Bartender Journey - Cocktails. Spirits. Bartending Culture. Libations for your Ears.

Bar Institute NYC

• We had the very exciting Bar Institute event here in NY this week.
• It's the Bartender Journey Podcast number 189! Listen with the audio player on this page, or subscribe on iTunes, Android or Stitcher Radio.
• On Monday before Bar Institute, I attended Diageo World Class Labs. This is an awesome opportunity.
• Diageo World Class is one of the top 2 or 3 cocktail competitions in the world. Competitions like this can literally change your life.
• To enter the competition you have to be a USBG member, in the US anyway. But through World Class you can get a free 30 day USBG membership which allows you to get your application in. If you decide to keep your USBG membership after that, its only $125/year, which is a real bargain, but that’s a subject for another day.
• To enter the World Class competition you have to take at least one World Class Lab class, or you can do it online, but the live events are awesome (and free). They travel to different cities doing the class and I really encourage you to look into it. We had a great class about Taste. It was run by Andy Symore. We had samples of various cocktails to demonstrate the power of different variables like temperature, sweet, sour, bitter and salty.
• It was a blind tasting, so Andy didn’t tell us what we were drinking until after we tasted and talked about it. The first sample was a room temperature Martini and the second was the same exact Martini, but chilled. It was diluted with the same exact amount of water. We also had a Negroni with and without salt added and so on. It really demonstrated the power of altering just one ingredient and the importance of every single thing that goes into your cocktail. You may sometimes hear that your cocktail is only as strong as the weakest link, so its important that every ingredient is high quality.
• Then there was lunch, (free btw) and a second session, which I didn’t stay for because I wanted to get downtown for Bar Institute. Taking just one session is enough to qualify for World Class although you are welcome to stay for both
• So even if you don’t enter the competition, (and why not?) you could still take one of these classes. I think you’ll find it to be a great experience and very educational.
• Next stop was Bar Institute at Pier A, in Manhattan, right next to where the ferry leaves for the Statue of Liberty.
• We spoke with Kevin Vanegas during Bar Institute about Herradura Tequila and about their new cocktail competition.

The Book of the Week:

A Proper Drink: The Untold Story of How a Band of Bartenders Saved the Civilized Drinking World by Robert Simonson.

• Robert takes us through the craft cocktail revival over the past two decades through the personal stories of bars, bartenders, patrons and visionaries. Filled with modern classic recipes and their origins, A Proper Drink invites you to learn how we got here and where the craft cocktail industry is headed.

Cocktail of the Week:

Bourbon Stone Sour
A Stone Sour is a Sour with the addition of Orange Juice-Freshly Squeezed preferred!

• 2 oz Bourbon
• 1 oz Orange Juice
• 3⁄4 oz Lemon Juice
• 1⁄2 Simple Syrup
  Shake with ice. Pour into an Old Fashioned glass filled with fresh ice. Garish with a piece of Orange and a Cherry.
• There are lots of videos from Bar Institute on the Bartender Journey Facebook page. Thanks to Hazel for this!

Toast of the Week:

My friends are the best friends
Loyal, willing and able.
Now let’s get to drinking!
All glasses off the table!

This time on the Bartender Journey Podcast we talk with Kurt Maitland of the Manhattan Whiskey Club - a Members only community that gathers monthly for private tastings. He also contributes to the Whiskey Reviewer and to The New Single Malt Whiskey Book.
It's the Bartender Journey Podcast number 188! Listen with the audio player on this page, or subscribe on iTunes, Android or Stitcher Radio.

• Tickets are still available for Bar Institute NYC.
  
• If you will be attending, please let us know!
• Attend the Bar Institute Kickoff event:
  For bartenders and other industry people in the NYC area on Sunday, November 6th 2016, join us for a pregame Bar Institute industry kick off party in Hoboken at The Shepherd & The Knucklehead.
  Mix, mingle and share knowledge in a casual setting over complimentary punches and spirits.
  Welcome all bartenders, servers, bar managers and liquor reps! For more information email:
  [email protected]
• We'll be "going live" on Facebook during Bar Institute, so please Like the Bartender Journey Facebook page for live video from the event in NYC!

Book of the Week:
The New Single Malt Whiskey Book
This book is focused mostly on Single Malt whiskeys NOT made in Scotland. This is a really interesting category that is evolving quickly.
“Single Malt” whiskey is one that is produced from Malted Barley at a Single Distillery. Many producers around the world have begun producing this style of Whiskey. For instance Westward Single Barrel Oregon Straight Malt Whiskey which is a wonderful whiskey. You can read Brian's tasting notes on Westward here.

