The coupe was cold and supple. The liquid it held had the slightest blush, a single rose petal suggesting the aroma of blooms and peeled cucumber. The taste had a similar perfume, only softer.

This was a true cocktail, a Mona Ramsey made with Idaho vodka, French syrup, real apple juice and the essence of lime.

"Cocktail making is a true art form, and it should be an expression of your place and time," said Kevin Kelpe, manager and master mixologist at Boise's Red Feather Lounge. "There are three components: history, craft and ingredients. Sometimes the drinks are so heavily nuanced, if you don't have the craft the flavor isn't there. Sometimes it's so simple, if you don't use the right ingredients the formula breaks down. And some drinks are purely history."

The history is surprisingly American.

"Without the U.S., we would be drinking punches in punch lounges," Kelpe said.

A cocktail, also made with spirits, is at its most traditional with water, sugar and bitters. Accents and garnishes have been added to the ubiquitous martini glass over the years, but more and more quality bars are going back to their basic, artisan roots.

According to Kelpe, the story begins with a Creole apothecary named Antoine Peychaud. He lived in New Orleans and made medicinal tonics with aromatic bitters, cognac and sugar. The mixture became the iconic Sazerac with the touch of Thomas Handy, who in 1865 added rye whiskey.

"It was probably not the first cocktail, but it was the first famous one," Kelpe said.

On the West Coast, there was the very first professor of bartending, a renaissance man and raconteur named Jerry Thomas. His 1862 bartender's guide mentioned spirits from all over the world, and the bar he started in San Francisco's Occidental Hotel was the birthplace of the Martinez cocktail, rumored to be the ancestor of the modern martini.

From there, American bartenders developed the craft of cocktail making on pace with the culinary arts. Then came Prohibition. Spirits ("the dirty hooch," as Kelpe called them) went underground and became the currency of gangsters like Al Capone. Thirteen dry years went by, and the drinking culture that emerged is still trying to reclaim certain foundational recipes and techniques. Kelpe suggested that corporate distilleries and mainstream trends have supported a slow, steady homogenization. Until now.

"There's an outcry. Quality American spirits are in huge demand. One of the best producers, Rittenhouse, is out of stock and will be for years," Kelpe said. "The culinary cocktail thing is exploding. It's a testament to the information age."

Thanks to the Internet, blogging "cocktailians" and adventurous bartenders and restaurateurs across the country, the dominance of the martini and the vodka tonic may be over. Kelpe and his bar staff travel to New York, San Francisco and New Orleans and read constantly to stay on the cutting edge, which is closer to home than the average drinker might think.

"We have an opportunity in this kind of market. We are young and small and can do things locally with a sustainable focus. We want to help develop an inland Northwest cocktail style," Kelpe said. "The martini menu is dead. It's as dead as the martini glass. It's not that we're trying to be trendy; we're just trying to be current."

A one-time contemporary dancer turned art student turned coffee shop manager, Kelpe made a connection with a Red Feather manager about four years ago that got him his start behind the bar. He cut his teeth on brunch, studying and experimenting on his own time. He laughed and said the first few drink menus he designed were "terrible," but the rough patches motivated him to master the subtle chemistry of mixing drinks.

He was helped in this process by Tony Cecchini, industry trailblazer and author of "Cosmopolitan: A Bartender's Life." Kelpe had read the book and flew to New York to find him at his Chelsea bar.

"We talked about Manhattans and how you can be young in the industry and make a life of it," Kelpe said.

Cecchini gave him more than advice. He gave Kelpe his classic Manhattan recipe, which is served at Red Feather today. Despite its hot, spirit-forward finish, Kelpe said it has become more popular in the last few years. People are paying more attention to what they consume, even when it comes to something as frivolous as a cocktail.

"We dipped into a dark period of massive liquor company madness, all the energy drinks and high fructose corn syrup. It was a dark period of beverage drinking. I keep comparing the change that's happening to the microbrewery movement of the early '80s. The advent of the Internet has created a grassroots recognition that things in the cocktail area are not culinarily excellent. It has made people go to bars and suppliers and ask for better," Kelpe said.

This movement is pushing suppliers to source older spirits and bars to be more than profit centers. Thanks to Red Feather owner Dave Krick's philosophy about local, sustainable business, fresh ingredients and straightforward quality, people like Kelpe have been given license to do things that don't always bring in the big bucks. Sometimes, they just bring something special to the community.

"The nature of the company is to constantly move forward. It's this kinetic energy of people who want to break boundaries and push it," Kelpe said. "I think our bartenders feel like pioneers. I think they feel like they're doing something that's culinarily excellent. Even if we're only getting 5 percent of the drinking population, we are relentless in our commitment to doing things properly. Besides, if you're going to consume something and put it in your body, don't you want it to be interesting?"

Erin Ryan: 672-6732