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Impassioned talk about Bartending, Cocktails and Spirits. Bartender Culture & Elucidation. Spirit & Cocktail Knowledge.
Episodes
Tuesday Feb 16, 2016
Tuesday Feb 16, 2016
Ryan Chetiyawardana (Mr. Lyan) won International Bartender of the Year at the Spirited Awards at Tales of the Cocktail 2015. We talk to Mr. Lyan about his innovative and unusual approach to cocktails. We had the opportunity to interview Mr. Lyan at Dead Rabbit, (winner of World’s Best Bar 2015), at an event called the London Sessions.
Listen with the audio player on this page or
· On the Bartender Journey web site
We We also chat with Rebekkah Dooley, organizer of the London Sessions.
Whisky
Live NYC is coming up on February 24, 2016. We have two tickets to
give away to one lucky winner. Just go to bartenderjourney.net and on the Contact page enter your information and a short note saying
that you’d like to enter the Whisky Fest contest. Winner chosen at random on Thursday 2/18/16 at 6pm eastern.
We talk with Dave Sweet, President and owner of the Whisky Live events in North America.
Wednesday Feb 10, 2016
Wednesday Feb 10, 2016
- 1 1/2 oz Silver Tequila (use 100% agave Tequila).
- Grapefruit Soda
- Pinch Salt
- 1 1/2 oz Silver Tequila (use 100% agave Tequila).
- 1 1/2 oz Freshly Squeezed Grapefruit Juice
- 1/2 oz Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice
- 1/2 oz Simple Syrup
- Pinch Salt
- Seltzer
Monday Feb 01, 2016
Monday Feb 01, 2016
Paris Cocktails
Hear all about the cocktail scene in Paris with author of Paris Cocktails: An Elegant Collection of Over 100 Recipes Inspired by the City of Light. This book is not just a cocktail book, but a boozy travel guide that can transport you to Paris, even if just in your mind.
Its Bartender Journey Podcast # 148.
Listen to the podcast with the audio player on this page or:
BevSpot is Software to manage your entire beverage program. From inventory to ordering, pour cost and ways to analyze your usage and sales. They are basically in the business of making your bar run more efficiently and more profitably. CEO Rory Crawford tells us a bit about what it does and how it works. We are proud to have BevSpot as our new sponsor!
Go to BevSpot.com and request an online demo.
Cocktail of the Week:
Modified Sidecar
· 2 ½ oz Cognac
· 1 ½ oz Grand Marnier
· 1 oz Lemon Juice
· ½ oz Egg White or Aquafaba
Shake with ice and strain into a chilled Coupe or Martini Glass
Toast of the Week:
Here’s to our bills, and that one day we meet ‘um!
Monday Jan 25, 2016
Monday Jan 25, 2016
Our guest this week is Erick Castro from Polite Provisions San Diego. We talk about Cocktail Creation, Cocktail Competitions, and his new venture Bartender At Large.
Its Bartender Journey Podcast # 147.
Listen to the podcast with the audio player on this page or:
BevSpot is Software to manage your entire beverage program. From inventory to ordering, pour cost and ways to analyze your usage and sales. They are basically in the business of making your bar run more efficiently and more profitably. I had a talk with Co-Founder & CEO Rory Crawford. He’s going to tell us a bit about what it does and how it works. We are proud to have BevSpot as our new sponsor!
Go to BevSpot.com and request an online demo.
Cocktail of the Week:
Kentucky Buck
2 ounces bourbon
3/4 ounce lemon
3/4 ounce ginger syrup
1 muddled strawberry
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Shake and
pour into a Collins glass. Top with club soda and a lemon wheel.
Recipe by Erick Castro
Book of the week:
The Birth of Bourbon – A Photographic Tour of Early Distilleries by Carol Peachee.
Toast of the Week:
This is a quote from Charles Henry Baker Jr.’s 1935 book The Gentleman’s Companion — it wasn’t written as a toast, but it works as one:
“
Each of our experiences that fetches joyous memory of some friend, place
or adventure…is flaked with happy memory of a frosted glass, a smile and a sip
of something perfect”. Here’s to us.
