Category Archives: Raising the Bar

Turning Your Bar Green.

By BartenderOne | Published: September 1, 2010
Fresh ingredients blow powdered mix out of the water!

Fresh ingredients blow powdered mix out of the water!

While the environmental movement is at the forefront of public conscience, more and more bars are making an effort to go green with their daily business practices. I’m sure you’ve heard all the popular catch phases: renewable energy, carbon neutral footprint and the uber-popular green is the new black.

What does this have to do with operating my restaurant or bar you ask?

First of all, it’s important to identify the difference between a green cocktail and the absurdity of the healthy cocktail. Ordering up a martini made with pomegranate liqueur is not going to earn you any points in the antioxidant cup. Cocktails are supposed to be a little bit naughty anyways…
It starts with the understanding that operating a sustainable bar or restaurant is easier than you think, not to mention the opportunities to save money and increase margins. Making each business decision with the environment in mind is rewarding in many ways: socially, economically and environmentally.

When you look at your business’ carbon footprint, it gets broken down into two parts: a primary and secondary footprint. The primary footprint is the sum of the direct carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, like energy consumption by furnaces, waters heaters and transportation, like auto- mobiles to get to work. The secondary foot- print is the sum of indirect emissions associated with the manufacture, shipping and breakdown of all products, services and food that your business consumes.

Fresh, seasonal, local and sustainable are really just a part of a much larger picture that involves every business decision you make, from the light bulbs you choose – there are now dimmable Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs which use up to 75 per cent less energy and can create ambiance – to the cleaning products you use and how you separate your waste. Here are some things you might con- sider when developing your next menu or are considering a new supplier.

Fresh is pretty self explanatory, and if you haven’t tasted the difference between a fresh cocktail and the one that comes off your post mix line, enter the menu make- over contest, so we can come to your bar and open your eyes with proper bartender training.

Local means supporting business within 100kms, and making the decision against importing bottled water from the other side of the world when the largest supply of clean fresh water on the planet is at your doorstep. Developing relationships with the folks at your local farmers market can inspire on both culinary and beverage fronts.

Seasonal is about using peaches on your menu when peaches are in season locally, not when peaches are in season in Argentina. When your chef is making Peach Cobbler, your bartenders, who should be thinking about themselves as Bar Chefs, should be making Peach Daiquiris, or peach Mojitos.

Going the sustainable route is not the easiest, but it is becoming increasingly accessible. You just have to ask, and you can believe that the more people who ask, the more accessible it becomes. Businesses that make the commitment can expect to be rewarded with a loyal clientele and the few pioneers of the Green Bar philosophy will attest.

San Francisco’s “Elixir” was one of the first Green bars to open. H. Joseph Ehrmann (known simply as “H”) walks the talk of fresh fruit cocktails made with organic and/or environmentally responsible products. Green and Tonic (www.greenandtonic.org) is doing the same and taking it to the next level. It is a volunteer group that consults with bar owners to help them find solutions to reducing their waste, energy, and water consumption.

The feel good “X” factor of supporting a green business is something that will have your clients talking to their friends, and your commitment to excellence will bring them back again and again in larger numbers. Fresh, local, seasonal, sustainable can no longer be looked at as options, but rather as the business decisions that make our restaurants and bars sustainable businesses as we move into a new economic environment.

As operators, managers, and staff, we have the ultimate power to choose what is offered for sale, how it is offered for sale, and how we’re going to clean it up. While many of us diligently separate food waste from recyclables and garbage at home, few of us pursue these socially responsible actions with the same vigour when we’re working in the hospitality industry. I’ve been guilty of it myself and I’m sure you can relate to the feeling that you should recycle an empty water bottle but when no recycling bin is present, it ends up in the trash. While many of us want to recycle, few of us have taken proactive steps towards putting a recycling / food waste program in place.

The truth is that respecting the planet and making money do not have to be mutually exclusive. After all, we don’t really need to “Save the Environment,” it was fine before we were here, and it’ll heal itself after we’re gone. We really need to save ourselves.

Until next time, Keep Raising the Bar in your establishment.

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Raising the Bar at The Four Seasons!

By BartenderOne | Published: August 26, 2010

The Cucumber Collins was a hit among the experienced bartenders.

The Cucumber Collins was a hit among the experienced bartenders.


Have you ever been to a bar where you feel like your bartender is just simply slamming a drink on a counter for you, rather than being able to give you an entertaining experience and a hand crafted cocktail?

There are many bartenders who noticeably carry around an attitude in which they really don’t care about the quality of the experience or drink they are serving their client; this needs to change.

The Four Seasons Hotel, located at 21 Avenue Road in the heart of downtown Toronto, has made and been able to maintain a name for themselves based on their admirable customer service and notable cocktail menu.

On Wednesday, August 25, 2010, BartenderOne was asked to create an interactive bartender training program and team building workshop for the bartenders at The Four Seasons Hotel to help, provide in depth bartender training, open the minds of the staff of all the amazing possibilities within their menu, and of course to start to change the way cocktails are being formulated. Kick out the powdered barmix!

