Photo: Marvin Shaouni

Dave Kwiatowski

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Along with a few innovative wines and challenging beers, the current plan for the new bar is to offer 40 classic cocktails that he and his crew will execute perfectly, so that they're both delicious and unfailing. They will adhere to a serious reverence for the classics, as they're meant to be made, but inexpensive enough for people to drink. For instance, a seasonal variation on the venerable Old Fashioned will be offered for only $5. It's the antithesis of the common list of cocktails created by liquor industry consultants trying to sell "premium" brands.

With all the work still to be done, he's often distracted by thoughts of fashioning a pressurized gas device to make carbonated liquor and do rapid infusions. "I'm going to nerd the fuck out of the bar," he confesses. And it is just these unique skills of creator, fabricator, businessman and historian that will help Dave Kwiatkowski bring a modern twist to classic cocktail philosophy — ideas already in practice in many of the more urbane cities across the country — finally to Detroit.

Read the latest Sugar House Bar news and check out Dave Kwiatkowski's blog at sugarhousedetroit.com.

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