Wednesday Jan 20, 2016
Wednesday Jan 20, 2016
A well made Manhattan is one of the most satisfying, delicious and
classy cocktails you can drink. Tony Abou-Ganim said its like "Frank
Sinatra in a glass...holding one in your hand gives you an instant
status of high class, sophistication and quality".
On Bartender Journey Podcast #146 we talk about this iconic Cocktail and a competition revolving around it.
- To enter the contest, you must:
- “Provide your 'ideal' recipe for the classic Manhattan Cocktail using Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select Bourbon, including the way you would serve it to guests”.
- Provide a second cocktail: “An original Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Cocktail that showcases the flavor profile of Woodford Reserve Double Oaked and that you would proudly serve to guests in your own bar”
- Among the judging criteria for the Manhattan segment of the contest are:
- Optional Written Question
- Insights and opinions as to what makes the Manhattan interesting and important
- Comprehensive understanding of the Manhattan Cocktail
Professor & Director, Hotel-Restaurant Management & Hospitality Management Departments at Sullivan University's National Center for Hospitality Studies
Louisville, Kentucky.
- He is also Author of
The deadline for the Manhattan Experience contest is Jan 31, 2016.
USBG Manhattan Cocktail
- 2 oz Rye or Bourbon Whiskey
- 1 oz Sweet Vermouth
- Dash Angostura Bitters
Aquafaba Whiskey Sour
- 1 oz Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
- 3/4 oz Simple Syrup
- 2 oz Bourbon
- 1/2 oz Aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas)
Tuesday Jan 12, 2016
Tuesday Jan 12, 2016
Bartender Journey Podcast # 145
Listen with the audio player on this page or on:
· The Bartender Journey Web Site
This week on the podcast, its all about Bartending Events & Competitions!
Julia from the Mixology talk Podcast and Bar Above Blog is our guest. She announces the online event - The Craft Bartender Summit! This educational event will be held on April 17, 2016 and its FREE! You can reserve your spot here.
Upcoming Bartender Events & Competitions:
· Diageo World Class Cocktail Competiton
To enter the Competition, you must attend at least one Lab, AND be a member of the United States Bartenders’ Guild (USBG). Click for a free 60 day trial membership to the USBG.
Cocktail of the Week, courtesy of A Bar Above:
Favorite Things
· 1 ½ oz Light Rum
· ½ oz Nocino
· 3 Dashes Angostura bitters
· 2 Brandied Cherries
Instructions:
· Combine all ingredients except cherries in a mixing glass and stir.
· Strain into an Old Fashioned glass with one large ice cube
· Garnish with two cherries on a cocktail pick
Book of the Week, courtesy of A Bar Above:
Lost Recipes of Prohibition: Notes from a Bootlegger's Manual by Matthew Rowley
Tuesday Jan 05, 2016
Tuesday Jan 05, 2016
We have two guests on the Bartender Journey podcast # 144:
o Steve Reddicliffe, editor of The Essential New York Times Book of Cocktails
o Raza Zaidi - Wahaka Mezcal. (We also talked about Mezcal with Misty Kolkofen in show #134)
· Cocktail of the Week Cucumber, Salt & Smoke by Linden Pride
o One 1-inch cucumber slice, chopped
o 1 oz Wahaka Mezcal Joven Espadin
o 1 oz Kappa Pisco
o 1 oz fresh lemon juice
o 1 oz simple syrup
o Pinch of salt
o 1 large egg white, slightly beaten
o 3 drops of Peychaud’s bitters, for garnish
o In a cocktail shaker, muddle the cucumber. Add the Kappa Pisco, Wahaka Mezcal, lemon juice, simple syrup, egg white and salt and shake well. Add ice and shake again. Fine-strain into a chilled wineglass or coupe. Dot the drink with the Peychaud’s bitters and swirl decoratively.
· This is a wonderful drink when served up. I actually made it on the rocks because I received some extremely cool cocktail stirrer tops from Drynkware. They are made out of zinc alloy. The tops are then welded to stainless steel rods and the entire stirrer is plated in drink-safe, food-grade silver. There is a robot, a bow tie, a mustache, a deer head, a camera and a cassette tape! Some of you might not know what a “cassette tape” is – google it! I used the Robot stirrer. Not that it has anything to do with this drink, but I think its awesome. The stirrers come in a set of 6 as a variety pack or sets of 4 matching ones. And you can choose short or tall, for Old Fashioned glasses or Collins glasses.