Cocktail of the Week:
Old Pal
Since we are talking whiskey this week, we should do a whiskey cocktail. If you listen to this show regularly you know that I love a Negroni and I love a well made Boulevardier. Here’s another variation. Its similar to a Boulevardier, but calls for Dry Vermouth rather that Sweet Vermouth. Its also heavy on the whiskey, so 2 parts Rye Whiskey, (I used a very nice Rye from Maine called Gunpowder Rye), 1 part Campari and 1 part dry vermouth. Stir it with ice and strain into a chilled coupe or Nick & Nora glass. Its usually served up, unlike the Negroni which is generally served over ice, unless otherwise specified.

Old Pal Cocktail Recipe:

• 1.5 oz Rye Whiskey
• .75 oz Campari
• .75 oz Dry Vermouth
  Stir all ingredients with ice.
  Strain into a chilled Coupe glass or Nick & Nora glass.
• Express oils from a Lemon Twist into glass. Drop Twist into glass.

Toast of the Week:
May you have warm words on a cold evening,
a full moon on a dark night,
and a smooth road all the way to your door.

On this week’s episode, we chat with two awesome gentlemen: Sebastien Derbomez, U.S. Monkey Shoulder Ambassador and Sam Ross of the newly opened Diamond Reef in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.

It is Bartender Journey Podcast # 205!
Listen with the audio player on this page, or subscribe on iTunes, Android or Stitcher Radio.

Sam Ross who was one of original bartenders at Milk and Honey who worked under Sasha Petraske, (Sasha’s name has been coming up so often on the show lately, and as you probably know, he left us way too early, but his inspiration lives on through the industry. )
Monkey Shoulder invited us to a press event at Diamond Reef while it was in pre-opening phase. (Official opening: March 1, 2017) Diamond Reef is a project from the Attaboy team, owners Sam Ross and Michael McIlroy and bartender Dan Greembaum and the first of three new spots scheduled to open this year.
If you don’ t know aobut Attaboy..Sasha Petraske opened its predecessor, the original Milk & Honey bar on Eldrich Street in the Lower East side neighborhood of Manhattan on December 31, 1999. It was an iconic bar, inspiriting an entire industry.

Cocktail of the Week:
Monkey Jam Sour
2 oz Monkey Shoulder Scotch Whiskey
1 oz Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juiceo
1⁄2 oz Simple Syrup
2 Bar Spoons
Jam
Dash Orange Bitters
Shake well with ice. Double strain into a Collins Glass filled with fresh ice. Top with a little club soda. Stir. Express oils from orange twist into glass. Add twist to glass.

Book of the Week:
This week's book and review comes to us from Hazel Alvarado (who helps me out so much on the show.)
Malt Whisky Yearbook 2017: The Facts, the People, the News, the Stories by Ingvar Ronde
The Malt Whisky Yearbook is published annually and contains current information on 400+ whisky distilleries around the world, whisky shops, whisky websites and new bottlings. Part reference guide, part Industry commentary, this 12th edition includes chapter such as “Watch Out! The Millenials Are Coming”, “Global Giant – Diageo, the First20 Years” and “Whisky Pricing – the Elephant in the Room”. Its paperback format featuring concise distillery summaries, tasting notes on choice expressions and current industry statistics makes it a perfect addition to your spirited reading library!

Toast of the Week:
May you live all the days of your life. Cheers
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This week on the Bartender Journey Podcast we talk with Jack Daniel’s Master Distiller Jeff Arnett. I spoke with Jeff at San Antonio Cocktail Conference.

Its the Bartender Journey Podcast # 204! Listen with the audio player on this page, or subscribe on iTunes, Android or Stitcher Radio.

Jack Daniel’s is such an iconic brand with so much history. Jeff shared some great information with us, including facts about why Jack Daniel’s is not called “Bourbon”. He said, in fact it legally could be classified as Bourbon.

But when the man who started the brand, Mr. Jack Daniel in the mid 1800’s he decided that he wanted to differentiate his whiskey and embraced the classification of Tennessee Whiskey. Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 whiskey follows all the requirements of Bourbon, with the addition of a charcoal filtering process. This filtering is legally called the "Lincoln County Process,” by the state of Tennessee. It is also known as “charcoal mellowing,” and occurs before Barreling.

Cocktail of the Week:

I was trying to come up with interesing & sophisticated cocktails for St Patrick’s Day and came up with this one. I first called it the Emerald Sour, but after hanging out with my friend Hazel and describing the drink to an Bartender Carl at Swift Hyberian Lounge, it was decided that the name would be changed to “Man in the High Castle” which the name of a book that Carl had just finished. There is also a TV show on Amazon Prime Video by the same name. The two appear not to be related.