The workshop was built around the Four Season’s own drink menu, and also touched upon some of the most commonly ordered drinks, which were the hand-shaken Margarita, Fresh Cucumber Collins, Cosmopolitan with flamed orange zest garnish, Chocolate Mint Mojito, and the Classic Martini.

Modifications were discussed, such as as adding cucumber to the traditional Tom Collins, to create a fresh, current twist to the original Collins that left you wanting more! The cocktails were made, tasted, and discussed, with advice regarding the proper technique for making each cocktail. For example, the order of operations for a Mojito is commonly overlooked. It must be prepared: mint, limes, then sugar to ensure the mint remains intact and is not floating up into one of your guests’ pearly whites! The way in which a cocktail is developed is absolutely essential to the final product you are serving. Even the way it is shaken matters; you don’t want to shake for too long, or the drink becomes diluted, ten seconds is perfect.

Although the Four Seasons had already dabbled with liquor infusions before, they were thirsty for something new. We reviewed fat washing to produce bacon infused vodka, which can be incorporated into drinks like a BLT Caesar. Even using dill pickles to infuse vodka with dill and garlic adds an intense kick to your beverages.

The most important topic overall that was covered had to be tailoring the cocktail to your guests personal preferences, ensuring all, or most of the taste sensors were engaged. This could be done through things such as using bitters, which can be created at home. Balance is key.

Senses are an amazing part of the way that your guest feels about a cocktail. The taste, smell, looks, and texture all play a large role. To give a guest the full experience, all of these elements must have attention paid to them. Simple tricks like adding aromatics to a cocktail can make a world of difference. A flamed orange zest to a Cosmopolitan for example, takes a fairly simple drink and adds another level, now incorporating the olfactory, which intensifies the experience, and makes your guest feel like they’ve just received a cocktail that was tailored just for them.

The workshop was a great forum for the bartenders of the Four Seasons to bounce ideas off of each other, as well as expand their creativity to the boundless potential of their bar, and we were more than glad to help show them how BartenderOne constructs a cocktail!

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Can you afford to train… Can you afford not to?

By BartenderOne | Published: August 25, 2010
It's like sending someone to race a car who doesn't know how to drive.... Lacking bartender training is absolutely detrimental to a business !

It's like sending someone to race a car who doesn't know how to drive.... Lacking bartender training is absolutely detrimental to a business !

Do you have unexplained losses in liquor or wine, in draught beer… in all three? If your restaurant is like most hospitality concepts, chances are your current bartender training is based on generations of bartenders who may not have been fully trained themselves. Most restaurants open with meticulous operational guidelines for how drinks are prepared, with detailed recipe lists that must be strictly adhered to along with opening and closing procedures, weekly checklists for cleanliness and follow up procedures. Does this sound familiar? Maybe it’s a distant memory…

What usually follows can be likened to a game of broken telephone, where each generation of bartenders passes on an adapted interpretation of your original training message. In the hospitality industry where employee turnover rates are commonly 50%-66% per year, it doesn’t take long before your original training standards are barely recognizable.

Perhaps your restaurant is okay and you have a good idea of how you can control the margins in the kitchen. Most managers have a good handle on food cost in the kitchen because many kitchens have portion-controlled menus. Use of a scale to measure consistency in portion size is common especially in prep areas, but there is no parallel on the bar side of the spectrum. Most bartenders freepour, although few have been properly trained to freepour accurately. You ask them to use a shot glass, which is slow and really offers no guarantee of accuracy during busy periods.

In the hospitality industry, there is a fine line between profit and loss. So fine in fact that after tax, profit margins in F&B often average less than 3% according to recent figures.

With margins like that, it’s hard to justify spending money on the business; however, it’s been said that you have to spend it to make it. There are a smorgasbord of liquor control systems available… at a price, and keep in mind you get what you pay for. Some bars that choose the ball bearing style pour spouts, which apparently stop automatically, may save money up front but you’ll pay in the long term. Most of these spouts will only pour accurately about 65% of the time. At the opposite end of the spectrum you could spend $100,000 or more on a high-tech liquor control system, however it may take years to see the return on your investment. Both of these systems, no matter how elaborate the programming, will limit your bartenders’ ability to create drinks that will truly satisfy your guests’ unique tastes and preferences.

At the very least you should make sure that all of your pour spouts are the same, and that you don’t have a mishmash of different colours, styles and pour rates. Not only does it look better, but if you find your liquor costs are out of line at least there is one less variable, and you can let your bartenders know that they’re pouring heavy.

The cost of not training your bartenders properly is astronomical. All licensed establishments have bartenders but few have truly mastered the craft. But when was the last time your bartenders had any real training? Are they accurate and efficient or are they pouring away your profits?

