Thinking Bartender

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Title: ”the Thinking Bartender”
Author: George Sinclair
Preface
When it comes to writing a book on bartending, it is only possible to put into
writing certain aspects of the trade. You do not read a book and become more
personable to your customers, friendliness is something you have, or you do not.
No one goes to a bar to be insulted or receive mediocre service, so being politeand efficient seems to me to be a logical thing to assume, without being told.
A cocktail book should only be bought for its recipes, its explanations of these
recipes, related techniques and so on. Rather than buying a book that lists every
cocktail recipe ever created, consider buying a book that presents you with a
style of making cocktails, and a selection of cocktails representing thisstyle.
Presenting my own style of bartending is what I will endeavour to do, presenting
you with my understanding of certain recipes, and techniques.
When it comes to cocktail recipes, most bartenders operate under the principle
’more is better’. However, a cocktail recipe, which simply combines two
variations, will not necessarily be twice as good. Deconstructing each recipe into
its componentparts, and then trying to understand each ingredients role within
the recipe is the style that I preach.
Many bartenders go to great lengths to ’improve’ cocktail recipes, when all that is
really needed is to understand the original recipe, and what it was trying to
achieve.
Understanding classic cocktails is the gateway to understanding all cocktails. One
of the hardest parts of bartendinghowever, is finding out what a classic cocktail
actually is. After reading a few books you will quickly come to realise what
different peoples ideas of a classic cocktail are. Each country has its own
definition of what makes a classic cocktail, but generally it is a recipe that has
stood the test of time, and is regularly called for in most bars.
Understanding how specific spirits/ brandsare made will help you to appreciate
their qualities all the more, either when drinking them straight, or mixed in
cocktails. Learning how to balance these flavours is a skill that all bartending
enthusiasts, professional or otherwise need to acquire and it only comes through
patience, and practice.
Remembering little stories about classic cocktails only serves to entertain your
guests, notquench their thirsts. These cocktail stories are usually widely

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disputed; therefore I believe that knowing who invented something is far less
important than how or why they invented it.
It will take years not months to become a great bartender, so regularly assess
how you are doing.
Garnish & presentation: The Final Touch
The appearance of a cocktail makes it appear moreinteresting/ appealing, but it
does not improve the flavour. The art of cocktails is a culinary art, so the end
result must always be good taste, and flavours. No amount of dressing will
disguise the fact of a foul tasting and poorly constructed libation.
Measurements
Everything is denoted as being measured in shots, which can in turn be
substituted for any other measurement. The point is to keepthe proportions as
they are. If you have bigger drinking glasses than those that I use, you will have
to increase the size of your shots.
American ounces are c. 30ml
English measures as 25mls
Germany/ Scandinavia has 20ml shots. (2cl)
Keep the proportions the same, and the taste will always be the same,
regardless of the actual servings size.
Glossary
Tall glass: H i-ball, Collins etcWhisky glass: Old fashioned glass, lo-ball, tumbler, rocks glass etc
Cocktail glass: v-shaped glass, or the glass commonly misdescribed as a
’martini’ glass.
Shake with ice: In a cocktail shaker or closed container filled with ice, the
ingredients are added, and then shaken. This shaking should not be too hard so
that it smashes the ice too much. The duration of the shaking should not be for...