Bartenders Watch
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THE BEVERAGE NETWORK’S 1| Adam Seger BAR CHEF, NACIONAL 27, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS Bartenders Adam Seger CCP started bartending at the Statler Hotel at Cornell University to during college at the Hotel School. He’s worked at restaurants such as Tru in Watch Chicago and Napa Valley’s French Laundry and has 10 mixed up cocktails on Fox By Laura Holmes Haddad News in the Morning, The Food Network, and The Travel Channel. He is also passionate about wine, passing the advanced exam of the ith cocktails Court of Master Sommeliers in his first making a come- testing. Adam currently collaborates with executive back, there’s a chef/partner Randy W Zweiban at Nacional 27 in whole new generation of Chicago to bring new bartenders shaping the kitchen technologies to the bar, and to create his own cocktail culture in America. liquors and condiments. We found talent in every cor- El Corazon What is your drink philosophy? I take what I have learned from the ner of the country and found 3 ounces Corzo Silver Tequila chefs I have worked with and apply 2 ounces passionfruit juice (no more than 10- 30% sweetener) that philosophy to cocktails: Thomas 1 ten that you should keep 1 /2 ounces pomegranate juice Keller’s religious obsession with the 1 ounce Fresh Sour Mix (preferably from best ingredients, Randy Zweiban’s your eye on. Call them bar- scratch: 2 parts fresh squeezed boldness of flavor, Rick Tramonto’s lemon juice, 1 part simple syrup) dramatic sense of presentation, Gale tenders, mixologists, or bar Shake all ingredients in a shaker. Strain into a Gand’s loveable spin on classics and chilled martini glass with a Kosher Salt and comfort foods, and Serge Knapp’s (of Tellicherry Peppercorn Rim. (Dampen the rim Michelin Star restaurant Chez Julien chefs – whatever their title, with a lemon wedge, then set it upside down on a plate with equal parts kosher salt and in Strasbourg, France) sophisticated these rising stars are shak- freshly ground pepper.) playfulness. If you could bring one spirit and What is the drink that made you ing and stirring in nightclubs, ingredient to a desert island, want to be a bartender? what would it be? An icy, perfectly made bourbon restaurants, and bars around Anejo Tequila and Passion Fruit. Manhattan by a third generation bar- tender named Max Allen, Jr. the country. Using new What is your favorite drink? Champagne Cocktail. What is the most underrated, ingredients and taking their overlooked, or underappreciated What is the most outrageous cocktail? creativity to new heights, ingredient you’ve ever used in a A martini that actually contains gin cocktail? and vermouth. Letcher County Moonshine. what their next creation will What is your dream bartend- What drink do you make the most? ing gig? be is anybody’s guess. El Corazon- it’s becoming my signa- Making cocktails for friends just for ture drink. fun because I don’t need the money. 2 | Ha-Chi Yu BARTENDER, HEIRLOOM, NEW YORK CITY A former ballerina and New York City native, Ha-Chi began bartending ten years ago. Having worked in every position in restaurants, Ha-Chi found her way to the bar because she discovered she was good at pouring drinks, and she likes the people aspect of the job. Ha-Chi believes only those who have a good rapport with people can excel at bartending. “It’s a little like perform- ing,” she says. Blood Orange Martini What drink could you happily never What drink do you find is made differ- make again? ently in each bar? 3 clementines 1 ounce agave nectar SoCo and Lime Shots. Bloody Marys. 5 ounces Three Soy Vodka (or Charbay Blood Orange Vodka) What is your drink philosophy? What is the most underrated, over- 1 1 /2 ounces freshly pressed blood orange, Meyer The customer should enjoy every ingredient in looked, or underappreciated cocktail? lemon, or tangerine juice the drink. Classic Mint Juleps. Muddle the clementines with the agave nectar and the vodka. Add the juice and shake vigorously. Serve in a What is the most outrageous ingredi- What is your favorite brunch cocktail chilled martini glass, garnished with a blood orange slice. ent you’ve ever used in a cocktail? after a long night? Beet and carrot juice. Bloody Marys. If you could pick one spirit and ingredi- ent to bring to a desert island, what What is the drink that made you want What is your dream bartending gig? would it be? to be a bartender? To have my own cabana bar on the beach and Sake. I really thought B52 shots were cool to look at make drinks that I feel like I making. — how the density of the liquid allowed the Favorite drink? layering. Ketel on the rocks. FPO 1/2 Diageo RHP page ad #1 run consecutively 3 | Robert Larcom MIXOLOGIST FOR MYRIAD RESTAURANT GROUP IN NEW YORK CITY Robert Larcom has worked with Myriad for 14 years and is a graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. Robert began his career on the wine side of the restaurant busi- ness and then moved to the bar where he found his passion for making people happy. Chicuita What is the most outrageous ingredient 1 you’ve ever used to make a cocktail? 