iSanté Spirits & Libations Blog with Steven Olson aka wine geek

Grandma skis!

noreply@blogger.com (iSanté) — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 08:34:00 +0000

Hey bartenders (or is that mixologists?)

As many of you know, I am a fan of Grandma, going way back. Maybe because I love it in my margaritas (and you know I am a Tequila and Mezcal fanatic), or maybe because it is just such a natural for après ski (and you KNOW I am a complete ski fanatic), or maybe because it is impeccably distilled and well-made, and a family owned and operated company to this day, (since the 1880s) or maybe it is just because I find it to be so damn delicious! Maybe it is all of those things, but whatever it is, I am looking forward to working with my friends at Grand Marnier to present the Grand Marnier and Navan Mixology Summit 2008, in Vail, Colorado, March 29 to April 1.

For me, this is like a dream: Amazing cocktails, phenomenal food, great friends, and the exceptional skiing of Vail, all mixed into one weekend. I will be there, teaching, talking, skiing, eating, drinking, and socializing, and so will some of the top mixologists in the country, including of course my partner, Andy Seymour, and other members of our consulting team at aka wine geek: Jacques Bezuidenhout, Willy Shine, Aisha Sharpe, Leo DeGroff, Jim Meehan, Tad Carducci, and many others from all around the country.

This will be a weekend of insightful seminars, hands-on workshops, cocktail and food pairing dinners, and more (like eating, drinking and skiing!)

The event is open to all bartenders (with some state restrictions) and you must apply to be considered to attend the event. Every applicant must submit four recipes of original cocktails including three Grand Marnier and one Navan, corresponding to four categories: one dry, one sweet, one highball, and one free form.

The 100 best applicants will then be selected by the Grand Marnier team, invited to attend, and hired as consultants for the weekend to help develop recipes for use in national marketing programs. Upon completion of your consulting services, you will receive a check for $1,200.

How cool is that?
I hope to see you there.

Find more details and official rules at mixologysummit.com.

Feliz Ano Nuevo!

noreply@blogger.com (iSanté) — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 08:02:00 +0000

Feliz Ano Nuevo!

CHEERS to 2008 being a great year for each of you. I am back from the holidays, and back in action on the blog!

We did get a little break over the holidays, but we also worked hard as my partner at aka winegeek, Andy Seymour, and I have spent the past several weeks working on the beverage program at a hotel called AQUA in Cancun, Mexico. The project is in conjunction with the Posadas Hotel Group, who own some of the top hotels in Mexico and have re-launched AQUA, which was shut down in 2005 after the wrath of Hurricane Wilma all but leveled the island. We were brought in to implement the wine and cocktail program for the entire property, which includes six bars, three high-end restaurants, in-room dining, and banquets. The highlight of the program [for us] is our bar: aka bar, Vino y Mezcal por Steven Olson, a wine and Tequila/mezcal bar which will feature all of our wines on property (over 200 to start) and over 60 Tequilas and mezcals. Obviously this will be our favorite watering hole! The cocktail list has 16 Tequila cocktails, three types of sangritas, Tequila flights, mezcal flights, and food from any of the restaurants is available at the bar. Nice!

AQUA's chefs are three of the best: Michelle Bernstein from Miami (Michy's), Franco Maddalazzo from Italy, and Mexico's 2007 chef of the year, Martha Ortiz. Each chef has his/her own restaurant within the hotel, and each of the cocktail lists and wine lists were designed specifically to fit within the theme and cuisine of each of the different restaurants. As you can imagine, working with chefs like these, we were able to build our programs as accompaniments to some really fantastic food.

The cocktail program has been a lot of fun, creating a property-wide fresh juice program and handcrafted cocktails at every bar-even poolside! We have been doing extensive training, and have even brought in some of our team to help, including Tad Carducci and Leo DeGroff. The wine list was challenging in many ways, as there is not a lot to choose from in Cancun, but the extra work made the final results that much more rewarding. We represent many regions and grape varieties on this list, but the primary focus is Spain, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and perhaps the most comprehensive selection of the very best Mexican wines anywhere.

It is no secret that I love Argentine and Chilean wines, and many of you know me as one of the first, and certainly one of the most passionate, ambassadors for Wines from Spain, but I must say I am also blown away by the underestimated quality of the top Mexican producers, and as such, have built a rather impressive collection of the very best Mexican wines.

