Lee Watson takes a scholarly approach to drink and curates every aspect of the bar experience Lee Watson is no stranger to the bar scene. But he’s not the kind of bar owner or frenetic party boy you would expect. The man is calm and collected, with an almost scholarly air.
As a long-time cocktail consultant and co-owner of The Spirits Library, Nokal, and New York’s Gugu Room, Watson lights up not at the prospect of a wild night but at discussions on the history of gin or the chemical makeup of a cocktail. This same curiosity extends to his collection of vintage books and antiques, elements that have become integral to the character of the bar that’s uniquely his own, The Spirits Library. In Watson’s world, mixology is as much about storytelling as it is about a delicious drink.
Meet Lee Watson, The Spirits “Librarian” Watson is a veteran in the F&B scene, having created the bar programs of and consulted for Antonio’s , Okada, Discovery Shores, and Anya Tagaytay. “You have to find ways of creating the bar program, not for you, but for the concept,” he says. He recalls making a cocktail for chef Tonyboy Escalante .
Taking from Antonio’s Tagaytay’s inclusion of fresh produce, he crafted a simple lemon drop (vodka, triple sec, lemon, and sugar)—but with a game-changing twist in the mix: arugula. Watson has also worked on other bars in the past like the old ABV on Jupiter Street, a speakeasy tucked behind a burger joint so that late-night munchers would lea.
