Intelligent Bartender

Social networking is full of endless opportunities for your establishment

Social Networking has a lot in common with the operation of restaurants and bars every day. In fact, before Facebook and Twitter came along, most social networking happened in bars… but it was done verbally instead of through text comments and posts. Everywhere you look, you see Facebook and Twitter. Have you dismissed it as “something that the young people do?” Running a successful social networking campaign is tricky, there are lots of ways to waste your time and money, but if you work it properly it can add value to your business and bring people through your doors. I hope this piece will provide some clarity and direction for what you and your staff should and shouldn’t be doing with social networks like Facebook, Twitter and youTube.

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Stay away from the Winter Blues with summer cocktails!

So I’m pretty sure that by now that we’ve all had the chance to try either a pomegranate martini one of the many other power fruit cocktails taking the country by storm. They’re good, aren’t they? Can I interest you in something even a little more luscious? If so, come with me down mango lane. For good reason, the mango is the second most popular fruit on the planet. With its versatility and availability, it has quickly climbed to the top of every mixologists daily shopping list.

Mangos are a sub-tropical fruit, requiring a long, hot period to properly ripen. More mangos are eaten fresh than any other fruit in the world. And there are over a thousand varieties of mango. The enzymes in mangos are tenderizing, similar to those found in papayas. Mangos help to lower cholesterol, aid digestion, and are rich in both vitamins A and C.

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Keep the salt on the outside of the glass; nobody can indulge in a great cocktail when it tastes like they are drinking ocean water!

As a Canadian, when I think of tequila I get flashbacks of an all-inclusive vacation in Mexico with a hangover. To most of us, it’s simply a shot that gets thrown back with a lick of salt and a squeeze of citrus fruit to kill the after taste. All of that is about to change…

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Displaying something exotic on the bar opens up your guests' eyes to all of the possibilities, and allows you to show off what your capable of working with!

The kitchen and the bar have always had a peaceful coexistence and freshness has always been a key ingredient to the success of any kitchen. The same is quickly becoming true as consumers are demanding the same fresh, handcrafted care from their mixologist as they do from their chefs. It’s rare to find a bar chef who can take the principles of traditional mixology, and synergize them with fresh ingredients to create cocktails that take your dining and drinking experience to a new level.

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Saint John Ale House

Blue Blazer at the St John Alehouse

The Saint John Ale House is known locally for its wide variety of tapped beers, regional Canadian cuisine, and as Eastern Canada’s premier cocktail destination.

Their cocktail list changes seasonally and always incorporates a healthy mix of both classic and contemporary cocktails using house-made ingredients.

For example, behind the bar are 15 different types of bitters (5 house made), and they create their own liqueurs and syrups, many from How to Mix Drinks; A Bon Vivant’s Companion by Jerry Thomas.

They use only fresh-squeezed juices in our cocktails, having done away with all post-mix products, ensuring a high standard for freshness and quality. Additionally they offer an exciting selection of world-class spirits and our first-rate selection of rums will rival some of the best lists in the country.

The St John Alehouse is centrally located with harbor views and in summer has al-fresco dining available with free live entertainment everyday of the week. They are internally connected to 2 major hotels and the famous Saint John City Market, the heartbeat of the city and source of many of their epicurian cocktail ingredients. The front entrance is connected to a city wide boardwalk, waiting upon your arrival with warm smiles and cold liquid remedies.  Definitely worth checking out the next time you’re on the east coast!

Fresh Ingredients in Cocktails make all the Difference

Alcoholic Punches

Hot on the heels of one of the most well-attended Mixology Mondays yet, the March round of MxMo could be even bigger. Hosting the March round (that’s Mixology Monday #47 if you’re counting) is Mike at Hobson’s Choice, and for this round Mike has chosen Punch as the theme.

Punches just seem like a great way to get a group of people socially lubricated on something tasty.  While everyone here in Toronto loves the concept of the hand crafted cocktail, a hand crafted punch is not only a bit of a lost art, but an effective way of articulating the finer points of mixology on a larger scale.  Thinking back to cottage weekends when we were younger, there were few summers when we didnt dump a bunch of booze in a bowl and mix it up with some fruit juice on Saturday, then wake up on Tuesday wondering what the hell went wrong.  Even drilling a hole in a watermelon and filling it with Gin is a bit of a primitive punch, although I think today’s offerings are a little more refined and tasty.