· New on BartenderJourney.net – the Events page and the Tasting page.
·
Toast of the Week:
May your glass be ever full,
May the roof over your head be always strong,
And may you be in heaven
Half an hour before the devil knows you're dead.
Tuesday Dec 29, 2015
Tuesday Dec 29, 2015
Irish Whiskey Part 2 with Tim Herlihy - U.S. Brand Ambassador for Tullamore D.E.W.
Its the Bartender Journey Podcast # 143
Listen with the player on below, or subscribe on iTunes, Android or Stitcher Radio.
- On this episode of the podcast, we talk with Irish Whiskey Part 2
with Tim Herlihy - U.S. Brand Ambassador for Tullamore D.E.W. (Part 1 here). We met Tim at Swift Hibernian Lounge and had a great chat!
- You can enter the Cider Shake Cocktail Competition (before December 31, 2015).
- PLEASE vote for the Bartender Journey Cider Shake entry! Click here to go to youtube and vote "thumbs up" for Brian's video!
- Egg
whites in Cocktails, Part 3: "Aquafaba" - the brine in chickpea cans -
apparently is a great substitution for egg whites in cooking and in
making cocktails! The advantages of Aquafaba over egg whites:
- Cheap and plentiful
- Reduced risk of Salmonella
- Guests may be more accepting
- Vegan
- There was recently a great article on Tales of the Cocktail's web site about substituting Aquafaba for egg whites.
- Book of the Week: Speakeasy: The Employees Only Guide to Classic Cocktails Reimagined.
- Dushan
Zaric, co-author of the Speakeasy book, recently gave a great seminar
at the Tampa USBG's Repeal Day Conference called "Health, Wellness &
Other Things - How to Work a Shift & Not Get Upset". You can find
Dushan's PowerPoint presentation for this seminar, as well as all his
others here.
- Cocktail of the Week - The O’Sherry
- 1 ¾ oz Tullamore D.E.W. Irish Whiskey
- ½ oz Sweet Vermouth
- ¼ oz Sherry
- Chocolate Bitters
See the Documentary "The Irish Pub" on Amazon Prime Video with a Free 30 Day Trial!
Friday Dec 25, 2015
Friday Dec 25, 2015
Wednesday Dec 16, 2015
Wednesday Dec 16, 2015
· This week on the podcast, we talk about alternatives to Simple Syrup, how to win at competitions and revisit egg whites in Cocktails.
Listen with the player below or subscribe iTunes
or Stitcher Radio.
Bartender Journey Podcast # 141
·
What
is Gum syrup or (or Gomme) Syrup?
Jennifer Colliau, founder of Small Hand
Foods, describes it this way: “Gum syrup is simple syrup with gum Arabic added to provide texture. Gum arabic
doesn't have much flavor on its own, although I use organic sugar in my gum
syrup, which has a light molasses flavor and gives the syrup a light amber
color. Gum syrup is best in drinks that don't have any other ingredients that
add viscosity, like Old Fashioneds, Sazeracs and Juleps.”
o So what is the gum Arabic that Jennifer mentioned? It is an all natural resin harvested from the Acacia tree.
o Jerry Thomas used Gum syrup in many of his recipes.
o Small Hand Foods makes many wonderful products, including:
§ Gum syrup (See Whiskey Cocktail recipe below)
§ Raspberry Gum Syrup
§ Pineapple Gum Syrup
§ Passion Fruit Syrup
§ Grenadine
§ Orgeat (See Bourbon Lift Cocktail recipe below)
§ Tonic Syrup
§ Yeanman Tonic Syrup
·
Whiskey
Cocktail
-Adapted from Jerry Thomas, How To mix Drinks, 1862 and borrowed from SmallHandFoods.com
o 2 oz bourbon
o ¼ oz Small Hand Foods Gum Syrup
o 2 dashes Angostura bitters
o 1 dash orange bitters (I used Angostura)
o 1 4-inch strip of lemon peel (no pith) (or orange peel)
o Rub lemon peel around rim of an old-fashioned glass. Place peel, Gum Syrup and bitters into the glass. Press peel with the back of a barspoon several times to release oils. Add bourbon and a couple large ice cubes and stir for 15 seconds.