The bottom line is that your ability to manage your costs is directly linked to the degree to which you empower your staff to help you manage those costs. We’ve all heard that the best defense is a good offense… consider this. Keep things simple: Based on $10,000 in sales: Your current liquor cost is 25% = $2500 Your budget liquor cost is 23% = $2300 Simple math says that you’re running 2% above cost or at a 2% surplus. Your target liquor cost is 22% = $2200

This could be as a result of carelessness, spillage, spoilage, etc. As an incentive to keep costs in line, share these numbers with your staff regularly, and offer your bar team a quarterly party, or pay out a cash bonus to your bartenders if they hit a target 1% below your targeted liquor cost, in this case 22%. (Goals have to be within reason, and shouldn’t promote short changing the guest.)

Each year, based on these numbers, you are rewarded with $1200 in teambuilding and staff incentives. Your staff retention and job satisfaction goes up, turnover goes down and you empower a team of people to work toward meeting your budget goals. Win, Win.

Until next time, keep “Raising the Bar” in your establishment because if you don’t someone else will. Cheers!

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Irregular Service Ethics.

By BartenderOne | Published: August 19, 2010
Yes, PLEASE.

Yes, PLEASE.

Remember every time Norm walked into the bar on Cheers, the entire bar would call out in unison “NORM!” It didn’t matter who was behind the bar, they knew what he drank, and it was ready and waiting for him as he assumed his position at the end of the bar. Norm embodied the “regular,” the men and women who frequent your establishment regularly. They are the ones 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 establishment. 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?

I’ve seen lower volume establishments where regulars are praised and glorified, and high volume bars also where they are overlooked with the attitude that “it doesn’t really matter what kind of service they receive, they’ll come back anyway.” In an industry where service and proper bartender training is paramount to the success of your business and your frontline service, staff are often on a career stopover on the way to something better. Operators need to actively empower their staff to make sure that they you are cultivating long-term relationships with as many clients as possible, and creating experiences that they’ll remember, and come back for.

Rob Montgomery, Bar Chef and Manager of Toronto’s Vertical Restaurant insists that details are the key. “I have operational systems covered so my staff can focus on guest experience details. Our philosophy is that we treat customers like they were a guest in our own home, I empower my staff with the same ethos and give them the tools to accomplish it.”

A good rule of thumb is that management should always be where the money is. If the restaurant is operating, management needs to be making regular rounds checking on guest experiences, not just server problems. Quite often guests will deal with sub-standard service by leaving little or no tip, and leave feeling dissatisfied. Management can circumvent this experience with a quick chat with each table. Guests are quite often more apt to give negative feedback to someone who is empowered to change the situation. “Mistakes and mishaps are inevitable in any restaurant; if they are handled correctly the guest will take notice. Fixing mistakes promptly and properly can impact guests greatly. Some of our longest running guests started off on the wrong foot, problems were solved and the guests were impressed enough to return again and again,” says Montgomery.

Everyone wants to feel special. Cristina Maria Morelli service ambassador of the Irish Embassy says that many servers overlook the simple things like a smile and a genuine interest in a guest’s well being. Anticipating the needs of her clientele is the surest way to make people feel special. “Having a drink or menu ready for them before they have to ask shows them that I’ve got their needs in mind. I try to treat everyone who walks through the door like they were the owner’s best friend!” People respond to that kind of service, and with this philosophy every guest is a potential regular. “My regulars have afforded me a lifestyle that others only dream of,” says Morielli.

It is important that the servers are focussed on providing service tailored to the guest’s needs. Obviously a birthday party and a solo businessperson require different styles of service. Montgomery echoes Morelli’s sentiments, “We see our regular guests in many situations. A business lunch one day, then out with friends for drinks the next day. It is important to handle their needs appropriately in each situation, and regardless, we never take regulars for granted. We ALWAYS make time to say hello and check the quality of their experience.”

I recently ate at La table du Chef in Sherbrooke, QC. The meal was terrific, but to complete the experience, chef Alain Labrie visited our table at the end of the meal for a 30 second chat and quality check. The added touch of a personal visit from the chef went above and beyond my expectations, and made our whole table feel special. It may not always be possible to chat and check with every table in your establishment, so creating an atmosphere where your service staff feel comfortable approaching management to resolve guest issues in a timely manner is crucial to your ability to turn any negative experiences into positive ones. The bottom line is that when the service (with appropriate bartender training) and food are good, I’ll probably come back for seconds, maybe even become your regular. If things go wrong and the problem isn’t addressed, you’ll never see me again. If there’s a problem and you address it you guarantee that I’ll come back with my friends. Maybe they can be your regulars too.

Until next time keep Raising the Bar in your business, because if you don’t someone else will!

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Cool as a Cucumber

By BartenderOne | Published: August 4, 2010
When you see cucumber, you think; cool, crisp, and refreshing... Perfect. I'll have two please!

When you see cucumber, you think; cool, crisp, and refreshing... Perfect. I'll have two please!

