Tag Archives: Bartender Training

The art of cocktail creation “the Ipour experience”

By BartenderOne | Published: June 20, 2011

Grannys liquor

As a follow up to my previous blog “Syrup & Spirit Sundays” I have decided to share my cocktail creation experiences with you. What follows is a step by step breakdown of how our cocktail was created and thought process behind our syrups, infusions, and ultimately the end product!

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Syrup & Spirit Sundays

By BartenderOne | Published: June 17, 2011

Syrups & Infusions

Inspired by my experience taking the Bartenderone IBC course, fellow Bartenderone instructor Jay Patience and I decided to undertake a weekly mission to create some “off the beaten path” syrups and infusions. The first step in our mission was a unique and groundbreaking brainstorming session where we were able to discuss a wide variety of ingredients and spirits. We anticipated the best place to start would be an urban market where we were introduced to an array of herbs, spices, and fruits that are not traditionally found in cocktails. The result for us was a countertop full of ingredients fit for more like a cooking class then a mixology experience.

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Coffee, Caffe, Café!

By BartenderOne | Published: June 16, 2011
Coffee anyone?

Coffee anyone?

Coffee, Caffe, Café! It doesn’t matter where you come from or how you say it: If there is one thing I can’t go a morning with out this would be it. It’s a good thing I live in the Café rich city of Toronto.

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Barback “the backbone of a great bartender”

By BartenderOne | Published: May 18, 2011

Running-Back

A running back in football breaks a tackle and runs the whole field for a glorious touchdown run, but no one reflects on the vital block thrown by the fullback that made it all possible.

A lawyer makes a break in a big case and becomes an instant legal star, but who thinks about the members of their team who did all of the vital legwork behind the scenes to make the big break happen?

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The Power of a Good Team

By BartenderOne | Published: April 22, 2011
Jeremy presenting his cocktail for the IBC

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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BartenderOne in New York

By BartenderOne | Published: April 21, 2011
Gin and Pears and Rosemary, Oh My!

Gin and Pears and Rosemary, Oh My!

Imagine walking into a phone booth, dialling a number, and being redirected back to a world of sipping cocktails next to Charlie Chaplin, Louis Armstrong, and Ella Fitzgerald……

On March 11th of this year, I traveled to New York to experience some of North America’s finest Speakeasies and Mixology bars. With only having one amazing speakeasy in Toronto, we were eager to head to the Big Apple and meet the bartenders that compete in Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans.

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Bar Chef Finals – Winter 2011

By BartenderOne | Published: April 20, 2011

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 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

Rainbow 1943 By Elizabeth Saad

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Raring to Flair?

By BartenderOne | Published: April 19, 2011
Burn baby burn

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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Something to tickle those tastebuds….

By BartenderOne | Published: April 15, 2011
Thirsty?

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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A Lesson in Bar Etiquette

By BartenderOne | Published: April 14, 2011
Tips please!

Tips please!

Tip literally stands for To Insure Promptness.

Most people who work in the service industry rely on tips as a major part of their income. Because this is a known fact, most servers and bartenders are paid minimum wage if not less.

That being said, we all have to keep in mind that a tip is a gratuity and is not mandatory.

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