The Craft
of the Bar
by Binoy Fernandez
C
ocktails have always been big. Maybe not as big as beer or
wine, but bartenders have never been short of orders for a
mixed drink, and, understand me, that is all a cocktail is: a mixed
drink consisting of at least two separate liquid components.
The definition has changed over time to become what it is, but that
is essentially what a cocktail is now.
Around a year ago I became a member of an organization, the
US Bartenders’ Guild (www.usbg.org). It’s a pretty neat group
comprised of not just bartenders, but individuals from all areas of
the industry – ranging from those that make the spirits, to those
that use the spirits, and all the way to those that consume the
spirits. The thing about the USBG is that once you join you get
access to the forums, where you can interact and learn from all these
people. It’s probably through there that I began to see something
happening in the drinking culture, something I was contributing to
at the time, and something that began to cause me no little amount
of concern.
“The drinks we get, whether
cocktail, beer, wine, or water,
are all products of the craft, but
aren’t craft in and of themselves.”
I remember it was around Christmas time that I was at home
fixing myself a Manhattan. I had left the bulk of my tools at
the shop and was getting ready to stir it up with a tablespoon
inserted upside down in a round double old-fashioned glass rather
than a proper mixing glass. I found myself sipping on my drink
while catching up on some of the USBG blogs available through
the forums when it struck me: what makes a Manhattan a craft
drink at one bar and just a cocktail at another? The drink is two
parts American whiskey, one part Italian vermouth, and a dash
of aromatic bitters. Given two places that are using the same
proportions and ingredients, why was it that one place would claim
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a craft cocktail while the other would just serve up a Manhattan?
Then it hit me: there is no such thing as a craft cocktail.
You see, it all started with the USBG forums, and then it
flowed into the fledgling chapter meetings I attend once a month
in Lincoln. Then I started thinking about those bartenders and
colleagues in the industry. A cocktail, beer, glass of wine… even a
soft drink, these are all products of the craft of bartending, but that
is all they are. The craft lies within the bartender, not the product.
The more our bartenders see what they do as a profession, as a craft,
the more likely they will put together a better experience for their
customers.
And it is about the experience. You can have the best bartender
in the world, creating some of the most delectable and amazing
liquid concoctions imaginable, but if that bartender can’t create
the experience you are looking for, chances are you aren’t staying
for a second drink. Bartenders have an interesting job: we are part
scientist, sort of like a pharmacist, sometimes a psychiatrist, and
often a friend. We specialize in moving a very specific drug called
alcohol, and I believe those that are interested in getting better
at it are constantly working to learn and grow. It’s this process of
learning and growing that I believe lies at the heart of the craft.
I’m more a scientist type of bartender than any other kind.
I’m constantly tinkering, trying to improve both my palate and
my skills, pondering new flavor combinations whilst at the same
time going back to old established ones. Right now I’m helping
bartenders who work in volume bars that specialize in getting beers
out to the masses learn about techniques such as rapid infusions,
stirring and such, while they simultaneously teach me about how
to better spot fake IDs and more efficient ways to manage large and
multiple orders. I’ve begun to see what we do as the same thing: the
craft of bartending, but that we specialize in different areas. It’s an
interesting thing, and, if you stop to think about it, really cool.
The craft of drinks applies just as much to the local volume
college bars as it does to your specialized cocktail bars. The drinks
we get, whether cocktail, beer, wine, or water, are all products of the
craft, but aren’t craft in and of themselves. What makes something
craft, my friends, lies within the bartender.