Location: San Diego, CA
Profession: Proprietor/Bartender
Establishment: Polite Provisions, San Diego, CA & Boilermaker, New York, NYC.
Years in the Industry: 23
Notable Achievements: James Beard Award Nomination, Outstanding Bar Program 2016; Tales Of The Cocktail “Best High Volume Cocktail Bar 2014; Imbibe 75 Cocktail Bar of The Year 2014; Southwest, The Magazine: “Best Bartenders in America”, December 2014; Details Magazine: “Where to Drink in 2013″, Food & Wine: “Best New Bars in the U.S.” 2013.
Previous: Bourbon & Branch and Rickhouse, San Francisco, CA. Former Brand Ambassador for Plymouth and Beefeater Gins.
How did you get into cocktails and what do you most enjoy about your job?
After bartending for years in everything from bowling alleys to chain restaurants, I eventually found myself working at a high-end tequila bar. That was my first experience using fresh juice and fresh produce, and I was hooked instantly. It was only then my eyes opened up to the possibility of making drinks that were truly vibrant and dynamic in flavor and approach.
Polite Provisions just received its first James Beard Award nomination, are there certain signature drinks you feel the bar has become known for?
If I was going to say that there are three drinks the bar has become known for, I would say that it definitely has to be the Kentucky Buck, the Oceanside and our house Old-Fashioned. The Kentucky Buck is a drink I came up with while I was at Bourbon & Branch in my San Francisco days, but it seems to have followed me all over the country. The Oceanside is our homage to our style of cocktails, twists and innovations on classic formulas and recipes. Our house Old-Fashioned is constantly changing in regards to the spirit, but it is usually made from a uniquely sourced private barrel of Bourbon from one of our favorite distillers in Kentucky. We take the whiskey and mix it with a little gomme syrup and bitters, then serve it over a large hand-cut, crystal clear ice cube for guests to enjoy.
Which of your original drinks are you most proud of?
This is like asking a parent to choose their favorite kid. I love that at this point in my life, I can look back at menus and cocktails I have done and feel with confidence each one reflects where I was at during my career. I’m typically known for my restraint with ingredients and allowing the base spirit to speak for itself, but it’s fun allowing yourself to break the rules, once you understand all the ingredients.
What is your favorite spirit base to work with?
My favorite spirit to work with definitely changes throughout the year as the seasons change, but currently I am on a heavy bourbon kick. This time last year, I was all about tequila, then I moved into rum, almost exclusively for a period, but after bouncing to Cognac, I’m back to American Whiskey. I can’t help it – I guess I can be a little promiscuous when it comes to flirting with base spirits.
You have been producing an online series of videos called Bartender At Large, with a namesake movie coming this summer. What can you tell us about the project?
When it comes to cocktails we feel that big cities get all the attention, but because amazing cocktails are going on everywhere now we decided to showcase cities like Phoenix, Boise, Denver and other phenomenal places who don’t get a lot of that love. And yes, we’ve got a feature film coming out in July. It’s currently in post-production and tells the story of the American cocktail, the people behind them and how craft cocktails have permeated modern American culture. It’ll be shown at various film festivals across the US.
You’ve filmed segments in Paris and Portland. Where will you be heading next?
We’re actually traveling to Singapore, Hong Kong and Korea this month to film the next three episodes. All our current Bartender At Large videos can be watched on our YouTube channel.
A well-designed interior, gorgeous glassware, top-notch service, hand-cut ice, exotic ingredients; what elevates your personal drinking experience?
At Polite what it comes down to is the team: we just have a really solid team of good people. And while we love and appreciate all the accolades from the press, and award nominations etc. that’s not what we’re about. While that to me is amazing, we don’t exist to win awards we just want to focus on taking really good care of people.
What is one of your all-time favorite historical cocktails?
It has to be The Old Fashioned… it’s just a perfect drink.
What’s one cocktail would you order from a bartender to suss out their skills and why?
That would have to be The Old Fashioned again. Not necessarily to figure out if they have the chops, more to find out their philosophy on cocktails. It allows me to see what they’re about – do they use a sugar cube, cane sugar, simple syrup, bourbon, rye, rum? All these things create a window into the bartenders soul so you can see what they’re about.
At your other bar, Boilermaker in New York, how do your drinks differ to what’s on the menu at Polite Provisions in San Diego?
Boilermaker has very neighborhood feel with great beers on tap, great cocktails and great burgers. Given the location so close to the trains it’s such a great conduit for the city and East Village in particular. And yes, there the cocktails do differ but in approach rather than flavor, because in New York our approach is guided by the weather. A drink on crushed ice can sit on the menu year round in San Francisco or San Diego, but that doesn’t work in New York. There, people want warmer flavors like cognac and aged rum in winter, and prefer tequila, white rum or gin during the summer for example.
Name three bars around the world that have recently knocked your socks off:
Mabel in Paris for sure – Paris has some phenomenal bars, but I love how low key and inconspicuous it was. I really enjoyed the drinks, the hospitality and lighting there – it’s just a really sexy place. I also love Normandie Club in Los Angeles. It’s such a welcome concept and a cool bar for people to hang out in and party, and they just happen to have phenomenal cocktails. The music’s loud, people are partying… its fantastic. My third bar would be Bear Vs. Bull in San Francisco – it’s owned by The Alamo House and Isaac Shumway designed the bar program. What’s so cool about this place is it’s actually an old movie theater, and there’s a server who comes in while you’re watching a movie to ask if you’d like another Old Fashioned, or whatever. The nuts and bolts on how the place operates is super inspiring.
In an interview with the Village Voice, it said one of the first questions you ask someone who wants to work at one of your bars is what would they be doing if they weren’t working behind a bar. What would that answer be for you?
Gosh. I don’t know because I kind of do everything else that I love right now… like writing and making a movie. If it wasn’t for the bar industry I’d be much more involved with photography and filmmaking for sure.
What’s on your cocktail radar for 2016?
Things that bring delight to guests and by that I mean things that are cool, fun and interesting. I feel we’re at the stage now in the cocktail industry where the drinks have already improved so drastically it’s the little things that set people and places apart – like unique garnishes and interesting glassware.
Person from history you’d most like to sit down and have a drink with?
Thomas Jefferson. His opposition to the whiskey tax was insurmountable in boosting the American whiskey industry, although surprisingly he wasn’t much of a whiskey drinker himself. I’d like to talk to him about the Colonial days and of course, whiskey.
Photography by Lyudmila Zotova and Medium Raw Arts.