I am also extremely pleased and impressed by the focus, dedication, and the passion of all of the people involved in the project. AQUA is the brainchild of Francisco Gutierrez, the director of the entire Posadas group. The passion starts at the top, and from the General Manager Fernando Gibaja, to director of operations Carlos Estrada, to Beverage Director Gustavo Martinez (the latter two attended our September BAR course) and including every one of the well-trained servers and bartenders---they have all welcomed us and embraced our programs. The entire AQUA team, whether in the spa, at the pool, working in rooms, at the door, or at the front desk, has welcomed and embraced us, and our concepts, and made us feel like part of the team.

The Grand Opening is in just a few weeks, and we will be flying back down to help kick things off officially. We hope to see you all at AQUA Cancun one day in the future, having a Mezcal cocktail at aka bar before your dinner at MB, experiencing this amazing hotel situated on its very own, stunning, beach, and being welcomed, served, and pampered by the AQUA team. I think you will agree that it is definitely worth the trip.

iSanté Blog #4

noreply@blogger.com (iSanté) — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 05:41:00 +0000

BAR (Beverage Alcohol Resource) is proud to announce the graduating class of the Five-Day Course, held September, 2007. Congratulations to all who took the course, with special acknowledgement for the stars below that passed the certification examinations:

BAR Ready
Audrey Saunders, Pegu Club, New York City
Julie Reiner, Flatiron Lounge, New York City
Charlotte Voisey, Hendricks Gin, William Grant, USA
Don Lee, PDT (Please Don't Tell), New York City
Gerry Corcoran, 11 Madison, New York City
Phil Ward, Death & Co, New York City
Robert Leavey, Summit at The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colorado
St. John Frizell, Tailor, New York City
Stanislav Vadrna, Paparazzi Ristorantes, Slovakia

BAR Certified
Camille Broderick, Moet Hennessy USA
Diego Loret de Mola, BevMax International Inc.
Luciano Sperduto, Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin, Orlando, Florida
Chris Patino, Ambassador, Absolut Spirits Co
Nathaniel Axel
Amar Mehta

In March 2006, in New York City, five partners---Doug Frost, MS, MW; Dale DeGroff; Paul Pacult; David Wondrich; and me, Steven Olson---opened Beverage Alcohol Resource (BAR). BAR is an independent organization whose mission is to educate, guide, and propagate the healthy, enlightened, and responsible use of beverage alcohol products. BAR was chosen as CHEERS Magazine Beverage Innovator of the Year 2007. For more information, please visit http://www.beveragealcoholresource.com/.

iSanté Blog #3

noreply@blogger.com (iSanté) — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 05:22:00 +0000

The results you have been waiting for are finally here!

The finalists in the 2007 Vinos de Jerez Cocktail Competition:

Bertrand Bouquin, Summit at the Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Matt Costa, El Quinto Pino, New York City
Giuseppe Gonzalez, Flatiron Lounge, New York City
Don Lee, PDT (Please Don't Tell), New York City
Jordan Mackay, Cantina, San Francisco
Brian Matthys, Izakaya Ten, New York City
Ryan Maybee, JP Wine Bar and Coffee House, Kansas City, Missouri
Jim Meehan, Gramercy Tavern, New York City
Maki Nishii, Bellagio, Las Vegas

The finals will be held at Flatiron Lounge in New York on November 29, and will be judged by:

Dale DeGroff, King of Cocktails; Founding Partner, Beverage Alcohol Resource
David Wondrich, Writer/Editor/Historian, Founding Partner, Beverage Alcohol Resource
Julie Reiner, Proprietor, Flatiron Lounge
Andy Seymour, Sherry Ambassador, aka wine geek; Partner, Beverage Alcohol Resource
Jacques Bezuidenhout, Winner, 2005 Vinos de Jerez Cocktail Competition
. . . and of course, me, Steven Olson
Judging overseen by F. Paul Pacult, Spirits Journal; Founding Partner, Beverage Alcohol Resource

All of the cocktails will be tasted by the media and the press that evening, and the winners will be announced at a book launch party for:

THE BIG BOOK OF SHERRY WINES
hosted by me, Steven Olson, Wines from Spain and the Bodegas of Jerez

This month, the Consejo Regulador (regulatory council) of Jerez and Fedejerez will release The Big Book of Sherry Wines to the United States, following great success in Spain and the United Kingdom. César Saldaña, director general of the Consejo Regulador, and representatives from some of the finest Bodegas in Jerez will travel to New York for the event, hosted by Steven Olson, aka wine geek, and Wines from Spain. Guests will have a chance to view the book, while enjoying Vinos de Jerez paired with the cuisine of:

Andy Nusser of Casa Mono and Bar Jamon
Alexandra Raij of Tía Pol and El Quinto Pino
Seamus Mullen of Suba and Boqueria
Máximo Tejada of Rayuela

In addition, the finalists of the Vinos de Jerez 2007 Cocktail Competition will be in attendance and guests will be able to sample each of their cocktails. The winner will be announced that night.

