INTERVIEW CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
What would you like people to know you for as a bartender?
I’m best known for the Negroni of the Month Club, and my yearly event called the Negroni Social. Each month, we do a variation on a classic Negroni cocktail. And then after 12 months we throw a late-night, invite only party of all bartenders and foodies to unveil all 12 Negronis side by side. It’s an event for charity. We raised $2000 last year and are targeting $4000 this year, and I think that’s what I want to be known for. It’s a charity event. It’s a really fun part of the cocktail program, which pushes us to continually evolve one cocktail over and over and over again. We’ve done a lot of fun things. We’ve dehydrated Campari. I’ve de-alcoholized Campari. A bunch of different things to try and keep that program running. And we only have a month. My favorite cocktails have come and gone. I might have left them on for three, four, five months, since I love them so much, then next month comes and I’ve got to let them go. The Negroni Social is my time to unveil all 12 of them.
What does a cocktail have to be if it’s going to go on your menu at Nostrana?
It has to be delicious, absolutely balanced and delicious. I’m surrounded by palates in that kitchen that would tear my cocktails apart if they’re not perfect, so there’s no way anything would ever get on the list if it wasn’t delicious. I make them at least 15 times before they ever hit the list, and Cathy and our chef Brian Murphy have a stellar palate. They’ll taste them. The servers at the line-up will give feedback. All of our cocktails are a little bit different, and they’re not always ingredients that we feel comfortable with, so I have to have the servers excited about them. If the server’s excited about a cocktail, it will fly at the restaurant. If they’re not, then it’s not going to go anywhere. It’s a combination of things.
What’s your top selling cocktail, and why do you think that’s the case?
That’s an interesting one. My top selling cocktail is a rye whiskey Old Fashioned. And it’s a classic, classic take. Simple, sugar, bitters, whiskey, ice. We use large ice cubes that we freeze upstairs. We’re not fortunate enough to have a Kold Draft machine, but it’s important for our cocktail. I use a gum Arabic syrup, which adds viscosity to the drink. And we sell a lot of them. It’s the most simple cocktail that’s on the list, probably.
What do you look for when you’re hiring a bartender?
A lot. I just went through 115 resumes, 10 interviews, 5 stages, but the most important is personality. I hire hosts. I hire people who like people and like to host people. I also hire for wine knowledge because we have a gigantic wine program that you have to have an understanding on.
That’s a challenge.
That for them is a big part of the bar program.
What kind of music do you like to listen to when you’re behind the bar?
I’m really fortunate that during happy hour, we get to put on almost anything we want, so it’s a wide range from current indie. I love LCD Soundsystem on the radio when I’m working. But I also love some Miles Davis radio when I’m scrubbing down too. We have Pandora and also have a Rhapsody account where we can pretty much access anything. Miles Davis is a common one recently. Something old and jazzy is fun.
How are you able to maintain balance in your life, if you’re even able to do that?
That’s a great question, and I talked a lot about that recently because I guess it’s a unique form of it, but bartending is one of the most social jobs you can do. You’re forced in front of people. You’re on display all the time. You’re continually talking to people. You’re also dealing with the staff all the way through the end of the night. Chefs sit down and I give them alcohol and they vent, so there’s no escape in the restaurant. So I take my days away. I’m a fly fisherman, and I don’t like to go with anyone else. I’ll go as far away as I can get in the time that I have, and I camp alone. Me and my dog go. I just got back, and I don’t like to see people. I just like to be far away. That’s my escape. That’s my balance.
Who’s somebody that you’ve never worked with behind the bar, that you would most like to work with?
Jamie Boudreau. I’ve learned a lot from his internet presence and think that he’s such a fun person. He’s so personable and witty, still a little quirky, very, very well educated. That’s what I want. I just propositioned him to be a competitor for the Negroni Social. We have a competition, and unfortunately he said no, he’s very busy with Vessel and couldn’t get away, but that’s my number one.
Where and what do you like to drink when you’re not working?
I am a beverage aficionado and I go right by the moment, so like I asked you, “Would you like a lemonade?” because it’s sunny outside. Sometimes I just want a pale fizzy lager. I’ll drink Budweiser. I have no qualms with it if the time’s right. And if I’m sitting down to dinner, I’m big into a bitter aperitivo cocktail. I love bitters. Some type of Americano or amari like Campari or Aperol. When it comes down to it, with food, all I want is wine. White wine, mostly. Sometimes orange.
If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, primarily to drink cocktails and spirits, what city would it be and why?
Milan. I’ve been into Italian beverage for so long, and that’s the Mecca. Milan and Turin, but Milan especially. I’m heading there in September and am very excited about it.
If you could only drink one more cocktail, what would be in the glass?
Green chartreuse, chilled.
That’s not a cocktail.
True. A cocktail? Today is my day? What time is it? Is it night? Is it day? Am I eating? That’s a big question.
You’re not eating and it’s at night.
A Plymouth Negroni.
Who would you let make it for you?
I would want Murray Stenson to make it for me. He’s been doing it for so long that I can’t even fathom he’s been doing it that long. A memory like no other.
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