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Creativity
I tend not to get involved these days in many online discussions around ‘controversial’ topics not because I am not interested and engaged in them but these days its too easy for those with too short an attention span or a tendency to pigeonhole to miss the opportunity to discuss opinions different to their own…
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Books
(first published in 2012) Ask any bartender worth his salt and they will have a favourite bar book. It might be The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks (Dick Bradsell), the Savoy Cocktail Book (Paul Martin) or the Waldorf Astoria Bar Book (Paul Harrington). I myself am a fan of the 1971 Playboy Host and Bar…
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The Bar Manual
It has often been said that successful catering is all about theatre, consistency and experience. This has never been so true in bartending today. The modern bartender can be compared to an actor using props (the liquids and the tools of the trade), an audience (the expectant guest), a script (the banter between drinker…
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The Second Golden Age of the Bartender
So I am in a difficult position. I do not have enough grey hairs to be considered a Bartending Grand Master alongside with Dorelli, Regan, Schumann and DeGroff and yet I don’t not have enough hair full stop to be considered a young stud. And yet I figure I have been in the game long…
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Prohibition
“Dark and guarded doors opened into a spreading world of enchantment; a world of soft-lights, seductive scents, silken music, adroit entertainment, smoke and laughter, of perfection of food and service, of wines and liquors of the first quality, all in a setting of gold and silver and brocade, velvet, iron, glass and exotic woods” For…
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Modern Classics
So one of the best parts of my career is creating training modules and presentations to roll out at Bar Shows and education sessions around the world. One is either given a totally free hand and/or is trusted to come up with interesting and educational topics and information that will help inspire bartenders to be…