Where: The Gabarron Foundation Carriage House Center for the Arts - 149 E 38th St., New York City
When: Nov. 29, 7:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Who: An exclusive gathering of trade and media friends
For more information about this event, please contact Sarah Tirone at sarah@akawinegeek.com

About The Big Book of Sherry Wines
Published by the Sherry Council of Jerez and designed for connoisseurs and amateurs alike, The Big Book of Sherry Wines is the English edition of the Gran Libro de los Vinos de Jerez y la Manzanilla. The book acts as a tour guide to its readers, taking them on a trip into the heard of Jerez and its 3,000-year-old origins, up until the time Jerez 'discovered' America and evolved into the Sherry we know and drink today. Newcomers will also benefit from the book's explanation of the unique ways in which Sherry is made, screening the journey that the wine takes from vineyard to bottle, showcasing all varieties. The book demonstrates that there is a Sherry for every occasion, every taste and every drinker!

Top sherry 'maestros' share their winemaking secrets and experiences, direct from the bodega. Other top specialists from the gastronomy, cultural, historical and oenological fields also contribute to the book, enabling readers to engage with the beauty of Jerez, giving an introduction to its people, customs, and innovative architecture. Combined with beautiful imagery, the book shows off the newfound vitality and glamour within today's Jerez at the same time as staying grounded in its tradition. The book comprises the help of 18 esteemed authors, all of whom are maestros in the field of Sherry and Manzanilla. This all-star cast not only has the knowledge and experience of Sherry, but all share a passion for the drink.

About Sherry
Sherry is Spain's most famous wine, and perhaps its most notable contribution to the world of wine and food. It is extremely versatile and comes in a variety of styles, one of which is appropriate for any occasion, and all of which are amazingly food-friendly. For more information, please visit www.enjoysherry.com or www.sherry.org.

The book is now on sale via internet at http://www.madaboutsherry.com.

I drink for a living!

noreply@blogger.com (steve olson) — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 18:31:00 +0000

Just posted iSanté Spirits & Libations blog #1 yesterday, and I am already getting the same question that I get every time I show my face in public (which is just about every day):

What are you up to? Traveling a lot? Keeping yourself busy?
. . . and the inevitable What exactly do you do for a living?

Perhaps in response to the arguably fair question that I really have no answer to . . . we probably last saw each other in Vermont at the Santé Restaurant Symposium in May, where I spoke about a wide range of subjects, including:

*Greek wine and food, with Sofia Perpera, Roger Dagorn, and Michael Weiss, complete with an outrageous cooking demo by Atlanta-based Kyma Chef Pano Karatassos, who also cooked us our amazing closing lunch paired with Greek wines on Wednesday

*Sherry and tapas, with Andy Seymour, my partner in crime, and in business, at aka wine geek

*Bartender education (on Francesco LaFranconi's panel, with Livio Lauro and Dale DeGroff)

And even a seminar on the:

*Proper and profitable pairing, service, tasting, and applications of bottled spring water in restaurants and bars (again with Andy, sponsored by Pellegrino and Panna, and available on podcast)

Or you saw Sarah Tirone, aka wine geek office manager and Sherry ambassador, behind our Sherry table (Vinos de Jerez) in the tasting tent.

Since we were together in May:

I returned to NYC and worked with my partners (Dale DeGroff, Doug Frost, Paul Pacult, Andy Seymour, and David Wondrich) and conducted the [third] BAR school in NYC (see our Web site for more info: www.beveragealcoholresource.com).

I acted as the wine guy for the Charityworks 100 point wine tasting/dinner/charity fund raiser in DC, featuring some of the top chefs in the area, including Patrick O'Connell, Michel Richard, Fabio Trabocchi, Roberto Donna, Robert Wiedmaier, and Jonathan Krinn.

