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!
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.
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.
What is Falernum?
Falernum – really the name seems to just roll off the tongue right? Emphasis on the num part here or should we say the ‘yum’ part because here at BartenderOne there is nothing better than a bit of quality homemade Falernum in your Caribbean style cocktails.
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.
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 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
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”.
The finished product mmmm...
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’.
The amazing fresh produce at St. Lawrence Market, ripe for the picking.
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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GRADUATE DEBT FREE!!!
Recently Bartenderone launched its University Tour initiative up at Brock University’s 2011 Vendor Fair. About 5 years ago we tested the water at Guelph University with a two day condensed version of the Bartenderone Masterclass and it was a great success. Since then the Bartenderone Masterclass has quickly evolved into the most sought after bartending certificate in Canada. What makes Bartenderone different? What makes them better than the competition?
Unlike other bartending schools, Bartenderone’s focus is not on trying spirits and drinks and leaving class “half in the bag” and unable to retain any information that you learned. The focus is on understanding spirit profiles and executing cocktails with the concepts of synergy, accuracy, and speed being the main emphasis. Sprinkle in some valuable wine knowledge and high impact, low risk flair techniques and our graduates are better prepared than any others entering into the hospitality industry.
Being a University graduate myself I can understand and relate to the day to day financial struggles of a student with a full course load. Entering my second year at Guelph University my steady diet of Chunky soup and Mr. Noodles became very tiresome and I was becoming very weary of my increasing student debt. Like most other students my only solution was to find a part time job to assist me with my problem. While home for Christmas break I attended bartending school in Toronto at Bartenderone and became one of the first graduates of the program. This certification allowed me to go back to Guelph and immediately find a job barbacking. Although I wasn’t making “rockstar” bartender money at first, barbacking was a great stepping stone for me and put a steady flow of money in my pocket to help me survive. By third year, after a lot of hardwork and patience, I was bartending 3 nights a week and paying my rent in one week worth of tips! All of a sudden I had a large amount of disposable income at my fingertips and the prospect of eliminating my student debt while still a student became a very real possibility! Being very conscious of the poor spending habits of my past I put in place a very simple plan to save money that I learned while attending bartending school. The result was one year of barbacking, two years of high volume bartending experience, and zero student debt when I graduated! There are many part-time jobs available to post secondary students but none of them compare to the potential money you can make once you work in a tip friendly environment! Bartending proved so lucrative for me that I became a full-time instructor and mixologist with Bartenderone. Work smarter not harder!