Walk into almost any hip Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal restaurant and the cocktail menu you’re handed will likely describe mouth-watering concoctions that use fresh herbs, organic fruit and other top-notch ingredients.

Using cucumber in a cocktail may sound ridiculous at first. Until recently, only a few trained bartenders would even consider using cucumber as a garnish on a Bloody Ceasar or Mary, but all of that is about to change. Cucumbers have somehow made the transition from a low-cost garnish to a top-shelf ingredient – bar chefs have embraced cucumbers as a hot, or cool, new addition to menus, along with a host of other ingredients that are making the migration from the kitchen to the bar.

Although signature cocktails are being whipped up in other big cities like New York and Los Angeles, Toronto’s gastronomic culture has inspired bartenders to raise the bar and take their cues from the kitchen. Anyone who is willing to seek the right bartender training will have their mind opened up to all of the possibilities. Bartenders are becoming known as “bar chefs” as they search for fresh ingredients, visit farmers’ markets, source artisanal spirits, and size up the competition in other cities.

Most restaurants today aim to provide no less than the best when it comes to the food produced in the kitchen. Fresh vegetables make the best salads, and with a push towards healthy eating, many of our guests are opting for the healthier side salad versus fries or a baked potato. When we prepare drinks on the bar or food in the kitchen there should be more than a few similarities in our method. It seems more than a little ironic that we will accept nothing less than the best on the culinary front, and accept just about anything when it comes to the bar.

New York’s “King of Cocktails,” Dale DeGroff, head bartender of The Rainbow Room, is credited with reviving upscale specialty cocktails, having invented some 400 cocktails with fresh juice and no mixes. He emphasizes the importance of approaching a bar the way a chef approaches his/her kitchen. He believes that cocktails, like food, are about ingredients.

Classic cocktails such as manhattans, martinis and sidecars are on the rise at white table cloth restaurants in Toronto, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, he says, adding, “People are taking the classics and being more creative with them with their own twist, maybe fresh fruit or seasonal herbs.” Increasingly, chefs are working with mixologists to create new and interesting drinks that contain ingredients not previously found in cocktails. Cucumbers have been a great addition to the cocktail list – they are not sweet, but lend a very refreshing taste.

Many restaurant patrons will have a cocktail to start the meal, and then move on to wine with the meal. The challenge is to create a cocktail that is good enough to prompt the order of a second round before the bottle of wine hits the table. Quite often it’s a little more than the smell of freshly muddled mint that prompts a run on mojitos. Working in an industry where the up sell is fundamentally important to profitability, fresh seasonal cocktails that sell themselves are worth their weight in gold. Until next time, keep ‘raising the bar’ in your establishment, because if you don’t, someone else will.

Cocktail of the Month : Cool as a Cucumber
1 oz. Bacardi Big Apple Rum
1 oz. melon liqueur
1/2 oz. simple syrup or 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 oz. cucumber puree
Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously over ice. Garnish with a slice or spear of cucumber and a fresh squeeze of lime juice.

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One Way Ticket to Margaritaville!

By BartenderOne | Published: August 3, 2010
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!

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…

Tequila is one of the more versatile spirits. It’s diverse and its great depth of flavour makes it a natural ingredient for cocktails. Despite a massive worldwide tequila shortage in 2000 and the resulting increase in price as supplies diminished, tequila remains one of the premier spirits on any bar south of the border. While vodka still reigns supreme as the number one spirit sold, the cosmopolitan falls a distant second to the margarita which is the world’s most popular cocktail, and has been for years.

In London, England, tequila is such a phenomenon that there are upscale tequila bars boasting tequila lists with 300-400 brands, including Extra Añejo (Aged) sipping tequilas priced in the stratospheric range of a great single-malt scotch. As Canadians, we’re somewhat limited by the small selection of tequilas on offer in liquor stores. Most provinces (with the exception of Alberta) have only a few dozen tequilas available for sale, however, most government agencies will special order the top shelf brands on request. To simplify things, here are a few tequila facts to dispel the rumours. Tequila is usually bottled in one of five categories. Only the first two should be used to mix cocktails.

• Blanco “white” or plata “silver” – not aged white spirit.

• Oro “gold” – unaged or young, which means that caramel, fructose, glycerin and wood flavoring can be added to resemble aged tequila.

• Reposado “rested” – aged a minimum of 2 months but less than a year in oak barrels.

• Añejo “aged” or “vintage” – aged minimum one year, but less than three years in oak barrels.

• Extra añejo “extra aged”– aged minimum three year in oak barrels. This is a new category established in March 2006.

One of the greatest rumours surrounding tequila involves the presence of a worm in the bottom of the bottle. In fact, the worm phenomenon was started in the 1940s as a marketing gimmick. The worm lives on the Mezcal plant. It’s harmless to consume and is only found in select brands of Mezcal. Mezcal is a Mexican distilled spirit made from the agave plant, and covers any agave-based liquors that are not tequila. Tequila is a Mezcal made from the blue agave plant in the town of Tequila, Jalisco, much like cognac is a brandy made in the cognac region, or champagne is a sparkling wine from the champagne region.

