The Flintridge Proper. It’s where you take a visiting friend to experience the essence of La Cañada Flintridge. From its food, its service, its ambience, and even its friendly patrons, everything in the Proper radiates with the soul of the community.

The Proper also houses the world’s largest gin bar, which can be quite an experience. With over 200 gins to choose from, you can ease the pain of selecting by navigating the gin list by category. The Proper’s gin is divided into six categories: London Dry, New World, Old Tom, Genever, Sloe & Flavored Gins, and Vintage.

However, if you just want to take it easy and have the bar choose and never go wrong with these gin flights:

The History of Gin

From Dutch Genever – the original juniper spirit, through to Old Tom – the slightly sweetened version that nearly destroyed English society in the 1800s and finally to today’s London Dry.

Styles of Gin

A sampling of the three modern styles: Classic London Dry, Plymouth, and a New World Gin. Become an expert in contemporary gin styles in ten minutes.

Bartender’s Favorites

Mark, the bar manager,  as well as bartenders, John and Kristin, each select the current favorite from our massive collection.

Rare Gins

Be one of the only people in the country to sample these remarkable rare (and old) gins from our collection. The barman will present the bottles.

However, despite the multitude of gin selections, co-owner Brady Caverly and head bartenders John Peet and Angel Meza wanted to take things further. What use is having the world’s largest gin bar if it didn’t have the Proper soul?

Peet (l) and Meza (r)

Thus, Peet and Meza were tasked to create the Proper gin, and what the duo did was more than whip up an ordinary spirit. Staying true to the Proper’s philosophy, the duo sought to distill the essence of the community and capture its soul in a gin worthy of the Proper name.

Both also wanted to entice non-gin drinkers as well. Gin is polarizing; you either love it or hate it. Aside from creating a Proper gin, Peet and Meza also sought out to create new gin drinkers with it and to open people to the idea of gin.

To create this gin that captures the local flavor, the mixing duo used ingredients that are locally grown, or gathered within 15 miles of the restaurant.

Some favorite gin concoctions are the Frank Flint, a martini nod to La Cañada Flintridge’s founder that is composed of Flintridge Native Botanicals Gin, Cocchi Americano, and Amaro Averna.

Another favorite is the Flintridge Lady. A cocktail that focuses on the character of the Native Botanicals gin, it is a mix of gin, lemon and lime juice, Mathilde pear liquor, house-made elderflower syrup and egg white.

Though the gin itself may vary from batch to batch, given that Peet and Meza create the gin non-scientifically and go solely by taste, what remains unchanged is the soul. The soul of the community in a drink that can stand on its own against 200 of the finest gins in the world, that is.

The spirit of La Cañada Flintridge has never tasted this good.

To learn more about The Flintridge Proper and its gin collection, visit http://theproper.com or call (818) 790-4888.

The Flintridge Proper is located at 464 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada Flintridge.