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Famous bartenders not only serve visitors perfectly, but also contributed to the development of cocktail culture. It is not enough for them to be able to make Mojito or Daiquiri, they must know several hundred cocktails, and ideally, they must invent and popularize their own recipes. The best bartenders are chosen at annual international competitions, in addition, history has preserved several big names from the past.
Jerry Thomas
An American bartender of the mid-100th century was one of the highest paid professionals in his profession (his salary of $XNUMX a week exceeded that of a vice president). Considered the father of modern mixology.
What is famous: in 1862 he released the first collection of cocktails, How to Mix Drinks (aka The Bon Vivant’s Companion). If not for Jerry, the recipes of the original Cobbler, Sour and Tom Collins would hardly have survived to our days times.
Jerry Thomas also became the founder of flairing – the art of juggling bottles while mixing cocktails, making the work of a bartender much more spectacular. He was the first to work in an impeccable tailcoat.
Corporate recipe. The Smash (Rumble): crush 6 mint leaves, add ½ parts sugar syrup, ¾ parts lemon juice, 2 parts rye whiskey, shake in a shaker with a little ice. Pour into an ice-filled glass, serve with a sprig of mint.
Ada Coleman
One of only two women to ever hold the position of head bartender at London’s Savoy bar. She remained in this position for 23 years (from 1903 to 1936).
Than famous: Invented the Hanky Panky cocktail. This is one of the first documented recipes with Fernet Branca liqueur. Trained a galaxy of other talented bartenders.
Corporate recipe. Hanky Panky: equal parts gin and sweet vermouth, a few drops of fernet, gently mix in a shaker with a little ice and pour into a chilled glass. Serve with orange peel.
Harry Craddock
The British bartender, a student of Ada Coleman, headed the London Savoy after her.
What is famous: following the example of his American colleagues, he was the first in the UK to start adding ice to cocktails. It was under his leadership that the Savoy became the country’s premier cocktail bar, a gathering place for the cream of society, including members of parliament and members of the royal family.
In 1930, Harry Craddock published The Savoy Cocktail Book with more than 700 recipes, including those developed by his predecessor, Ada Coleman. Harry’s hallmark cocktail is White Lady.
Corporate recipe. The White Lady (White Lady): shake in a shaker without ice, one part freshly squeezed lemon juice and Cointreau, 4 parts gin, one egg white. Add ice and shake again. Serve with lemon zest.
Ernest Gantt and Victor Bergeron
Founders and chief disseminators of Hawaiian tiki culture in the US in the 1930s.
What are famous: Ernest Gantt opened a bar that served layered cocktails that included a variety of ingredients, including freshly squeezed juices, homemade syrups and rum. Thanks to this bartender, the ultra-strong Zombie has appeared in modern cocktail menus.
Zombie: Mix in a shaker 1 parts light and dark rum, XNUMX/XNUMX absinthe, XNUMX/XNUMX part falernum (sweet tropical syrup), lime juice and grapefruit juice with sugar, a teaspoon of grenadine and a couple of drops of bitter. Pour into a glass and add, without stirring, XNUMX part of golden rum. Serve with a sprig of mint.
Victor Bergeron helped usher in the Golden Age of Tiki in the 1950s, and humanity is indebted to him for such cocktails as the Mai Tai and the Scorpion Bowl.
Mai Tai: Shake 4 parts Curacao and almond syrup, XNUMX parts lime juice, XNUMX parts Jamaican and farm rum in a shaker, strain through a strainer, serve with a sprig of mint and squeezed lime half.
Scorpion Bowl: In a punch bowl, mix together 2 part strong rum, grenadine, white wine and almond syrup, 4 parts each dark rum, cognac, orange and pineapple juice, XNUMX parts gin, bitter. Add ice, flowers for decoration, lemon slices.
Dale DeGroff
He went down in history under the nickname “cocktail king”, an American bartender of the late 1980s, who worked in the Rainbow Room in New York.
What is famous: Dale was inspired by the book “The Bartender’s Guide” by another famous mixologist Jerry Thomas. During the DeGroff era, sour cocktail sours with many artificial colors and flavors were popular in the United States, but Dale relied on the classic approach.
In his bar, he served drinks only from natural ingredients, used traditional cocktail mixing techniques, and purchased alcohol of the highest quality. He published a book that has become a modern classic: “Cocktail art: everything you need to know to become a super-bartender” (The Craft of the Cocktail: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Master Bartender).
Sasha Petraske
American mixologist, opened and ran the Milk & Honey Bar in New York City in 1999.
What is famous: continued the work of DeGroff, insisting on the traditional approach to mixing cocktails. He also emphasized the importance of a high level of service in the bar and creating a welcoming atmosphere.
He introduced the rule of mandatory use of jiggers, thanks to which all cocktails in his bar had clear proportions and could be easily repeated in any conditions.
He followed the principle of “less is more”, reducing the recipe of most cocktails to just three ingredients. Became a mentor to many representatives of the next generation of bartenders, often after working with Sasha people started their own successful careers, many also became famous bartenders.
Audrey Saunders
A bartender from New York, she founded The Pegu Club, a lounge bar that became the cradle of the “cocktail revolution” of the early XNUMXs.
Than famous: continued the work of Dale DeGroff and advocated the use of exclusively natural and high-quality ingredients in cocktails. Thanks to her, cocktails ceased to be considered a drink of high society and became popular in the widest circles. She saved many classic recipes from oblivion, including The Pegu Club, after which she named her bar.
Corporate recipe. The Pegu Club: ¾ parts Cointreau and lime juice, 2 parts gin, a couple of drops of angostura and orange bitter. Mix everything in an ice-filled shaker and serve with a lime wedge.
Dave Arnold
Chef, scientist, bartender, co-founder of Booker and Dax, a bar-laboratory that opened in New York in 2011.
What is famous: used high-tech equipment in his bar, as well as items from real science laboratories. For example, in order to achieve the maximum degree of purification of juices, Dave drove them through centrifuges, and often used liquid nitrogen.
In 2014, he published the book Liquid Intelligence, in which he frankly revealed all the secrets of his cuisine and told how to repeat his recipes at home.
Ivy Mix
Another girl bartender who opened the Brooklyn bar Leyenda.
Than famous: specializes in Mexican and South American spirits. Her bar, Leyenda, has won numerous awards since opening in 2015 and has even been voted the best bar in the United States.
In 2011, Ivy Meeks founded Speed Rack, a charity women’s bartending competition with all proceeds going to the fight against breast cancer.