One reason margaritas may have never enjoyed the same success in Canada as they have in the south is due to the fact that most bartenders who are not properly trained rim the glass with table salt and the three tiered rimmer “dip and dunk” method. When you’re rimming a margarita glass remember that the rimming ingredient belongs only on the outside edge of the glass, not on the inside, where it will likely become part of the cocktail. Moisten the outside of the glass with a lime and roll the moistened surface in coarse sea salt or kosher salt for your glass rimmer. It’s the easiest way to ensure that your glass is not overloaded with salt. If you must use the dip and dunk method, please do yourself and your guest a favour and wipe the excess off of the inside of the glass with a beverage napkin before you pour the cocktail in and inadvertently create a salt water margarita.

Following the infusion trends of vodka, rum and gin, several tequila distillers have jumped on the flavoured spirit bandwagon. I have tried quite a few but recently came across a new one called Kaban which produces 100 per cent agave tequila in lime citrus, tropical pineapple, and most notably tangerine-infused varieties. All are good, but the Kaban Tangerine goes brilliantly in this month’s cocktail of the month – the azure margarita. The synergy of tangerine with the larahas orange flavour of Blue Curacao is a natural match that is appealing to both the eye and the palate.

Made correctly, the tangerine-infused azure margarita will sell itself. With guests rightly demanding more from their bartenders and their dining and drinking experience, it’s important to make sure your staff has detailed bartender training. Until next time keep ‘raising the bar’ in your establishment, because if you don’t, someone else will!

The Azure Margarita
1 oz. Kaban Tangerine Tequila
1/2 oz. Blue Curacao
3 oz. Island Originals Margarita Mix
Sea salt rim and garnish with and orange and cherry

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Sweet on Sours.

By BartenderOne | Published: July 29, 2010
Once you have a fresh sour, you will never go back to barmix!

Once you have a fresh sour, you will never go back to barmix!

With the diversity of liqueurs on the market today it is possible to make a drink taste like virtually anything. Distillers have made it easy for mixologists to shape the profile of a drink. With base flavours like vanilla, cacao and hazelnut, it’s no wonder drinks like the Crispy Crunch shooter are consistently popular. I often wonder how long it will take before we see a chocolate martini dessert, where the kitchen begins to mimic the flavours being produced on the bar instead of the other way around. Perhaps the service of fusion dishes in traditional bar glassware like wraps in oversized shooter glasses and dessert mousses in martini glasses is an indication that it’s already
happening.

There is definitely an attraction to sweets that makes drinks like the chocolate martini popular. Everyone has a sweet tooth, but most people can’t have more than a few sweet cocktails before they need a change of pace and flavour profile. With a myriad of sour liqueurs on the market, it’s hard to know which flavours will complement each other. Sour peach or blueberry have vibrant eye catching colours, but too often, these ingredients find their place on the back bar and never move possible because of improper bartender training or no one has taken the time to experiment. Current bar books and recipe manuals will give you an overview with some recommendations. Some manufacturers will also include token recipes on the bottle itself, but there is no better way to find out what fits with your concept or client base than being properly trained and spending some time experimenting for yourself.

Regardless of whether you’re a bartender, bar manager or concept director, (or perhaps you’re all three) a little bartender training and the willingness to experiment can go a long way towards creating some great custom cocktails. Before you spend any more money on additional ingredients like sour watermelon liqueur, look at what you can make with what you’ve currently got on your bar. There are lots of drink engines on the Web, including a good online cocktail cabinet for free at www.bartenderone.com where you can check-off the ingredients (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) from a huge list and it’ll generate a list of all the cocktails you can make with your current ingredients.

I find that quite often the bottled sours have a bit of a laboratory look and taste to them, and if using sour liqueurs is not your speed, I encourage you to experiment with traditional sour cocktails made with raw ingredients. I guarantee that it will render better results than the bottled concoctions available, and you may just find a new favourite cocktail in the process. Whisky and Amaretto Sours are definitely the most common in Canada. South of the border, Bourbon, Midori (melon liqueur), Pisco (brandy) and Tuaca (vanilla) sours are all very popular. If your bar makes an amaretto sour with a shot of Amaretto and barmix, try taking a few extra seconds to craft one from scratch using the sour recipe that follows and then do a taste test. The results are like night and day. The sour recipe below can be modified into many different variations simply by
changing the alcohol.

This month, the Frangelico Sour is the cocktail of the month courtesy of bar chef Rob Montgomery of Toronto’s Vertical Restaurant. “The amaretto sour is so last year!” he says with a sarcastic laugh. When I first heard the name, I couldn’t help but say ‘why didn’t I think of that?’ and after trying it, I’m certain that this is one of my new favourites. It’s a well balanced drink that is light, refreshing and easy on the palate. Give it a try and you’ll never go back! A willingness to experiment and a little bit of time are two keys to some of the most fun and rewarding research and development you’ll ever do. You’ll find that you can easily broaden your knowledge base about the products you serve and great ways to serve them.

