Technique-Driven Approach

Garrett Marks crafts inventive cocktails in San Francisco

Garret Marks creates seasonal drinks with Chinese ingredients and flair at Mister Jiu’s and Moongate Lounge.
Garret Marks creates seasonal drinks with Chinese ingredients and flair at Mister Jiu’s and Moongate Lounge.

Since entering the hospitality industry in 2009, Garrett Marks has been committed to being the best bartender he can be. After beginning his career at The Alembic cocktail bar in San Francisco, Marks wanted to diversify his experience, so he made moves in the on-premise, taking bartending jobs at James Beard-nominated restaurants as well as nightclubs. And in 2016, which Marks calls a “pivotal year,” he helped open San Francisco’s first Alamo Drafthouse location as well as the high-end restaurant Mister Jiu’s, which would go on to win a Michelin star just six months after opening, marking a first for a Chinese restaurant in the city.

In 2019, Marks relocated to Los Angeles, but when the pandemic hit he decided to move back to San Francisco, assisting with the reopening of Mister Jiu’s along with its upstairs cocktail bar, Moongate Lounge. As bar director, he’s responsible for developing and refining the cocktail program for both floors (drinks are $17-$20). “At Mister Jiu’s, the menu is carefully crafted with a focus on technique and fresh ingredients,” Marks says. “I frequently use ingredients sourced from nearby Chinatown, which offers a vast array of teas, dried herbs, and spices.” For example, his Luck ($20) is a milk-washed drink made with cilantro-infused rum, banana liqueur, and carrot and lime juices.

The cocktail menu at Moongate Lounge, meanwhile, is more conceptual. “The menu draws inspiration from the traditional Chinese agrarian farming calendar, which is rooted in astronomical observations and agricultural cycles and divides the year into 24 distinct moon phases,” Marks explains. “Our cocktail menu at Moongate features beverages that sync with the year’s cycles and season.” His Lesser Fullness ($20) blends cherry liqueur, allspice dram, vanilla tincture, and soda water with mushroom-butter infused vermouth. “With all of my cocktails, I prioritize quality and seasonal ingredients to create something refined with balanced flavors,” Marks says.

Garrett Marks’ Recipes

Luck

Garrett Marks
Ingredients

1 ounce cilantro-infused Paranubes rum1;
¼ ounce Clairin Vaval rum;
¼ ounce Giffard Banane du Bresil banana liqueur;
1 ounce carrot juice;
½ ounce lime juice, double strained;
¼ ounce simple syrup;
½ ounce milk, for washing;
Carrot top.

Recipe

In a mixing glass, combine rums, liqueur, juices, and syrup, then milk. Stir until the milk begins to curdle. Strain the mixture through a chinois with an oil filter. Strain as many times as necessary until the mixture runs completely clear. Once fully strained, stir the mixture in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube and garnish with a carrot top.

1Add 6 grams cilantro to 1 liter rum. Infuse for 14 hours then strain.

Lesser Fullness

Ingredients

1½ ounces mushroom butter-washed Mancino Rosso Amaranto vermouth2;
¼ ounce Heering Cherry liqueur;
1⁄8 ounce St. Elizabeth allspice dram;
1⁄8 ounce vanilla tincture3;
4 ounces soda water.
Two cherries, skewered.

Recipe

To a mixing glass add vermouth, liqueur, dram, and tincture. Fill a Collins glass with ice and soda water, leaving two inches from the top empty. Pour the contents of the mixing glass into the Collins glass and garnish with skewered cherries.

2In a saucepan on the stovetop, melt 125 grams butter then add 2½ grams crushed ginger, 2½ grams crushed star anise, 2½ grams crushed Ceylon cinnamon, 15 grams crushed shiitake mushrooms, and 10 grams crushed chaga mushrooms. Bring the butter to a low simmer and continue to simmer until it starts to brown. Remove from heat and let cool for 20 minutes. Pour the butter mixture and 750-ml. vermouth into a Cambro or plastic container and place it in the freezer. Once the butter and vermouth have separated, strain and discard the butter.

3Add 10 fresh vanilla beans, each split in half, to 1 liter Everclear. Infuse for 10 days then strain.