Intelligent Bartender

Jeremy presenting his cocktail for the IBC

Long before bartending even entered my mind the biggest thing in my life was organized sports, more specifically ice hockey. Being part of a competitive sports team taught me many life lessons that have helped shape my life and I often reference them in my day to day travels. Through the years my grandfather was always my biggest fan and one of the things he used encourage was offseason training to stay sharp and ahead of the curve. He used to always say “if you play with better players they will make you better without you even knowing it” Every summer I would train and actively play in summer teams, but it wasn’t until I started playing with players of a higher calibre that I truly evolved as a player. They indirectly pushed me to be better by holding me accountable for my mistakes and making me strive to be at their high level. How this pertains to bartending you ask?

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Have you wished you could jump behind a bar with hundreds of ingredients, tastes, and ideas and be able to create the cocktail of your dreams?

On April 4th, 2011 the BartenderOne Bar Chef Finals took place at Empire Lounge in Toronto in Yorkville. As students, the mixologists had completed tasting over five hundred different spirits, bitters, liqueurs, sweeteners, types of citrus, infused foams and spirits, along with homemade syrups.

As mixologists, the students were asked to create an original cocktail from each of the 5 spirit categories. The cocktails could have been made with anything that the mixologists could think of; but were required to hold dear the traditional balanced cocktail theory. While they did have guidelines for balance, there were none for flavour profiles or presentation. Mixologists could incorporate elements that were taught in class such as: infusion, fatwashing, bruleeing, molecular mixology, spherification, custom foams, misting and much more.

As the student mixologists watched tentatively, their cocktails were tasted by three of Toronto’s top mixologists; Rob Montgomery, Gavin MacMillan and Scott McMaster. The students were were delighted to see that their hard work and development had paid off. The judges were impressed by all of the thought and effort that was incorporated into the final cocktails. The mixologists showed that they weren’t scared to test some boundaries in coming up with their very own recipes, and here are the top cocktails entered:

VODKA COCKTAILS

Strawbarb Bullets by Krissy Calkins

STRAWBARB BULLETS - By Mixologist Krissy Calkins

2/3 oz Strawberry reduction (no sugar added)
1/3 oz Rhubarb reduction (no sugar added)
1 oz Vodka
Shaken on Ice
Strain into Chocolate Cups
Float - Vanilla bean infused simple syrup on top
Served on a bed of Gram Crackers

Rainbow 1943 By Elizabeth Saad

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Fancy some flair?

Justin Keane

Age: 29

Nationality: U.S.A

Employer: Carnaval Court at Harrah’s Las Vegas

Years Flairing: 6

I asked Justin A few questions and found out some interesting facts.

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Burn baby burn

Where do I start?

One of the challenges that people face when learning how to become a flair bartender, is figuring out where to start. People are very eager to start juggling 4 bottles off the start, but that is bit of a stretch. Begin with easy, high impact - low risk moves that you will be able to execute with confidence with a little practice.

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Tom Dyer

BARTENDER PROFILE: TOM DYER
Age: 26 Years Old
Nationality: England:
Lives: LONDON (England)
Bartending: 8 Years
Flairing: 7 Years

Tom Dyer is one of the world’s best and most innovative flair bartenders.

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Thirsty?

SOMETHING BLUE

A study was done in the bar industry with the purpose to find out what colour is the most effective to drive sales. Without question, the overwhelming result proved that blue was the way to go. As a bartender, if I make a blue cocktail such as a Banana Popsicle martini, or a Blue cosmo, without fail someone will see it and come up to my bar and ask for “that blue drink”.

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The finished product mmmm...

What makes a Negroni stand out above all other cocktails for me is the variety of flavors that hit your tastebuds as soon as the liquid enters your mouth. The sweet sensation that jolts you back to reality after that first sip is the sweet vermouth which is also present in that manly martini named the ‘Manhattan’.