This month’s Move of the Month is a show stopper that must be practiced. It works on the same premise as throwing a candy in the air and catching it in your mouth. It’s important to start with a few cherries in your hand in case you miss the first one… you don’t want to be searching for garnish with an audience. World Champion Christian Delpech says it best… “You throw the cherry and then you pray!” Under the right circumstances you may choose to lean across the bar and feed the cherry to the guest who ordered the drink. Use discretion before garnishing a drink with something that has been in your mouth, no matter how often you brush your teeth! Until next time keep Raising the Bar!

MOVE OF THE MONTH : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-kwK9iwaZc

FRANGELICO SOUR
1 1/2 oz. Frangelico
2 teaspoons of Turbinado Sugar
2 Key limes cut in half and squeezed or muddled
1/2 oz. of pasteurized egg white Shake vigorously and strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass

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Asian Inspired Ingredient Adds Zen to the Green-teani

By BartenderOne | Published: July 28, 2010
Yes, you can have a cocktail and indulge in healthy antioxidants at the same time!

Yes, you can have a cocktail and indulge in healthy antioxidants at the same time!

There’s no doubt that the Far East has heavily influenced our health conscious way of thinking in North America. There’s something exotic about thousands of years of tradition and total body health that the Asian philosophy offers. From Tai Chi and Chai Teas (say that 5 times fast) to fresh ginger root, echinacea and other holistic and alternative remedies, we’re embracing eastern culture in both Canada and the United States like never before. Dr. Andrew Romanelli of the Sports Performance Centres says 75 per cent of his patients are looking to acupuncture as an alternative and less invasive form of treatment. What does this have to do with cocktail culture you ask? How about this for alternative medicine…

In recent months, many spirit and liqueur manufacturers have taken notice of the trend and the cocktail marketplace is now starting to see new and exciting Asian inspired creations. Although some may consider it a stretch to believe that drinking a martini could be a health conscious decision, having yourself a Green-teani will certainly offer you more healthy benefits than your average rye and coke. Consider that green tea offers tremendous amounts of antioxidants, which have both anti-aging properties and aid in the prevention of disease.

Canadian spirit manufacturer Corby’s recently raised the bar with the introduction of their new brightly coloured and exotic tasting Euphoria line of liqueurs. Asian pear, gink guava and pomegranate have become popular martini flavours. According to Daniel Lundberg, Corby’s senior brand manager, these products are opening new markets for them.

Corby’s isn’t alone. Trailblazers like Miles Karakesevic, of the Californian Micro- distillery Charbay, recently launched green tea infused vodka to add to the growing list of vodka infusions now available. Karakesevic’s Green Tea Vodka is flavoured with the extractions of four Chinese green tea varieties; all blended in a style similar to the way perfume is created.

Suntory International and Allied Domecq Spirits introduced ZEN Green Tea Liqueur to the U.S. market in 2005. It is a blend of the finest Japanese green tea leaves, premium herbs and natural flavours. Meldea Green Tea Liqueur was released by PMA, and is a good cocktail mixer which doubles as an alternative aperitif. It seems like there are no shortage of followers as spirit manufacturers align themselves to keep on top of the latest trends.

Barristas have long known the popularity of teas. After water, tea is the second most widely consumed beverage on the planet. Despite the popularity of teas elsewhere, the North American obsession with coffee has left little room in the marketplace for exclusive tea houses, however, most upscale coffee houses will offer a wide range of teas. Starbucks has found great success with their Chai Teas and Tazo® Green Iced Tea – a blend of Chinese green tea lightly sweetened and shaken with ice.

With all of these options available it’s hard to know how to create a great drink that will balance the dry taste of tea with spirit or liqueur while exciting your guests and satisfying their discerning palates. Although the basics of cocktail synergy suggest that a well-trained bartender balances sweet and sour when creating a custom cocktail, in this case, we’re balancing sweet and dry. Teas will produce a similar dry feel on your tongue to that of a red wine that’s high in tannins. While you may find it difficult to get your hands on some of these spirits and liqueurs north of the border, Mixology Canada Inc. has come up with a non-alcoholic bar friendly solution in the form of Tea Fuzions – a line of unsweetened tea concentrates including green tea, earl grey, orange pekoe, chai and matcha.

Scott Megit, president, Mixology Canada Inc., says the line of tea concentrates were custom blended to allow the tea to be mixed with alcohol. They were created in recognition of a huge resurgence in teas as a cocktail or smoothie base in restaurants, cafés and martini bars.

While I don’t recommend you rely on the anti-aging properties of the Green-teani as your personal fountain of youth, it does make for a tasty beverage, which will appeal to an increasingly curious consumer base. Keep your eyes open for new trends from the Far East… next month I’ll be writing about matcha, a new trend that the food and beverage industry will undoubtedly be eating (and drinking) up in no time!