Chuck Norris doesnt throw up when he drinks too much... he throws DOWN!!!

Chuck Norris

225mL Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum
100mL Navan Natural Vanilla Liqueur
45mL Domaine de Canton
60mL Lemon juice
225mL Apple juice
100mL Pomegranate Juice
10 dashes of Fee Brothers Lemon Bitters

Combine all ingredients in a juice jug and chill for 1-2 hours before service to prevent dilution.  Pour chilled mixture into an iced decanter or punch bowl lined with apple and lemon slices.

Makes 1-12 servings depending on how much of a pussy you are.  The image of the can on the right has nothing to do with the punch recipe, I just thought it was funny… Chuck Norris doesn’t need an energy drink!

“Punch in the Grill”

500ml Sailor Jerry rum
1.5l peach juice
60ml lime juice
Whole Pineapple, orange and peaches.

Grill slices of pineapple and peach. Brulee orange segments. Allow to cool back to room temperature.
In your grandmothers crystal punch bowl, combine liquids and fruit pieces. Add 2 frozen water balloons (Chambord bottle sized/ balloon removed)
Have guests bring their own pimp cups. YEAH-AH!

“24 Hour Karate School” aka “Punch with a Kick”
24 hour Karate School

Inspired by Duggan Mcdonnell’s (Cantina / San Francisco) Tangerine Collins. I have given his recipe a few roundhouse kicks of my own, to end up with this Punch that even Chuck Norris would drink….and Mos Def would rap about.

Mos Def would be proud

300ml Shochu (preferably sweet potato based)
180ml Hendrick’s gin
300ml Freshly squeezed Clementine juice
60ml Freshly squeezed Lime juice
120ml Simple syrup
30ml Campari
4 dash MacMonster O.J bitters
2 dash MacMonster ODB bitters
Cava or Prossecco (to serve)
Flamed Orange zest (to garnish)

in a large container combine all ingredients(except sparkling wine) and chill for at least an hour. Fill a large pitcher with and fill with chilled mixture. Stir well. Strain into chilled coupe glasses(appprox 2/3 full) and top with Sparkling wine. Garnish with flamed Orange zest and serve.
This will serve a minimum of 8 drinks, depending on your glassware.
HI-YA!

MxMo (short for Mixology Mondays) is a global online meeting among bartenders who work towards making great cocktails around a specific theme (Hard Drinks, Punches, Vermouth Based Cocktails etc.)

Rob Montgomery and I have been keeping an eye on MxMo for the past 18 months, and have had many conversations about starting up one of our own to boost cocktail culture in Toronto.  We finally thought that it was time we stopped paying lipservice to making better cocktails and actually did something about it.

On Movember 30th, (yes Movember, check it here www.movember.com) a small group of bartenders from around our city gathered to work on some interpretations of “Holiday Cocktails.”  The timing seems relevant as we move into the busy holiday event season, who wouldnt want an excuse to have a great holiday cocktail?

First up was a welcome cocktail called the Honey Julep, a recipe of mine featured in the recent Drambuie re-launch recipe book.  The sweet and sour pink grapefruit juice complements the Drambuie really well and allows the freshness of the elderflower and mint to shine through.  This drink is perfect for summer, or a winter holiday getaway to a place that reminds you of summer.

Honey Julep

50ml Drambuie

15ml St Germaine Elderflower Liqueur

15ml Lemon Juice

30ml Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice

2 dashes of Angostura Orange Bitters

8-10 Mint leaves

Directions: Muddle mint leaves and bitters in a Boston Glass, add remaining ingredients and shake over cold fresh ice.  Double strain over crushed ice in a highball glass, and garnish with a mint sprig.

Next up was Ryan Powell with another Scotch based drink, his Maple Movember Manhattan.

Cocktail #2: Maple Movember Manhattan
2 oz Chivas Regal 12 Year Old
¼ oz ice wine maple syrup
¼ oz egg white
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Dry shake ingredients vigorously to properly froth the egg white then add ice and shake again.  Double strain into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice and sprinkle nutmeg on top to garnish.
Optional: Brule a misted Aberlour 12 Year Old on top.

