Gary Mitchell McIntire Raises a Glass to San Diego’s Ever-Changing Cocktail Scene

By Frank Sabatini Jr.

The cocktail world is brimming with fast-moving trends and a liquored history dating back to 1850, when the whiskey-absinthe based Sazerac was invented in New Orleans. It is also fueled by creative mixologists such as Gary Mitchell McIntire of Collins & Coupe in North Park. His store is well-stocked with tools and ingredients that allow bartenders and party hosts to elevate their craft.

In addition, he and his wife, Logan, run a successful catering company called Cellar Door. For many of the dinner parties they throw at private residences and event spaces, Mitchell McIntire develops customized cocktail menus while jumping into the role of bartender. (His wife recently opened the kitchen-focused shop called Tablespoon, located next to Collins & Coupe.)

We caught up with this savvy entrepreneur, who initially wanted to be an astrophysicist, to chat about today’s latest and greatest mixed drinks as well as San Diego’s newest urban bars, not to mention some food and cocktail match-ups that might be especially useful for Valentine’s Day.

Downtown Condo Guys: What attracted you to mixology?

Mitchell McIntire: My wife Logan and I would host dinner parties at our home, with her as the chef and me developing the cocktail program around the menu. So 12 years ago we started Cellar Door, which is the longest running supper club in Diego. We now do offsite locations, throwing private dinner parties at homes, high-rise condos, and in people’s backyards. We’re all over the place in areas like downtown, Golden Hill, South Park, Bankers Hill…anywhere.

Mixology is about building flavors. I like it because it’s creative and quick. I’m a natural host who likes taking care of people. It’s really fulfilling for me.

Downtown Condo Guys: Were you a bartender prior to starting Cellar Door?

Mitchell McIntire: Yes and no. I’ve never worked behind a bar as a full-time job. But I’ve stepped behind bars as a guest bartender at places like The Lion’s Share and Pop’s Liquor Cabinet downtown, and Granada House in North Park. Most of my experience comes from bartending for Cellar Door and reading a lot of cocktail books. Before that I was a model designer for Legoland, which hired me after I became a finalist for their national master-builder talent search. And before that, I went to college for astrophysics. But I dropped out after realizing I was in over my head.

Downtown Condo Guys: Do you remember the first drink you ever learned to make?

Mitchell McIntire: It was an Old Fashion, which is a good place for anyone to start. It’s classic and it teaches you some basic techniques.

Downtown Condo Guys: When did you open Collins and Coupe? And what motivated you to do so?

Mitchell McIntire: We opened it a little more than seven years ago. As we started doing Cellar Door, and while I was expanding my bartending career, I would look for the tools and ingredients for making drinks and realized there was no place to find them all in one place. I remember when we started telling friends and family about our idea for the business, they all thought it was too specific. But the store has been a success. It’s for anyone who drinks and for people who know people who drink. So it’s really for everybody.

Downtown Condo Guys: How big is your inventory?

Mitchell McIntire: We have over 100 different bitters from all over North America, which is making more different kinds of bitters compared to anywhere else in the world. One of them we carry is made locally. It’s called Patino’s Pickle Barrel Bitters. It’s great in margaritas and pickle martinis. We also have all the basics—shakers, strainers, bar spoons and jiggers—and secondary tools such as ice cube molds, mixing glasses, and the whole range of new and vintage cocktail glassware.

Among the more interesting tools we have is an ice plate, which is a brass plate that you set a big ice cube on, and it melts an engraved pattern into the ice. It’s a really cool thing to play around with. We’re definitely selling a lot of them.

Downtown Condo Guys: What cocktails match best to the foods we have listed below?

Steak? ‘A classic Manhattan’

Salmon? ‘A French 75’

Spaghetti and meatballs? ‘An Aperol spritz’

Roasted chicken? ‘Tom Collins’

Vegetarian pizza? ‘Gin and tonic’

Spicy Thai noodles? ‘Singapore Sling’

Carnitas tacos? ‘A Paloma’

Lobster or crab legs? ‘A daiquiri or a gin martini’

Downtown Condo Guys: What cocktails are currently on the rise?

Mitchell McIntire: Martini variations are very popular right now, and the use of sherry in cocktails is something that a lot more bartenders are playing around with. Sherry wasn’t a common ingredient back in the day, but it is right now. Also non-alcoholic cocktails are becoming more and more popular. You will now see whole sections of them on drink menus.

Downtown Condo Guys: Is there a particular spirit that is currently raking in big sales?

Mitchell McIntire: I think there’s been an increase in gin, which you’ll find at places like Mabel’s Gone Fishing in North Park. Their bar menu has a heavy gin focus and they’re known for their gin and tonics.

Downtown Condo Guys: With Valentine’s Day being this month, are there any libations that supposedly have aphrodisiac powers?

Mitchell McIntire: A martini is the perfect date-night opening. And absinthe is known to have amorous effects on people, as well as cocktails with strawberries added into them such as daiquiris and negronis.

Downtown Condo Guys: How has San Diego’s cocktail scene changed over the past 10 years?

Mitchell McIntire: I think that 10 years ago it was difficult to find good cocktails. There were only a handful of places doing interesting things such as Craft & Commerce and Starlite, which were on the front-edge of making creative drinks. And when Seven Grand opened up in North Park it was a really big deal to have a place doing whiskey cocktails. Now the scene has evolved to the point where if you have a restaurant with a full liquor license today, you have to have an interesting cocktail menu.

Downtown Condo Guys: Any new or up-and-coming cocktail bars you are excited about?

Mitchell McIntire: I just went to Communion in Mission Hills for the first time, and it was great; the drinks were excellent, and you can’t beat the rooftop view. I also like Happy Medium in North Park. It opened last year, and they have great drinks and food. And I can’t wait to see what Vulture brings to University Heights. They brought in people from Kindred and Mothership in South Park. Both of them have interesting drink menus.

Downtown Condo Guys: What is the best tactic for handling customers who overindulge at a bar? Tough love? Or go soft on them?

Mitchell McIntire: I’m always a spoonful-of-sugar kind of guy. I think handling people at their most intoxicated state is easiest when they are not being addressed aggressively.

Downtown Condo Guys: What qualities in your opinion make for a superb bartender?

Mitchell McIntire: A good bartender knows how to ask the right questions to help you get the drink you want. And they should have a good personality. If a bartender doesn’t want to have a conversation with me, I probably won’t want to go back to that bar. This is called ‘the hospitality industry’ because that is the number-one product people should receive when they go out.

Downtown Condo Guys: What are three cocktails you would never give up?

Mitchell McIntire: A dry gin martini; an Old Fashion; and a Mai Tai because I have to include a juicy, tropical choice as one of them.