Alchemist
I’ll admit I’m biased: I miss Triple D’s, the JP townie bar turned biker hangout turned lesbian karaoke joint. As my friend remarked last night, “How Boston is it to take a place that’s fun with an interesting mix of people and replace it with some bland notion of what a ‘big city’ restaurant should be?” Indeed the design cliches cross into blandness… the obligatory hardwood floors, the black concrete bar, the thick matte paint. Imagine a combination of Middlesex Lounge and Nightgale in the South End. It passes because it’s original for JP.
Alchemist is primarily a restaurant, but a sizeable bar area and a full liquor license make it the only full-service, non-pub bar in the neighborhood. (I’d reviewed Zon’s which has to make do with a cordials license.) Alchemist brands itself as a “lounge,” but it feels like a bar to me.
What do they do right? The host and bar service were all friendly and attentive. They have a decent beer selection; not unusual in a neighborhood of good pubs, but still a nice touch. And the cocktails themselves are decently good. I ordered a straight-up daiquiri made with a Nantucket aged rum. It lacked in fresh lime juice, but on a sultry summer night hit the spot. The bar, too, gets some of the details right, such as the nice concentric spirals for the lemon twists and the sleek, well-proportioned old-fashioned glasses. Finally, and importantly, the prices were quite reasonable. A seven dollar cocktail makes you glad for JP Exceptionalism.
Oddly enough, the bar doesn’t stock a full range of liquors, which seems a waste of a rare full license. Happily, they had Luxardo, though the bar staff didn’t know what it was nor were they aware they had it; it certainly didn’t touch my daiquiri, like it would have in an ideal world. The omissions, meanwhile, were glaring. No Campari?
Alchemist is still new and still packed (someone has to explain to me fire code regulations which would keep the bar area half empty). I’m curious to see if the bar grows and improves with age.
Alchemist Restaurant and Lounge is located at the corner of Moraine and South Huntington Av., at the intersection with Center Street in Jamaica Plain.
If you’re looking for a lighter mixed drink, I’d recommend an Añejo Highball that Dale De Groff concocted: ice, a couple dashes of bitters, lime juice, curaçao, aged rum, then topped off with ginger beer. It’s sweet, but the ginger counters with a bite, the rum with a kick. For the ginger beer itself, stick with Jamaican brands (Stop and Shop at Brigham Circle carries D&G) or the domestic natural food labels; Goya is all bite and no aroma and makes a shoddy drink. My only complaint was that such a fantastic drink had such a pedestrian name, so my friends and I rechristened it the Ginger Rogers. A couple of them, and I’m sure you and your guests can come up with your own silly name for it. 