Until the next blog, keep training your bartenders and “Raising the Bar” in your place of business because if you don’t, someone else will!

Ingredients:
Ice
1 ounce Tea Fuzions Green Tea concentrate
2 ounces Absolut Mandrin Vodka 1/2 ounce Grand Marnier
1/2 ounce 1883 Cane Sugar simple syrup
Orange twist
Method: Add Absolut Mandarin Vodka, Grand Marnier, Tea Fuzions Green Tea Concentrate and simple syrup to a cocktail shaker. (If you like a dryer martini, reduce the amount of simple syrup. Try starting with 1/4oz of simple syrup and sweeten to taste.) Shake vigorously 4-5 times to insure that the cocktail is properly mixed and chilled. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with an orange twist.

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Who Says “It’s Not Easy Being Green?”

By BartenderOne | Published: July 21, 2010
Cocktails with colour draw your guests' attention, making them more likely to try something new!

Cocktails with colour draw your guests' attention, making them more likely to try something new!

From the classic long island iced tea to start off your evening, to a warm and comforting blueberry tea after a good meal, tea flavoured cocktails have been around for forever. The recent surge in popularity of green tea, coupled with the fact that teas are included on more and more cocktail menus, is a great indication that we’re all about to get a healthy dose of antioxidants. In North America, high quality tea products are now more accessible than ever. With its highly publicized health benefits, wholesale tea sales have grown more than 600 per cent in the last 15 years. Trailblazing restauranteurs are noticing the trends from the Far East and incorporating what was once considered a very ceremonial ingredient into today’s cocktail revolution. Matcha is one of the latest types of tea to hit the Canadian marketplace. Don’t feel bad if you’ve never heard of it, few people, or bartenders for that matter, have. With both Starbucks and Booster Juice recently adding matcha to their menus, it won’t be long before it’s a household name. Just know that matcha is the new chai, and it’s a buzzword that may just turn the industry on its ear.

Most will agree that few things are more refined than relaxing after a meal with a digestif or specialty coffee warmer. While Spanish coffees and monte cristos have long been staples on the after dinner coffee list, the one and only after dinner tea cocktail on the vast majority of our menus is the quintessential blueberry tea. The classic recipe calls for a curious mix of the orange flavoured Grand Marnier, and almond flavoured amaretto (the jury’s still out on where the blueberry reference comes from). Sadly, that seems to be the end of our creativity when it comes to tea cocktails.

The recent rise in popularity of green tea martinis or “greenteanis” has opened a floodgate of opportunity in Asian inspired cocktails. While Central and Eastern Canada seem to be a bit behind the times, British Columbia has had a long love affair with a myriad of green tinted Japanese culinary delights. From the almost fluorescent coloured wasabi, (try a little mixed into your next caesar) to the light green textured aloe vera juice, to the deep green nori (seaweed) to the brightly coloured edamame (soybean), it seems like it’s easier than ever to be green. The latest addition to the family of popular green ingredients is matcha. Although there are some subtle differences between matcha and green tea, (types of leaves used and the method of harvest) quite simply, matcha is powdered green tea in a concentrated form.

Restauranteurs have been using this brilliant green ingredient in culinary applications for quite some time. Matcha ice cream, matcha cream cheese, matcha chocolate and energy bars, parfaits and cheesecakes… the list goes on. Chefs like Toronto’s John Lee of OMI Sushi suggests matcha’s slightly bitter flavour balances well with sweet or chocolaty desserts, which is why it works so well in sweeter cocktails. He adds that it’s not only matcha’s unique taste, but its many health benefits that are making it an increasingly popular ingredient to work with. With as many as eight times the antioxidant properties of regular green tea, a little dose of matcha can go a long way.

Powdered Matcha is available in a few different varieties. For cocktail applications look for sweetened matcha, which often comes in the form of a matcha latté mix. The unsweetened powder is fine, but I find it too bitter to be used without the addition of simple syrup. Mixology Canada Inc. offers powdered matcha in both varieties along with an extensive line of Tea Fuzions concentrates created specifically for cocktails.

This month, I’m offering up two suggestions, one for before the meal and one for after. First, the emerald matcha martini, made with premium Vodka, lychee liqueur, aloe vera juice (another unique ingredient available in most Asian grocery stores) and matcha tea. You’ll find it best to dissolve your matcha in hot water before adding it to your beverages. Try 1 tsp. of matcha powder to 1oz. of hot water. The second is the lychee matcha latté. With both soothing and digestive qualities; it’s made just like it sounds, with lychee liqueur, a shot of matcha and steamed milk, and it’s the perfect way to end a meal.

One thing is certain, Asian inspired cocktails including tea-based creations are here to stay. With a curious consumer base thirsty for a healthy excuse to have a cocktail, and extensive bartender training, these drinks could just be the way to raise your bar!