This cocktail was inspired from a Manhattan.  For me, winter holidays and scotch go hand in hand.  I replaced the sweet vermouth with the ice wine maple syrup because that’s I wanted something a little sweeter and the maple syrup pairs well with the apple notes in the Chivas.  The egg white was added to bring a creamy texture to the cocktail, which again is popular amongst holiday cocktails.  The Angostura bitters adds a fantastic holiday spice to the cocktail as well as the nutmeg sprinkle on top.  For a little more showmanship and to add a little more strength to the cocktail, you can mist Aberlour over the cocktail and gently brule it.  The sherry notes from the Aberlour adds a nice touch to the nutmeg, maple, apple and spice.

Next up was Alejandro Giraldo with a Spanish inspired Cazadores Saludable.

50ml Cazadores Tequila
20ml Pama Pomegranate liquor
60ml Pink grapefruit juice
20ml Lemon juice
15ml Agave nectar

Shake ingredients vigorously with ice then double strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a fresh mint leaf.

Rob Montgomery stepped up with his “Ho Ho Ho…. It’s Brown Butta YO!”

30ml fresh lemon fresh lemon juice
15ml Gomme Syrup
50ml Brown Butter “washed” Jack Daniels
Lemon twist(to garnish)
Combine liquid ingredients in Boston glass and fill with ice.
Stir well for 60 seconds.
Strain into chilled coupe glass. Spritz twist over the top, wipe around the rim and float skin side up.

Scott McMaster (aka Dr. Evil) took to the bar with Cocktail #4 An Evil Christmas

30ml Skinos
15ml jager
5ml lime juice
30ml White cran

Combine in boston over ice and shake
Garnish with frozen cranberry

The boys from Skinos were kind enough to drop off a couple of bottles of their product back in the summer, and Evil thought it would be a good opportunity to try using the pine flavour of the Mastica in a holiday cocktail.  It is the best cocktail we’ve had with Skinos which has an admittedly unusual flavour profile.  If anyone else has had success with Skinos, we’d sure like to hear about it, as I’m sure the boys from Skinos would as they make their foray into the cocktail world.

Finally. in the spirit of getting away for the holidays, we thought it would be nice to end with an Aviation Cocktail.  I really like the flavour of Creme de Violette, and Maraschino Liqueur is hard to hate at the best of times.  Although they can sometimes be hard to find, I’m sure if enough people ask for it, they’ll become more readily available… they’re certainly worth the effort.

Present at the innaugural Toronto MxMo were: Alejandro Giraldo, Ryan Powell, Rob Montgomery, Caitlin Mason, Gavin MacMillan, Jessica Klug, Scott McMaster.

Absent: Elan Marks, Nick Nemeth, Renata Clingen, Nishan Chandra

For more tips on setting up a great holiday bar Click here

and if you’re really serious about getting into bartending and want to train with some of the best bartenders in the business, click here to see the next training dates with BartenderOne

The next global Mixology Monday will be taking place on December 14th… same bat time, same bat channel.

Click here to see the next event on Facebook

Just a quick post to mention two of the coolest videos I have seen in a long time.  The first is an assembly of 7 of my favourite mixologists who got together and shot a video that has to be seen… Check for Gary’s measured pour!  It’s a classic!  I had the privelage of attending a spirited dinner in New Orleans last summer where Gary was making drinks, and can give a first hand testimonial that he has a heavy hand.

The Magnificent 7 - some of my favourite Mixologists in action!

The second video is of Zack Prohaska who has been in Osaka, Japan for the past 3+ years, honing what I can only describe as, the most flair talent Canada has ever seen.  I’m proud to say that Zach was one of my first students, years ago, but the success is his, he’s certainly come light years past anything I ever taught him… In the immortal words of Mick Hasler “Goodonya Zack!”

When considering bartending as a career there are a few things that one should keep in mind.  It’s not all glitz and glamour, and although you can make gobs of cash doing it, the real money, as in most businesses goes to the ones who are truly committed to practising and perfecting the craft.

Are you a bartender?  Is bartending for you? Are you a member of the mixology camp or is flair your thing?

The reality is that there are few careers that give you the opportunity to network, make money and develop your own personal clientele with no upfront investment other than your knowledge of a well built cocktail.

Whether you chose to engage your guests with conversation, cutting edge cocktails or flair, creating a buzz is a surefire way to leverage viral marketing and have your guests coming back for more.  Here’s an example of a Melbourne bar called Der Raum, that entertains not only in cocktail theatre and molecular mixology but also by pure design ingenuity.