neighborhood bar, and we all love our coffee shops. It was that natural.
How are bartender and barista roles similar and different?
There are a lot of commonalities between a barista and a bartender. To become proficient at either, a barista or bartender needs to practice, practice, practice, and study, study, study. The similarities are that we each – barista and bartender – work with a very specified volume of product and desired taste profile. Frankly though, I have to tell bartenders all the time that your average barista has a far, far greater understanding of process, and generally has a far better palate than your celebrated star-tender. They don’t like it when I tell them that.
How does Liberty morph from a coffee shop by morning to a cocktail joint at night?
Well, Liberty morphs into a bar pretty easily. All day, the coffee person is helping with prep for the evening shift, so as 4:00pm comes and goes, the barista starts to help on the floor as needed, and the bartender then starts to make drinks. What’s great about this is that most of our baristas then move to the bar side, many of them having become some of America’s best bartenders working at some of the best bars all over the country.
Strangest experience you’ve ever had in Seattle?
That’s tough to say. Most probably are meant more for late-night conversations rather than polite conversation. Come on by, I’ll tell you some great stories.
Your favorite coffee drink or coffee cocktail?
I’d probably say the Seattle Sour. Years ago, we realized that there was no sour named after Seattle – so, we invented it. I thought, ‘What typifies Seattle!?’, and what we came up with was Manny’s Pale Ale, Seattle’s favorite beer, and…of course…coffee. So, we made a whiskey sour with half an ounce of a house-made coffee liqueur, and then topped it with the foam from a Manny’s. It’s a delicious drink that is a standard now at Liberty.
Liberty’s Seattle Sour Recipe
2 oz bourbon
½ oz lemon juice
½ oz coffee liqueur
¼ oz simple syrup (2:1)
Egg white
Combine, shake like hell with ice, double-strain over new ice into a ‘bucket,’ and top with foam from a Manny’s.