1 to 1 /2 ounces Frida Kahla Reposado Tequila 1 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice Cotton candy. 1 ounce Elderflower Cordial 2 large orange peels, no white pith What is your drink philosophy? Soda water No matter what the concept is for the restau- What is the most underrated, over- Combine the tequila, lime, cordial and soda water in rant, fresh seasonal ingredients, from mint to looked, or underappreciated cocktail? highball, squeeze in both orange peels. Give it a quick berries to fresh juice, is essential. It’s in the The Sidecar or The Twentieth Century. stir and then serve on the rocks in a highball glass. details: we pickle our own onions and use high-end spirits, and we use agave nectar in What is your dream bartending gig? What is your favorite drink? our margaritas instead of triple sec. The style I love what I do now. I just opened a The next one – I try specialty drinks wherever depends on the restaurant concept – you do Mexican restaurant and created Mexican I go and see what people are drinking and different things at Nobu versus Tribeca Grill, cocktails. Now I’m opening a Louisville check out what other people are doing. If I’m for example – but we always use classic cock- restaurant and we’re making our own bour- on my own, I’m a bourbon neat and beer guy. tail techniques. I show the bartenders how bon. Every restaurant is completely different ingredients should be combined and how that and it forces me to push myself to learn dif- What drink could you happily never style should be brought into the 21st century. ferent styles from different countries and in make again? different regions of the U.S. If I had to pick The Apple Martini or Red Bull and Vodka; to a What is the drink that made you want one thing, I would work behind a small well- lover of the craft of the cocktail they’re just to be a bartender? stocked bar talking to customers and mak- liquified Jolly Ranchers. They’re the crime I’ve always been a huge spirit fan but I ing them happy, turning them on to things. I against cocktails. I would rather use Cointreau would say the first time I had a margarita would ask them what they like and tell them, or Maraschino to make a fun custom drink. made properly. “Let me shake something here.” 4 | Hila Cohen BARTENDER, 808 BAR AT THE WHITELAW HOTEL, MIAMI Hila Cohen started bartending in 2002 when she relocated from Israel to New York. Meeting new people from around the world keeps her motivated at the bar and keeps her in the profession. Hila can be found making wicked martinis at 808, Miami’s hot new martini bar. The Whitelaw Martini What drink could you happily never 1 make again? 1 /2 parts Absolut Vanilla 1 part Amsterdam chocolate liqueur Frozen drinks. 1 part Godiva white chocolate Splash heavy cream What is the most outrageous ingredient Shake all of the ingredients together in a shaker. you’ve ever used to make a cocktail? Rim a martini glass with chocolate syrup and serve. Fire. The drink is “The Flaming Lamborgini.” It’s a shot of Kahlua mixed with a shot of What is the drink that made you want If you could bring one spirit and ingredi- Sambuca served in a martini glass. The glass to be a bartender? ent to a desert island, what would it be? is lit on fire and as the patron drinks a shot of Watching the Sex & the City ladies drink Malibu Mango and pineapple juice, and fresh Bailey’s Irish Cream, Blue Curacao Liqueur their Cosmos. coconut juice from a tree on the desert is poured into it. island. What is the most underrated, over- What drink do you make the most? looked, or underappreciated cocktail? Favorite drink? Martinis and Mojitos. B-52. Watermelon martinis and chocolate chip martinis. What is your drink philosophy? What is your dream bartending gig? If it smells good, it tastes good. Working in Hawaii on a floating bar. 5 | Roy Asbet BARTENDER, HOTEL SHELLEY, MIAMI Roy Asbet has worked in bars around the world, including Peru, Capetown, South Africa, New York City, and currently serves up cocktails to customers in Miami’s Hotel Shelley.