Interview: bartender Daniel Hyatt (The Alembic Bar)

Bartender San Francisco

INTERVIEW CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE


Bar San Francisco
Alembic Miniature Copper Pot Still and Savoy Cocktail Books

Would you say you have any mentors when it comes to cocktails or spirits?

There are a lot of people that I admire a good deal, but I really learned this stuff kind of rough and tumble. It was really working with chefs that I learned how to approach this. At least the way that I approach it. The first bar that I bartended at, making cocktails, instead of just pouring shots and beers, was the first time I had to deal with any of this, and I was managing. I walked in and the manager left and they looked to me, no experience, and they’re like, “Can you run this?” “Well, I’ve run kitchens. I’ve managed floor staff. Sure. What does that mean?” “Well, order the booze, order wine, this and that.” I worked for a Food & Beverage Director for a little while, but he knew nothing of cocktails, so I did some research and played around. Then it was when I started working with really talented chefs that I started realizing what you can get out of the economy of a cocktail. Your service isn’t set up to do a huge mise en place or do hours and hours of prep. You don’t have a walk-in full of ingredients. You don’t have a garde manger or entre métier. You’re one person with a barback cleaning glasses and helping you out, and you’re serving a large volume of people. So I started to learn you can get a lot of economy of a few ingredients if you just think about what you’re tasting.

Do you still collaborate with the chef here?

We talk all the time. It’s one of those things where I’ll make something. I always run it by him, like, “What do you think?” I mean, I run it by everybody. I’m not really here to please chefs, I’m here to please people who walk in off the street, but I still want it to be surprising and interesting.

Cocktail San Francisco
Vieux-Carre is a signature option at The Alembic Bar

Where and what do you like to drink when you’re not here?

I’m a pretty simple drinker when I go out, probably because so much of my life is tastings and cocktails and trainings, and this and that. I really like to sit down with bourbon on the rocks and maybe a beer. I love wine with food. That being said, because I know a lot of bartenders in town, when I go out, they generally want me to taste something that they’ve been working on, and that’s cool, because I come at it with a very open mind. Just like I’ll eat anything, I’ll definitely taste anything.

Any bars in particular that you gravitate towards?

I’m kind of a dive bar guy, but some of the better cocktail bars in town that I like a lot, I love going to Club 441 on Jones Street, or Mr. Lew’s Win-Win House and Grand Sazerac Emporium, as they’re calling it now. The Churchill has a very talented staff.

I just met with Dylan [William O’Brien] this morning.

Yeah, that’s a great spot. I like Whiskey Thieves, I like Rye. 15 Romolo in North Beach is a good one.

What would you suggest for a cocktail to make at home? What’s a good one that a lot of people could handle?

If you’re going to make cocktails at home, unless you’re going to really get into it and build yourself a bar and serve some crazy stuff, a handful of classics is going to get you through just about any occasion. By that I mean a bourbon Old Fashioned, a Manhattan, a Negroni. For those more juice inclined, I think a Corpse Reviver No. 2 has got to be one of the biggest crowd pleasers.

Do you have a preferred recipe for Corpse Reviver No. 2?

It’s real simple man. It’s equal parts gin, Lillet blanc, lemon juice, Curacao, and then a dash of absinthe. For your Curacao or Triple Sec, are you looking for brand recommendations?

Yes.

Merlet and Combier both make excellent Triple Secs. Lillet is Lillet and there is no substitute in my mind for a Corpse Reviver. You can play with other, you know Dubbonnet Blanc or Cocchi Americano, all good products, but for me it’s Lillet Blanc. For gin, I’m kind of a Beefeater guy because of the spice. I like really assertive botanicals. If you like a little softer or less assertive, Plymouth is my second choice for gin. There’s no substitute for fresh lemon juice. Absinthe, it’s up to you. I tend to think that Kubler does just fine. Readily available.

How many different ingredients do you make for the bar?

It varies depending on the menu. We generally have five to six house different house-made ingredients. That may be tinctures or syrups. We make our own Grenadine. We do a lavender infused honey syrup that we use in a lot of our cocktails. Right now we’re doing a chile cinnamon gastrique for the Hellfire. We do our black tea infused corn whiskey for our Georgia Mud Squid, and an IPA syrup for the Pale Horse.

An IPA Syrup? Which one do you use?

We use Proving Ground that we make down the street at the brewery, so we kind of keep it in the family there.

How is it that you’re able to maintain a balance in your life?

I wouldn’t say maintaining. It’s more like juggling than balance. You have to wake up every day and assess what needs to get done.

What do you have to get done today?

This morning I had a puppy to take care of, then I have a little financial paper stuff to do for the restaurant. I’m going to bartend for a few hours tonight and go home and maybe read a book.

If you could only drink one more cocktail, what would be in the glass, and how come?

Whatever it would be, I’d make it a double. I love questions like that, but I never know how to answer them. I would probably have a bourbon Old Fashioned.

Who would make it?

One of my bartenders.

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Joshua Lurie

Joshua Lurie founded FoodGPS in 2005. Read about him here.

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