INTERVIEW CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Who are some other bartenders that you really admire, and how come?

That’s a very long list. Bryan Miller here in New York City. I admire him tremendously. Jon Santer in the Bay Area. Those are bartenders, one from each coast, and Zane Harris for the work he’s done to elevate the appreciation for ice in cocktails.

What was the last cocktail you developed, and what was your approach?

I made a drink recently – there’s Kensington Fix. 1 oz. Plymouth gin, 1 oz. Amaro CioCiaro, 3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice, 3/4 oz. simple syrup. Dry shake, and pour into a chilled double rocks glass over crushed ice. Top with crushed ice, and garnish with a lemon wedge. Very much like a classic fix or variation on a cobbler. I was asked to make something bitter, sweet and floral, that seemed to do the trick and it ended up on the menu at Weather Up TriBeCa.

What’s a great simple cocktail recipe for people to make at home?

That one’s pretty simple. Most people can make that at home. I know Zane gave his old fashioned recipe in one of your interviews. That’s always a go-to. How about a Negroni? That’s a good one to make at home.

What are your preferences?

¾ Carpano Antica sweet vermouth, 1 ounce Campari and 1 ¼ Plymouth gin, and I don’t like to stir it, I like to build that directly over a piece of rock ice, and I like to garnish with a piece of orange, not an orange twist.

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

I like to drink at a bar called the Double Windsor. It’s in my neighborhood in Brooklyn. I like to drink beer and Calvados.

If you could only fill your glass with one more cocktail, what would be in the glass?

Maybe a Widow’s Kiss: Calvados, Benedictine, yellow chartreuse and Angostura bitters, because I was never going to have another cocktail in my life, I’d want the last one to make me regret all the ones I had before it, or make me never want another one again, and I think that fits the bill.

Who would make it?

Giuseppe Gonzalez.

Dutch Kills:
27-24 Jackson Avenue, 
Long Island City, NY 11101, 718.383.2724

Painkiller:
49 Essex Street, New York, NY 10002, 212.777.8454

Weather Up TriBeCa:
 159 Duane Street, New York, NY 10013, 212.267.1500