A Nightcap at Canlis
When I was working on my book Last Call, it was important for me to feature a range of bars across America—from run-down haunted dive bars and casual corner taverns to storied cocktail dens and high-volume restaurant bars. But among that lineup of more than 50 bars, perhaps the rarefied was Canlis, the iconic Seattle fine-dining restaurant that sits atop Queen Anne Hill in a midcentury modern building with stunning views of Lake Union and the Cascade Mountains.
I lived in the same neighborhood as Canlis, yet in my eleven years as a resident of Seattle I had only dined at the third-generation, family-owned, award-winning restaurant twice. Once, with a handful of Amazon editorial colleagues at the invitation of a visiting publisher from New York, and later as a guest of my then-girlfriend’s parents, who were in town on their way to Vancouver.
Canlis has a celebrated reputation for the staff’s seamless hospitality but the pricey tab prohibited regular visits as it felt like more of a special-occasion fine-dining destination. The restaurant counts some of Seattle’s biggest names as frequent dinner guests (the kind of people who have streets named after them).
In early 2016, there was a major renovation at the bar and lounge at Canlis, with part of the goal to make the intimate bar that sits to the side of the main dining room a bit more welcoming to guests who might want to stop in for a sunset cocktail and some elegant yet affordable bar snacks to soak up the Lake Union view and the sounds of the lounge’s piano player seamlessly transitioning from Gershwin to Radiohead. The bar keeps most of its bottles out of sight with a curated selection on the backbar, but a secret door allows the bartender to disappear like a magician into a den of overstock featuring select bottles for regulars and vintage spirits.
My friend Rocky Yeh (RIP) was a fixture on the Seattle bar scene and regularly frequented the Canlis lounge. He kindly helped arrange an introduction to the Canlis team to coordinate an interview with James MacWilliams, the Head Bartender at Canlis for 15 years before stepping down in the summer of 2023 (in his time there it’s said he shook up exactly 252,814 cocktails).
MacWilliams cut a dashing figure in a sharp dark suit and crisp white shirt, and black tie, and while Ed was setting up his camera equipment, he gave me an insider’s tour of Canlis, starting at the entryway where an enormous, 300-year-old Japanese kura door stands near the entrance. “The whole idea of Canlis starts right here at the front door. Years ago this kura door would have been put in front of a vault to protect the treasures within,” said MacWilliams. “We operate in the same way in that we are guarding people’s treasures, their most special moments. We are a place where people come for their most special occasions—anniversaries, birthdays, retirements—the big events. We invite people into our home and we guard that and keep it safe.”
From there it was to the rooftop where a pair of Adirondack chairs, a stack of field blankets, and a keg of rosé on tap was set up as an aerie for guests to have an after-dinner drink with a view, and then to the basement wine cellar where he presented an impromptu tasting of a selection of five vintage bottles of amaro.
After spending a few hours with MacWilliams for the interview and photo shoot, he invited us to come by for a drink later. “You have to see this view at night from the bar to understand what we’re all about.”
Ed and I returned later that night, rumpled from a long day of work in our dark denim and untucked oxford shirts, but were made to instantly feel welcome as we were shown two seats at the bar. After a round of drinks and with the restaurant nearly empty, MacWilliams and the beverage team cracked the seal of a 1970s bottle of Brancamenta, a favorite amaro of the staff and poured out the dark, bitter elixir into tall stemmed glasses. The guys came around from the other side of the bar and we raised our glasses together, sending us off into the Seattle night to the refrain of their team toast: “Early and often. Maximum effort. Luxury.”
When I returned to Seattle just over a year later in the fall of 2019 for the Last Call book tour, MacWilliams had messaged me that he was sorry he couldn’t make my event at Book Larder as he was working but invited me to stop by the bar later for a nightcap.
That nightcap turned out to be his most popular drink, the Last Man Standing, a spirited and aromatic sipper served over a big rock and set me up at the bar for a multi-course tasting menu. When everything was over and it was time for me to head back to my hotel, he had one last surprise. He pushed the unseen handle on the door and disappeared behind the bar, returning with what remained of that very bottle of 1970s Brancamenta we had enjoyed together just over a year ago. “This seems like the perfect occasion to finish this off, don’t you think,” said MacWilliams. With glasses raised together, I joined him in their team toast once again: “Early and often. Maximum effort. Luxury.”
Recipe: Last Man Standing
James MacWilliams, Canlis | Seattle, Washington
Makes 1 Drink
1-1/2 ounces Plantation Stiggins’ Fancy Pineapple Rum
3/4 ounce Averna
3/4 ounce Cocchi Americano
1/4 ounce Luxardo maraschino liqueur
1/2 ounce grenadine
4 dashes Angostura bitters
Garnish: lemon twist, edible flower
MacWilliams recommends keeping the Averna and Cocchi Americano chilled in a refrigerator. Build in a double old-fashioned glass by pouring in the ingredients in the reverse order listed—bitters, grenadine, maraschino, Cocchi Americano, Averna, and rum—over a large ice cube. Stir gently to incorporate the ingredients. Garnish with the lemon twist and edible flower. MacWilliams builds the drink over a single cube rather than chilling the glass first, to maintain the potency of flavors. James MacWilliams. (Photo: Ed Anderson)
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Sounds like a wonderful place and a very interesting cocktail!
That cocktail is on the menu for tonight. Cheers.