I spoke with my partners in BAR at drinkwell academy events, BAR's collaboration with DIAGEO and Zagat to help improve cocktails and service in our country. We also successfully launched the official education/certification Web site (see site at www.drinkwell.com).

It should be mentioned that we also work with the BAR team on all BAR and drinkwell events, which includes Contemporary Cocktails' Willy Shine and Aisha Sharp, Leo DeGroff, Jacques Bezuidenhout, David Lusby, and others.

In early June, I lectured on behalf of Wines from Spain in Seattle and LA, celebrating 25 years of WFS in the US, and featured ten of the finest wines ever produced in Spain (www.winesfromspain.com).

Later that week I flew overseas, as I was honored to lecture in Crete at the Kerasma conference (in Greece, talking about Greek wines!) amongst such dignitaries as David Rosengarten, Diane Kochilas, Pano Karatassos, and Gordon Ramsay (www.allaboutgreekwine.com).

I spent the rest of June in Colorado, first speaking at the Food and Wine Magazine Classic in Aspen, where I conducted a seminar on Extra Anejo Tequilas and Rare Mezcals, I led two more twenty-fifth-anniversary tastings for Wines from Spain, and I moderated a cocktail clinic [brunch cocktails] with Dale DeGroff, Tony Abou Ganim, David Wondrich, Julie Reiner, Andy Seymour, and a host of others. The same crew served amazing Tequila and Mezcal cocktails at our annual post classic cocktail/pool party, sponsored by our friends at Gran Centenario.

Andy and I then went with our families to visit our friends at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs for consulting work, where we/they have now converted the entire property to fresh juices and handcrafted, seasonal cocktails, with fantastic, value-oriented, international wine lists featuring dozens of selections by the glass, the brainchild of F&B Director Craig Reed, under the direction of the gifted young Beverage Director, Tim Baldwin. There we also have the opportunity to work with Bertrand Bouquin, one of the most creative and talented chefs I have ever worked with (and that is a long list of great ones!) who is also heavily involved in the creation of our cocktail programs.

Then we journeyed to the opposite end of the state so that I could perform my duties as master of ceremonies for the Telluride Wine Fest's Tribute to Spanish Food and Wine in America, where we conducted seminars on cocktails and Sherry and hosted lunches and dinners, with amazing chefs like Andy Nusser, Alexandra Raij, Michelle Bernstein, Bertrand Bouquin, Siegfried Eisenberger, and Karen DeMasco and great speakers such as Doug Frost, Wayne Belding, and Sally Mohr.

In July it was off on a research journey to Spain (Bierzo and Galicia) with the director of Wines from Spain, Katrin Naelapaa, and a group of top journalists and members of the trade, visiting DO's that had heretofore garnered little attention with the press. Of course we visited the amazing Albarino producers of Rias Baixas (Pazo de Senorans, Fillaboa, Terras Gauda), and the top producers of Bierzo (Paixar, Dominio de Tares, Descendientes de J. Palacios), but we also tasted truly brilliant wines in Valdeorras (As Sortes!), Ribeira Sacra (Dominio do Bibei), and Ribeiro (Vina Mein).

Besides the week in Spain, July was a month to catch our breaths, and finish up a lot of consulting work at home in NYC. We edited our new Sherry trade training DVD, and a few other video projects, including our On Demand programming that we are doing with Bobby Borchardt of Cuisine Populaire fame (www.cuisinepopulaire.com). We also conducted a training for the team of Pellegrino and Panna and Perrier, and we were involved in an in-depth research project, including blind tasting sessions and intense trainings, with the innovations team at Pepsi.

I spent the month of August in South America, based in Buenos Aires, from where Andy and I did some research work in Brazil with an amazing Cachaca producer, Vicente Bastos Ribeiro (Nega Fulo) and rum distillery (Oronoco). I also visited the top producers of the Mendoza region from our apartment in BA (Trapiche, Catena, Susana Balbo, Benmarco, Mendel) then skied with my family in Bariloche. Then it was off to Chile for more research (I visited Clos Apalta, Neyen, Montes with the amazing Patrick Valette) and snuck in a little cat skiing in the Andes at El Arpa with my buddy Brian Pearson of Santiago Adventures (www.skiarpa.com).

