Intelligent Bartender

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 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

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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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Not all freestyle mixology sessions need to start with a trip to the liquor store! Local markets packed with farm fresh produce, meats, cheeses, and fantastic finds can be your first destination for inspiration.

Here in Toronto we are particularly blessed with access to several excellent open and indoor markets. St. Lawrence Market and the Kensington District both offer fantastic selections of fresh produce, bulk goods, and specialty shops with every imaginable ingredient under the sun. You can almost always track down specific spices and preserves, thanks especially to the diversity of background in our city. However, at least half the fun of a trip to the market is the item you didn’t expect to see! Preserved Marasca Cherries, anyone? A hidden find at one of these well stocked purveyors could spark your next great cocktail idea!

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I’ve been told that the face a bartender makes when he/she is shaking a drink is the same face they make when they are having sex.  You might want to practice making these three cool cocktails in front of a mirror…

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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.

Most bars have a small group of regular clientele that frequent their establishment. They are the loyal clients who, more often than not, tip well and don’t ask for any special kind of service. In many cases they are the types who spend thousands a year in your bar or restaurant. They are the cornerstones of your business, you certainly can’t afford to lose them, so the question clearly is how do you keep them and how do you get more of them?

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It is a very exciting time to be in the bar business. There have been few times since the repeal of Prohibition that cocktails have been at the forefront of the media and the public conscience, backed by bartenders who are now considering themselves Mixologists and Bar Chefs.

Classic cocktails are back in a big way across the country. Led by great cocktail bars from the St. John Alehouse in the east to Clives Classic Lounge in Victoria on the left coast, passionate mixologists are taking a fresh approach to cocktails. It’s not just in the privately owned cocktail bars either. Major chains across the country are adopting new (and old) cocktails, techniques like muddling fresh fruits and herbs, and looking at their beverage programs differently than we did when big juicy martinis were all the rage.

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Once as popular as the Martini or Manhattan the mighty Gimlet is often overlooked by modern cocktailians. On several occasions I have even received a Martini with cocktail onions(Gibson) upon ordering a Gimlet. Two simple ingredients combine to make something much more. A juniper-citrus aroma, through the sweet and sour mid palate, and a long lingering finish. Hard to beat for a serious slake. If you have the means please make your own lime cordial, it really makes a difference. Recipes follow. Gimlet 1 / Scurvy 0

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The last couple of years have seen countless changes behind the bar. In fact, if you can dream it, you’ll probably see it at a bar near you, where bar chefs continually redefine “thinking outside the box.” Flavoured spirits, infusions, dry ice, flamed garnishes, muddled drinks and the inclusion of herbs and fresh fruit are all testament to this. With the world now at our fingertips, it isn’t hard for your establishment be on the forefront of the next big thing, the next beverage revolution.

Here’s the kicker. Refined versions (or re-defined versions) of old school cocktails are in. Signature drinks such as Cosmopolitans and Sidecars are back with a vengeance, revamped for a taste that is familiar, yet new. Ingredients like pomegranate and green tea, for example, are adding a whole new level of flavour and sophistication to the traditional martini.

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There has been tremendous buzz in the bartending world for the past few years regarding the term “molecular mixology.” While the name itself can be a little intimidating, molecular mixology can be distilled down into one fundamental distinction. It is simply the process of changing the state of a liquid into a solid or gas.

While the bar and kitchen working together is certainly nothing new, the bar has begun taking cues from culinary predecessors; bartending is making a shift towards incorporating science into cocktails. The latest trend is something being referred to as ‘molecular mixology,’ the bar equivalent of a molecular approach to gastronomy, which has made leaps and bounds in the kitchen in the past few years.

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