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Belly Up

August 30, 2012

Get into ‘higher spirits’ at Coda Lounge

Bartender Cali Searles mixes up an Amelia Rum martini made with fresh blackberries muddled with Sugar in the Raw, freshly-squeezed lemons, Clearheart Rum and St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur.

By Amber Williams

“Muddle” is a fitting word when it comes to cocktails. Its two definitions complement each other divinely: First, one can “muddle a drink,” which means to mix it with something that muddies and confuses it; and, subsequently, one can also “muddle things up,” which means to make a mess of things. In the world of libations, the latter often follows the former — a consequential cause-and-effect, if you will. While the former is the phenomenon we’d sometimes like to forget, the act of muddling a drink is worth remembering.

If you care to see muddling firsthand, stop in at the new Coda Lounge downtown. The classy hotel pub puts the “ology” in mixology, and muddling is a routine technique used in most of the bar’s concoctions. The most popular, the Rum Amelia, involves muddling fresh black berries with Sugar in the Raw and combining them with freshly-squeezed lemon and Clearheart Rum (an Iowa brand). Shake it up with St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, and it makes a sweet martini — blackberry pulp and all.

This is what happens when the beverage director is also the executive chef — meet John Andres. While Marriott dictated the original need for an upgrade to what was once the Monihan’s Speakeasy, it was Andres who designed the menus both in the kitchen and behind the bar.

“The idea was to take a classic cocktail and create an inspired version that’s all our own,” Andres said.

In fact Andres even picked the new name — codas signify the end of a musical passage on sheet music. Much like the term “muddle,” “coda” is an appropriate name for two reasons — the location’s tradition for live music and its proclivity for the “end of the day high spirits happy hour.”

“It sums this place up pretty well,” Andres said. “We don’t even call it happy hour here. We call it ‘higher spirits’ because after a day at work, it’s time to unwind and get into higher spirits — loosen the tie and un-tuck the shirt.

“This used to be a pretty-well-known jazz spot in Des Moines. It was a dark, subdued, smoky lounge typical of the ’80s and ’90s,” he said. “The difference between then and now is like night and day.”

Literally. The big windows overlooking Nollen Plaza used to be draped, removing natural lighting from an already drab and dark atmosphere. Now they’re wide open to the busy intersection. Although the contemporary design appears upscale — featuring glass tables and light fixtures, silver-upholstered lounge chairs, velvety sofas and a modern art décor — Coda Lounge remains a “come as you are” kind of bar.

Morning mingling might include businesspeople having Starbucks coffee or “something stiffer if they’d like” alongside hotel guests reading the paper in a robe and slippers. And the evenings have proven to draw an eclectic night crowd as well.

“This is definitely the place to be before and after shows downtown,” Andres said, especially if you want to get a bit “muddled” yourself. CV