Erik Hakkinen grew up in Tacoma, Washington, just 30 miles south of Seattle. He started in restaurants as a busboy at a young age, and always felt drawn in by what was happening at the bar side of the restaurant.
Hakkinen then found himself bartending in Seattle as a young adult, and quickly built up his career in the drinks industry. Hakkinen made a name for himself at Seattle’s legendary bar Zig Zag Cafe, located in Pike Place Market, where he tended bar for a decade before opening up a place of his own. In summer of 2019, Roquette opened its doors in Belltown, and has since been a revered place to enjoy cocktails and spirits. Roquette has been featured on Equire’s Best Bars in America and upholds, according to Hakkinen, “fancier than most places in Belltown,” he says, “but that’s the point.” Hakkinen maintains a strong force of hospitality and noble drink selections. For him, it all comes down to flavor. “You only have so much space in a cocktail. So, you want to use every milliliter of what you’re allowed to impart flavor.”
We sat down with Erik to talk about his expertise in creating compelling cocktails. He told us: “What I’m trying to bring to my cocktails that’s unique is an approach that packs as much flavor into a 3oz drink as possible. Every element has to have flavor. We don’t use anything that doesn’t have a ton of nuance and depth.” Deliberate selection of quality ingredients sets Hakkinen up for success when it comes to making drinks.
On using Westland as a base spirit, he remarks that “Westland Whiskey for me kind of threads the needle between conventional Scotch Whisky and American Bourbon.” There are nuances that this whiskey brings to the drink that you can’t find in other more traditional whiskeys: Westland brings something altogether new to the table.