Back home for two days, then we were off to Spain again, this time with a group of sommeliers, mixologists, and chefs to eat and drink our way through Andalucia, experiencing the culture and visiting specifically the bodegas of Jerez (Gonzalez Byass, Williams and Humbert, Sandeman, Domecq, and Lustau---for more info visit www.enjoysherry.com).

No sooner had we landed in NYC than Andy and I turned around and headed for Colorado for the launch there of Oronoco rum.

Then, back in NYC a day later, we conducted a tasting of Absolut's crazy good new 100 proof Vodka for hotel F&B's at Keen's (our favorite home away from home for spirits tasting---the venue for BAR also).

That weekend, Andy and a few of our teammembers crafted Gran Centenario cocktails at the Foxwoods Festival.

The following week we were lecturing at the StarChefs conference in NYC (Vinos de Jerez and Tapas), hosting a table, making cocktails (Andy) and helping to sponsor the three day event (Sherry and Wines from Spain), that featured some of the top chefs in the world.

Sarah represented aka wine geek at the Great Matches in both NYC and Chicago, while Andy and I were jammed up, because it was time again for the five-day BAR school in late September, with the entire team again.

At the end of September, just as soon as the BAR exams were collected, the aka wine geek team drove up to lead seminars on Sherry and Spanish wines at the second annual Newport (RI) Wine Festival, where we also hosted a Jerez table.

We then raced home just in time to present (Tequila and Mezcal) at the Bon Appetit National Sales Meeting at Los Dados, Sue Torres' hot new Mexican restaurant in the meat packing district, working there with Gardner Dunn and his cool cocktails (it was made official in September---I am now the Wine and Spirits consultant for Bon Appetit).

The next week we were in Vegas, at Sensi at the Bellagio, preaching the gospel of Tequila and Mezcal to 50 of the top mixologists in the country, with a few of our BAR partners and the BAR team, on behalf of Partida Tequila, as organized and orchestrated brilliantly by Jacques Bezuidenhout. (We only blind tasted 32 tequilas and 8 cocktails, and matched some of them with food.)

Then it was three back to back to back VODKA category info seminars for the Bellagio mixology team, working with the amazing Beverage Director Heidi Hinkle, and the next day three more back to back to back seminars, this time about Spanish wine/Sherry for the top sommeliers, mixologists, managers and servers at the Bellagio (with some friends from the outside), working with Sante Wine Professional of the year, Bellagio Wine Director Rob Bigelow.

Home on the redeye from there for distributor trainings on behalf of Wines from Spain.

Then we flew to SF with the whole BAR team to perform some educational work with the highly trained Absolut ambassadors (many of whom have attended the BAR school also, led of course by the lovely and talented Andrea Bearbower, and the inimitable Simon Ford).

Back in NYC again, I conducted some tastings at the (amazing!) Bon Appetit Supper Club with the unsung heros Jonathan Lindenauer, Bon App chef, Pam Warr, and the entire team at Bon App, featuring a legion of highly regarded, nationally acclaimed chefs.

Now the last week of October, Andy and I conducted an in-depth training for the Don Julio team at DIAGEO (we only tasted 15 Tequilas at this one).

Then we had the opportunity to work with Rums of Puerto Rico and Melanie Young (and David Ransom) staging an intimate bartender workshop for about 20 top NYC-based pros where we talked history and quality and aging and process, and demonstrated the versatility of PR rums, followed by a press presentation, where we crafted crazy delicious cocktails with PR Rums and paired them with the cuisine of Puerto Rican phenom chef Wilo Benet.

And early the next morning . . .

We flew down to Orlando for the EPCOT Int'l Food and Wine Festival to work with our old friend John Blazon, last year's Santé Wine Professional of the Year, conducting a number of seminars, one about Sherry and Tapas, another a tour of the red hot Spanish Wines for Katrin and Wines from Spain, and a full day and night teaching Greek wines at the Disney Wine School, again working with our friends George and Sofia and even Chef Pano behind the line, but this time also with Michael Psilakis (Anthos). Andy conducted a number of staff trainings for the Disney restaurants while we were there also.

In addition to all of this . . .

We just began working on a new consultancy, designing the beverage programs and helping to open Aqua, a luxurious hotel in Cancun with amazing chefs on board. (More on that soon---we are heading there next week.)

In addition, we of course are consulting for the brilliant people at OTG Management, who are [finally!] bringing wine bars, handcrafted cocktails, decent beers, and really good food to the nation's airports. Nikos Mavreas, another outstanding member of our team at aka wine geek, heads up that consulting position, acting as Corporate Beverage Director for OTG Management.

