Pardon The punctuation…The Continental Club at the J. Parkinson room in downtown Los Angeles is more than a bar…it’s a place to escape from the concrete jungle of DTLA. A place to seek refuge from your long day. The elegant decor is reminiscent of bar in London and the music reminds me of the lounges in my hometown of Miami. With excellent bartenders like Mauricio and Avery be sure to know that every cocktail gets the TLC it deserves. Had the pleasure of sampling some of their libations and here’s what I had.
The Perfect Manhattan: Rye whiskey, dry and sweet vermouth, orange, angostura bitters, and scorched orange oil. Just a killer Manhattan. The scorched orange oil makes all the difference. It’s all about the little details.
Gordon’s Cup: London dry gin, fresh lime juice, crushed cucumber, sea salt, and cracked black pepper. Yummy fresh flavors. The pepper gives it a nice bite on the finish.
Continental:London dry gin, sweet vermouth, yellow chartreuse, and absinthe. All the initial flavors are great but the absinthe is not to my taste. If you like absinthe this is the one for you.
St James: Mt. Gay Black Barrel Rum, fresh lime juice, star anise, and pine apple syrup. This rum drink kicks ass and will put you on your ass. I’m usually not a huge fan of anise but it blends well in this cocktail.
Boulevard: Bourbon, Campari, sweet vermouth, and orange bitters. This is their interpretation of a boulevardier. Sometimes the boulevardier can taste medicinal but theirs doesn’t. Elegant and well balanced.
Avenue: Rye, apple brandy, fresh lemon juice, pomegranate and passion fruit syrups, and orange blossom essence. If this is a chick drink than I’m the biggest chick ever. Could have had 5 of these…would have felt it in the morning but screw it! They’re amazing! If you like a shaken cocktail make this one that you order.
The Continental Club hits it out of the park in every way. The drinks, service, ambiance, and decor are all top notch. I think I found where I’m going to celebrate my birthday next year. You should hit them up when you’re in DTLA. They’re open seven days a week.
