Top U.S. bartender is raring to mix it up

The first month of 2016 brings with it one of Honolulu’s more eagerly anticipated bar openings in recent memory. Following a series of private friends-and-family nights this week, Bar Leather Apron opens to the public Monday.

“It’s the homestretch to the starting line,” said owner Justin Park.

Park, 34, was formerly bar manager at Manifest in Chinatown. He raised his mixology profile on a global scale after winning the title of World’s Best Mai Tai in 2012 and is widely considered the best bartender in the nation for 2014 after winning the U.S. Bartenders’ Guild Shake It Up competition and finishing fourth overall in the 2014 World Cocktail Championship.

For much of last year, however, his focus was on transforming part of the space that used to be Mezz 127 into what he and business partner Tom Park (no relation) expect from an intimate, service-oriented establishment.

“We’ve both been very hands-on with the build-out,” said Tom Park, 37, who also operates luxury shoe retailer Leather Soul. “With my shoe store, I conceptualized with the architect, and then it was executed by the architect and the contractors. With this we were involved in the process the whole way.”

The centerpiece of the 1,054-square-foot space is a 16-foot, J-shaped bar top fashioned from a slab of monkeypod wood by local craftsman Dae Son, and it’s a worthy stage for Justin Park to showcase his skills. While the drink menu won’t be finalized until just before Monday’s debut, one cocktail ready to go is the Bar Leather Apron Old Fashioned, Park’s twist on the classic made with Knob Creek whiskey from a barrel hand-selected for the bar.

“I want there to be new flavors people have never tried and pairings they’ve never tried, and make the classics really good,” he said. “But I want the emphasis to be on the whole place and not just the drink program.

“You could go to a really good bar and have a (terrible) drink. Or you might go to a (terrible) bar, but the bartender knew what he was doing and made great drinks. I want it to be like, ‘Man, we went to this really good bar, and we had really good drinks and we’re going to go back to this really good bar again.’”

Bar Leather Apron, in the Topa Financial Center, 700 Bishop St., Suite 127-A, will be open 3 p.m. to midnight Mondays to Thursdays, 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays and 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturdays. Call 524-0808.

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Bar Leather Apron Old Fashioned

Justin Park

>> 2 ounces Knob Creek Single Barrel Bourbon (Bar Leather Apron 2015 Barrel)

>> 3/4 ounce Wasanbon sous vide syrup (Wasabon is a finely granulated sugar from Japan; substitute with simple syrup)

>> 4 dashes Angostura bitters

>> Orange zest

In mixing glass filled with ice, add all ingredients and stir. Strain into separate glass filled with an oversized ice cube. Add orange zest as garnish and serve.

Nutritional information unavailable.

Visit Jason Genegabus’ blog, “In the Mix,” at 808ne.ws/in-the-mix-posts, for another preview of a Bar Leather Apron drink.