“Man in the High Castle” Cockail:

• 2 oz Knappogue Castle 12 year old Irish Whiskey
• 1 oz Myers Lemon Juice, (freshly squeezed – peel lemons before juicing to make Oleo Sacrum and Twists).
• 3⁄4 oz of Myers Lemon Oleo Sacrum syrup*
• Dash of Salt

Shake with ice. Strain into an Old Fashioned glass containing fresh ice.

Garnish with Myers Lemon Twist and a Sprig of Fresh Thyme, (slapped to release aromatics).

(If you don’t have Myers Lemons you can use regular ones).

*Myers Lemon Oleo Sacrum Syrup

• Peel 2 lemons before juicing them: Use a Y-peeler and try to get only the yellow zest – as little of the white pith as possible.
• Put them in a sealable container, or better yet use a if you have a vacuum sealer, place in a vacuum sealer bag. Cover with 1⁄2 cup sugar. If using the vacuum sealer...seal it. Otherwise cover tightly.
• Let sit for at least 4 hours at room temperature, or overnight.
• Add 1⁄2 cup warm water and stir to dissolve.
• Use a fine strainer and discard all the solids.

Book of the Week is
A Spot at the Bar: Welcome to the Everleigh: The Art of Good Drinking in Three Hundred Recipes
By Michael Madrusan & Zara Young

Michael’s Bar The Everleigh is in Melbourne Australia. He studied under Sasha Patraski and worked at the original Milk and Honey. His goal with Everleigh was to bring the Milk and Honey concept to Australia, and in fact Sasha was his business partner on this venture. As you may know Sasha left this world way too early in August 2015. But Sasha inspired a generation of Bartenders, not only those who were trained by him, but many, like myself that never had the opportunity to work with him. This Book, A Spot at the Bar is another wonderful offshoot of Sasha’s Legacy.

There are many great recipes and photos in here, but a lot of other useful stuff as well. There is an entire section on Bartender’s Choice. This can be challenging for a Bartender. In the book Michael talks about how to do it best. There is a series of questions to ask - in a certain sequence - to figure out what this guest would enjoy.

Michael said in the book that Sasha taught his students that “working hard behind the scenes allows you to look effortless in front of your guests”. Wise words from a wise man.

Cocktails in the Country is a great experience, which I was honored to attend in the Summer of 2016. It is run by the man I call the Yoda of Bartending Gary (gaz) Regan.

It normally costs $250, but I’m going to tell you how to get it for only $100.

Its 2 days of education, learning the gaz approach to “Mindful Bartending”. Plus, practical skills making original cocktails behind the bar. It takes place in the Hudson Valley, just over an hour north of Manhattan.

Included in the cost is trans...

I recently attended a huge wine show at the Javitz Center in Manhattan called VinExpo.

There were 1000’s of wines to try, plus a few sprits – I had some wonderful whiskey from France called Half Moon.

There were also classes and seminars. I attended a seminar sponsored by the Riedel company who makes beautiful glassware – mostly wine glasses.

In fact we use Riedel wine glasses at the Private Club where I work. The purpose of this seminar was to show that the glass has a substantial influence on your experience drinking the wine. Of course these glasses look beautiful, so that’s a great start. They feel great when you pick them up and are perfectly balanced...we all know to hold a wine glass by the stem yes? In fact it was said in the seminar “if a glass has a stem, use it!” This is of course so that you do not warm up your wine or whatever beverage with your body heat.

I caught up with Anne Koziara, who gave the seminar, on the exhibition floor after ... we’ll talk to her in just a moment.

Our sponsor this week is CAKE POS from Sysco.

CAKE is the Point of Sale system that lets bar & restaurant owners focus on the guest experience. Stop worrying about tracking every sale - CAKE does that for you.

CAKE is the Point of Sale system that lets bar & restaurant owners focus on the guest experience. Stop worrying about tracking every sale - CAKE does that for you. You can automatically save information and review it later, from anywhere. That means maybe as the manager or owner can maybe actually take days off, which can be pretty rare in the restaurant business.

No matter where you are, you can check in on daily reports and know they’ll be up to date.

To get started with CAKE, check out trycake.com/bartender. For our Bartender Journey listeners, you can get $750 off the activation fee. That's a 75% discount. Go to trycake.com/bartender and request a demo!

Please feel free to get in touch for any reason. You can email me directly at [email protected]. If you have an interesting story to tell, please get in touch. I’m looking to line up guests for the next few weeks.

Don’t forget about our sponsor CAKE POS.

Find our special link for our Bartender Journey listeners at trycake.com/bartender. You can get $750 off the activation fee. That's a 75% discount. Go to trycake.com/bartender and request a demo! Or just go take a look. It’s a big help if you just go to that URL so that our sponsors to see the Bartender Journey listeners are at least clicking through to check it out. trycake.com/bartender.

Toast:

May we always part with great regret
and meet again with pleasure.