·
Comparing
this version to the same cocktail made with Simple Syrup instead of the Gum
Syrup, I found the Gum Syrup version more "viscous" and “substantial”. It tasted more like a cocktail than the
Simple Syrup version, which tasted a bit like “sweetened whiskey”.
· The More Cowbell Cocktail
From Liquor.com
o 1 oz Gin
o 3/4 oz Lemon juice
o 1/2 oz Aperol
o ½ oz Cardamaro Amaro
o .13 oz Gum syrup
o Lemon peel
o Shake with ice. Serve up -Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
·
Bourbon
Lift Cocktail
From
Liquor.com
The cocktail equivalent of
a New York egg cream, this rich and fizzy bourbon drink is
absolutely delicious.
o 1 1/2 oz Bourbon
o 1/2 oz Heavy cream
o 1/2 oz House Spirits Coffee Liqueur or other coffee liqueur
o 1/2 oz Small Hand Foods Orgeat
o Club Soda
o Glass: Fizz or Collins
o Dry shake all ingredients except Club Soda. Add ice to shaker. Shake again. Strain into tall glass without ice. Fill with Club Soda. Foam should exceed rim of glass.
· More about using Egg Whites in Cocktails (part 1 here).
o Jeff Morgenthaler emailed to clarify why he beats his egg whites before adding to the shaker:
§ “The reason for beating the egg white is so you can measure it correctly, and so that it’s already pre-beaten to minimize the dry shaking.
§ We do it at the bar, and I always do this at home. You can use a fork to do it, it doesn’t need to be beaten to hell.”
o Another option for cocktail foam is to add it on top of the otherwise finished cocktail from an iSi charger. Sometimes gelatin is added to make the foam even more stable. The foam can even be flavored, as Jamie Boudreau does in this video.
o Kellie Thorn, beverage director for Hugh Acheson and bar manager at Atlanta's Empire State South adds a little olive oil to her Fall Sour Cocktail to help with emulsification. You can see a video of Kellie making this cocktail on the Tales of the Cocktail web site.
How to Win at Cocktail Competitions.·
At the Tampa USBG Repeal Day Conference recently, Nick Nistico gave a great Seminar on this subject. In 2013 Nick won more cocktail competitions than any bartender in the world. Here are some notes from his seminar:
o Preparation is how you win.
o Winning is a habit. So is loosing.
o If you don’t get accepted, cancelations happen all the time – send an email to the organizers and be a very gracious looser – say how excited you were to be considered and if there are any cancelations, to please keep you in mind etc
o Know the Brand! Very important to know everything you can about the featured spirit, but also any modifiers you use – you don’t want to put a competitor’s brand in your drink!
o Ask Brand Ambassadors about the direction of the brand – for instance, you might use a modifier from the brand’s portfolio, but the Brand Ambassador might tell you “oh, we are phasing that out!” If that’s the case, it could cost when it comes to the judging.
o Find out who the Judges are – google the shit out of them! Example, Nick found out what university a judge went to, acquired a cocktail napkin from that university, and placed it down in front of that judge.
o Simplicity usually wins.
o Prepare, practice and bring everything you need – bring more than what you need.
o Go to the venue sometime before the competition for dinner or drinks. Don’t show on the day of the competition as a stranger.
o Be dressed and groomed – think “is the brand going to want to put me on the cover of a magazine?” Nick changes his shirt just before going on.
o Introduce yourself to the bar back maybe tip him! Be nice!
o Ask yourself at the competition – do you really want to watch the contestants that go before you?? Maybe not - it could undermine your confidence, (or make you over confident!)
o How to loose – If you loose:
§ Be Thankful
§ Congratulate the winner
§ Follow up
o A Bar Above has a PDF that you can download about winning Cocktail Competitions and also lists upcoming Competitions here. Some of the main points on the document include:
· Follow the rules. Not most of the rules. All of them.
· Find the judging criteria and build your entry
accordingly.
· Use the sponsor’s product, and avoid using products
from competitors’ portfolios
o Another source for locating Competitions from Good Spirits News is here
·
Toast of
the Week:
"May neighbours respect you,
Trouble neglect you,
The angels protect you,
And heaven accept you."