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The Toronto Flair League’s first season was incredibly successful. The promoters were overwhelmed with the interest and passion shared not only by the competitors, but with the fans as well. In the past six months, the interest in the sport of flair bartending has risen faster than ever in the city of Toronto.

Season 2 promised to be bigger and better. One of the most notable changes was the addition of a third division. Instead of having advanced and amateur divisions, the TFL now is comprised of A, B and C divisions.

This change opened the doors for the jam packed B division (formerly the advanced division) competitors because the top 6 bartenders from season 1 were moved into the A division.

With the talent spread very evenly throughout the B division, the competition level is higher than ever before.

February 23 2011 marked the start of season 2.

There were three new competitors joining the C division including Yuki Yamazaki, Terri Lee, and Louis Brosas who were competing for the very first time.

As usual, the Loose Moose was close to capacity to witness the biggest showcase of flair bartending skills that Toronto has ever seen.

Heading into the show, odds makers had Dustin “Flair Bear” Costain as the favorite for the B division, followed closely by Jeremy Janes, Mauro Pento, Jeremy Browes, and Shay Court.

The TFL’s first 5 minute A division round kicked off with Alejandro Giraldo throwing down a near flawless routine.

At the end of the night, the crowd was eager with anticipation to find out the results for all 3 divisions.

In the C division, taking home third place was newcomer Louis Brosas. Second place went to Yann, and taking home the C division championship was Pierre Gadouas of Montreal.

In the B division, coming in third place and the $40 prize was the Loose Moose’s own Jay Myers. Second place and the $60 prize went to Jeremy Browes, and taking home the $100 prize and the first season 2 championship was “Flair Bear” Dustin Costain.

The A Division saw Kris Perez take third place. Season 1 champion David Jennings took home second place, and the first ever Division A champion was Alejandro Giraldo who claimed the $150 prize.

Another successful competition by the Toronto Flair League is proof of the rising interest in flair bartending in the city of Toronto.

There are few bartending schools in Toronto that promote and properly train bartenders in the art of flair. BartenderOne is responsible for training over 80% of the competitors in the TFL, and Flair Studios Canada has also done a great job preparing bartenders for competition.

Moving forward, the Toronto Flair League will be incorporating themes into their competitions to make the guest experience that much better.

Watch out for TFL 80’s night in late March.

Until then, keep flipping.

The Sazerac

In the 1500s, lead cups were commonly used to drink ale.The combination of alcoholic beverage and lead vessel would sometimes knock drinkers out for a couple of days, and these unfortunate souls would be taken for dead and prepared for burial!  A body  would be laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days, and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if the body would wake up – hence the custom of holding a wake.

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A Negroni Sbagliato uses sparkling wine instead of Gin.

Honey Suckle Cocktail from Milk and Honey in London, England
50ml               Cuban rum
20ml               honey syrup
20ml               fresh lime juice
Shake all ingredients over ice and strain into chilled Coupe or Martini glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.
 
Negroni Sbagliato from Bar Basso in Milan, Italy
50ml               sparkling wine
50ml               sweet vermouth
50ml               Campari
Stir all ingredients over ice in ballon shaped wine glass. Serve immediately.
 
Bondi Crush from Iceberg’s In Sydney, Australia
30ml               Bombay Sapphire Gin
15ml               Pimm’s No.1
1tsp                 finely shredded mint
ginger ale to top
Fill a highball glass with crushed ice. Add first  three ingredients and stir well. Top with ginger ale and stir again. Garnish with mint sprig and serve.
 
Heels Race from The High Heels Bar In Cairo, Egypt
30ml               vodka
15ml               Kahlua           
15ml               peach schnapps
Shake all ingredients over ice and strain into chilled martini glass. Garnish with fresh red cherry and serve.
 
Stay thirsty,

Rob Montgomery, The Miller Tavern
*For the record, you can’t buy my love!  I have tried all products mentioned and have no affiliation with parent companies.