We continue our wonderful relationship with the five-star/five-Diamond Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs (we will be back there in two weeks).

Our longstanding relationship working with Grand Marnier on trade education continues, as we play host to the Grand Marnier and Navan Mixology Summit in Vail, CO next March (more on that later).

The DIAGEO/Virtual Bartender kiosks are begining to show up nationwide in retail stores.

Drinkwell and the drinkwell academy gears up for another big year in 2008.

. . . and the BAR school continues to improve on a daily basis: It was filled to capacity for September and is nearly so for May already. We are also doing a lot of consulting-type educational work as a company (which is basically how we can afford to offer the course so relatively inexpensively, besides the fact that none of the partners get paid fees to teach the course.)

Normal schedule for me.

Didn't want to know? Next time, don't ask!

If you do want to know, just check the calendar at www.akawinegeek.com to see where we are and what we are up to, as I will not ever be doing a schedule breakdown like that again in this space.

DO, however, check here early next week for the announcement of the finalists for the 2007 Sherry Cocktail Competition!

I will try my best to keep you up-to-date on what we are up to, but don't expect postings with such detail or regularity, or this often. They will likely be far more sporadic, as my schedule is INSANE (but you now know that!).

Welcome to the iSante Spirits and Libations Blog with Steve Olson, aka wine geek (www.akawinegeek.com)

noreply@blogger.com (iSanté) — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 13:50:00 +0000

Join me for an irreverent yet relevant insider's view of our industry, which I hope to share with you on a somewhat irregular basis.

On this blog I will be keeping all possibilities open, never locking ourselves into any particular area of commentary. We will certainly talk bartending and service, and beverages of all textures and aromatic profiles, whether wine, beer, spirits, cocktails, sake, and even non alcohol tipples.

We will reach back and explore the most obscure but exciting historical tidbits, dispel all of the recurring myths and legends that deserve to be properly rectified (because you deserve to know), unveil the latest in new research as it happens, reveal the changes in legislation as they occur, examine current and future trends, and attempt to deal with some of the issues that we face on a daily basis.

For some of you readers, this may be seen as the next logical step in a somewhat illogical progression in my longstanding relationship with Mark Vaughan and his family and Santé. I was there when he gathered industry voices for the very first issue (1996). I wrote in all of the early issues, eventually settling into a role as occasional columnist, penning "The Geek Speaks" quarterly, where I once issued my decree to all pros, "Just Say No to Merlot" over ten years ago. How unlike me to provoke controversy.

As a speaker and a board member at each of the Santé Restaurant Symposiums and once being chosen as Santé Spirits Professional of the Year, Santé and I have long enjoyed a professional relationship, so it is only fitting I suppose that I now turn to uncensored blogging for the Geek to speak his piece (peace?).

Besides providing fodder for questions and input, the purpose of the blog for this submittal is to let you know that one of our partners in BAR (http://www.beveragealcoholresource.com/), Dr. David Wondrich, the historical oracle himself, has just [finally!] released perhaps the single most important work on the history of the cocktail ever published, IMBIBE: FROM THE ABSINTHE COCKTAIL TO WHISKEY SMASH, A SALUTE IN STORIES AND DRINKS TO "PROFESSOR" JERRY THOMAS, PIONEER OF THE AMERICAN BAR. It is an absolute MUST READ for anyone that has ever fancied themselves as a bartender, much less has designs on becoming a mixologist.

Which is the topic for today: what does it take to call one's self a mixologist? My partner, Andy Seymour, without a doubt one of the finest mixologist/bartenders in the land, eschews the title of mixologist, in favor of being called a bartender. The BAR school is certainly doing what we can to set the bar (so to speak) and Livio and Francesco and everyone at the Bartenders' Guild is working hard to establish some form of criteria for the titles, but . . .

Andy's (and my) point: until we establish an official criteria, what distinguishes a mixologist from a bartender? Do some actually have the right to the title already? No one could dispute someone like Tony Abou Ganim's use of the title in his company name, and yet, if he (justifiably) uses it, can others do so as well? who is allowed, and who isn't?

Whaddya think?

Welcome

noreply@blogger.com (iSanté) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 00:03:00 +0000

We are pleased to present you with this blog from Steve Olson. We are certain that Steve will entertain and delight you with news, information, and more from the world of spirits and libations! A votre santé!