Emerald Matcha Martini
1 oz. premium vodka
3/4 oz. lychee liqueur
1 tsp. Tea Fuzions matcha latté powder (dissolved in 1 oz. hot water)
2 oz. aloe vera juice

Lychee Matcha Latté
1 oz. lychee liqueur
1 tsp. Tea Fuzions matcha latté powder (dissolved in 1 oz. hot water)
6 oz. steamed milk

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Imagination and Culinary Creativity Shake the Bar Scene

By BartenderOne | Published: July 5, 2010
The Mojito is many bartender's first step into creating hand-crafted cocktails.

The Mojito is many bartender's first step into creating hand-crafted cocktails.

You may have heard the old cliché that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. For many restaurants and bars, service and product quality in the venue represent that weak link. Through years of systemizing our hospitality concepts, only a few operators have successfully maintained their level of bartender training and product quality. Quite often, it’s easier to practice management by abdication than management by delegation. In other words, it’s easier to fill a position with someone who has enough bartender training to get by, than to take the time and effort to train them to be great! The trouble is your front line employees deserve nothing but the best training; they are after all, the first and last impression that your guests will have of your operation.

Back in prohibition times when moonshine tasted like gasoline, juices and sugars were added to create “cocktails” which would make spirits more palatable. Today we enjoy the benefits of technology, which afford us quality spirits and liqueurs which taste great and certainly don’t need to be covered up. I have written in the past about balancing the flavours in a cocktail, making sure that a drink is not too sweet or sour, and that the strength of the base spirit isn’t wasted with too much mix. Now that we have this abundance of quality ingredients, curious bartenders are becoming mixologists and bar chefs and the level of both service and cocktail quality is going up in more than just the major urban centres. Someone once said that a bartender was a pharmacist with a limited inventory. The difference is that there are few bartenders who pursue mixology training with the same vigor as our pharmaceutical partners, largely because of how generic the bartending profession has become over the past 10- 15 years. Many establishments simplified their systems so anyone could be a bartender, and bartending became a job where you could make great money while you were finishing school or waiting for your next audition. Unfortunately, this change towards simplicity has sacrificed guest service and product quality to the point where a quality cocktail is almost unrecognizable because it’s so far from the vast majority of drinks served today.

There are, however, signs that this may be changing, with the recent popularity of more labour intensive drinks like the Caipirinha and the Mojito. Slowly but surely, the craft of mixology is inching its way back into the mainstream. More than a handful of bartenders have begun re- creating cocktails from the ground up, replacing post-mix syrups with fresh juices, re-introducing fresh garnish ingredients which may provoke your curiosity more than a wedge of lime thoughtlessly perched on the rim of a glass. Why did my bartender just grate nutmeg on top of my drink? Maybe a garnish is there for reasons other than decoration? Recently, two of the world’s best known mixologists, Tony Abou- Ganim (The Modern Mixologist) and Dale DeGroff (The King of Cocktails) began taking their message of proper cocktail preparation on the road. Dale’s book “The Craft of the Cocktail” is an essential read for anyone who is serious about raising the level of product quality and service in their establishment. They teamed up with Finlandia Vodka to create “Finnishing School” a one-day course offered around the world – training bartenders and consumers how to create the perfect cocktail with the freshest ingredients. For more information on when you can catch the seminar, contact Kim Charney, 502-774-7291 or Kim_Charney@b-f.com.

Closer to home, Canadian-born Calgary bartender Graham Warner combines a little flair bartending showmanship with his finely tuned mixology skills, creating imaginative cocktails with culinary precision at the Raw Bar in the Hotel Arts. Warner worked and trained in England where he mentions that high-end mixology bars are plentiful and he felt like he was one in a million in terms of schooled bartenders. Europeans seem to be light years ahead of us here in North America, and back at home in Calgary, Warner has taken what he learned in England to help position himself as an industry leader, where he continues to blaze a trail for bartenders in years to come. Warner cites “The Joy of Mixology” by Gary Regan as essential reading material, and his own personal drinks bible. His Toronto counterpart, Rob Montgomery, of Toronto’s Vertical Restaurant has recently begun working on molecular mixology, another concept which has made the leap from culinary applications to the bartending front. Concepts like foams and mists utilizing the different densities of spirits and liqueurs to create solid or gelatinous cocktails may seem like a completely foreign concept, but with a little bit of training, these ideas aren’t as scary as they may seem. Check out next month’s issue for more on molecular mixology.

The bottom line is that bartenders like De Groff, Abou-Ganim, Warner and Montgomery are few and far between, but these trailblazers are driving the message that the same attention that is paid in the kitchen should also be paid to the bar. There is no substitute for proper bartender training and although not every restaurant will be a high- end cocktail bar, every restaurant or bar should be putting their best foot forward in terms of the products and service they provide. The life of your business depends on it. Until next time keep ‘raising the bar’, because if you don’t, someone else will! If you’re looking for a bartending training solution, contact BartenderOne Bartending Schools.

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