For National Martini Day (June 19th) we wanted to focus on a few unique variations that we have seen in a bars across the US. These elevated and out-of-the-box martinis are sure. Have a fun variation at your bar? Tag us on Instagram!
“O U R V E R S I O N”
C O F F E E , C I N N A M O N , A N I S E , C O C O N U T
The process to make a batch of these martinis, invented by Diversion bartender Devin Courtney, takes around eight hours and is a perfect science. He takes high grade African coffee beans, cinnamon, and star anise combined with water and vodka put into the rotating flask of the rotary evaporator (a device used in chemical laboratories for the efficient and gentle removal of solvents from samples by evaporation).
After approximately six hours of slowly increasing the heat and having the vapor re-condense around dry ice they are able to collect a completely clear espresso martini liquid, that then goes into an iSi container where it is filled with nitrous to replicate the foamy texture that a normal version of the drink would have.
The clear Espresso Martini is served in a frozen martini glass with chocolate covered almonds on the side that are made to look like olives. Such a cool serve and a really smart and fun garnish!
Secret Garden Served At Rococo Steak in St. Pete, Florida
2 oz Kombu infused Principe de los Apostoles Gin
.5 oz Lemon Juice
.5 oz Simple Syrup
.25 oz Vinegar
Muddled Cucumber
Microgreen Garnish
Sesame Oil
Muddle cucumber and vinegar, shake ingredients with ice, strain into martini glass. Float several drops of sesame oil on top. Garnish with microgreens.
As always, please drink responsibly and #TipYourBartenders
Not only is Today (June 10th) National Gin Day but it is also National Rosé Day! These wines below are all a delicious way to celebrate.
One of our personal favorites is THE DIVER – BRUT ROSE a California Sparkling Rose Wine
This gorgeous wine starts with aromas of red berries and honeysuckle followed by lively flavors of strawberry shortcake, cherry, and kiwi on a foundation of balanced acidity and effervescence. Learn more here!
Per gli amici – Rosé
The Rosé wine offers a captivating synthesis of elegance and delicacy. With its light rosé colour and refreshing bouquet of fresh fruits and delicate floral notes, it invites anticipation. On the palate, it reveals a remarkable interplay of flavours, leaving a lasting impression of intensity and vibrancy. Learn more here.
2022 Chosen Family Rosé from the Willamette Valley
Ella Knee from Stafford, VA, has been awarded a “Bartenders’ Foundation” scholarship to attend Clemson University in South Carolina. Her mother Jennifer Knee has been a bartender for the past three decades.
The non-profit Bartenders’ Foundation, Inc. was founded in 1999 by Jackie and Ray Foley, publishers of BARTENDER® Magazine, to help bartenders and their families pay for educational expenses and encourage high schoolers to attend college. The organization raises scholarship money from major distillers, beer and spirits wholesalers, taverns, fellow bartenders, and bar patrons.
“This is all about taking care of our own,” says Jackie Foley. “There are nearly 300,000 bartenders in the U.S. who spend their careers taking care of people – but who’s taking care of them? We created this foundation to recognize and help these hard-working professionals and their families.”
Ella attended Brooke Point High School in Stafford where she was in the National Honor Society, HOSA, Spirit Club, Inspire BP, and the Photography Club. She was also a lifeguard and swim coach, a volunteer with Stafford County Rescue Squad, and a three-year varsity volleyball player and varsity swimmer. She plans to study Biological Sciences at Clemson University with the goal of entering the medical field.
Ray Foley, a former Marine who for decades worked behind the bar and managed one of the largest restaurants in New Jersey, founded BARTENDER Magazine almost 45 years ago and still today is the only trade publication and website of its kind focused specifically for bartenders and the on-premise channel. He is also the author of numerous cocktail books, including the popular “Bartending for Dummies” which recently published its 6th edition.
For more information about the Bartenders’ Foundation, including how to donate to the scholarship fund, or apply for an award, please visit bartenderfoundation.com.
Quick sips with Charles Joly, a globally-acclaimed mixologist and one of the judges of this year’s USBG Presents World Class Sponsored By Diageo US Finals.
We were able to chat with Charles Joly right before the 2023 World Class US Finals this year and get to know him more. Check out the full interview below and be sure to follow Charles and World Class on social for more.
Bartender Magazine: Hi Charles, hope you have been while. This chat about World Class and US Finals. For those who don’t know, have you competed in World Class before?
Charles Joly: I competed in World Class in 2014. Somehow the stars aligned and I won my region, then the national title and went on to represent the United States at the world competition hosted in Scotland and England. It was a wildly intense few days. We began at the legendary Gleneagles Resort in rural Scotland, competed on the Orient Express as it took us to London, entered the next challenge just beside the train platforms in St Pancras Station and had the final of the shore of the River Thames. When the dust settled, I took home top honors as the first American to win the global title.
BM: That is incredible! How long have you been a World Class Judge?
CJ: I started judging after my win in 2014. Aside from judging the US regionals and finals, I also am on the team for the Global competition each year. I’ve had the privilege of sitting in on about 15 other countries’ national finals as well.
BM: What challenge are you most looking forward to seeing this year at US Finals? Personally, we love the Speed Round, but it is also the hardest to watch, so…much…anxiety!
CJ: I’m honestly looking forward to the entire process. The beauty of World Class is that it doesn’t simply test your ability to make a cocktail. Across the challenges, we’ll see the bartenders showcasing all of the skills we utilize behind the bar on any given shift.
BM: What would you say is the hardest part about World Class?
CJ: We all have our strengths and weaknesses, so competitors will find challenges in different parts of the event. I think the unseen challenge is generally keeping yourself organized, focused and not flustered. There are a lot of moving parts and multiple days of challenges.
Keeping your cool is essential while working in hospitality. World Class tests that, even when you’re not officially “on stage”.
BM: With the summer coming, what drink or drinks are you most looking forward to making a comeback or coming back around?
CJ:I love a great summer sipper; something light and effervescent. I’m also a huge fan of tiki and tropical cocktails, regardless of what the calendar says. If I see a slushie machine churning, count me in. I don’t believe in “guilty pleasures”, drink what you want. I’m the first in line for a Miami Vice.
BM: If you could have a cocktail with anyone in history, who would you choose and why?
CJ: My grandparents, somewhere in the late 1930s. My late grandmother would have been 21 just a couple months before prohibition ended. I’d love to meet them in their heyday, pile into a tufted, round booth at some cabaret and listen to live music while sipping simple classics and chatting away the night.
BM: Thanks as always for the time, what is next up for you?
CJ: I’m continuing to work on my decade old project, Crafthouse Cocktails. The entire category of real, high quality, ready-to-serve drinks is growing wildly.
I’ve also been working with an exciting craft ice startup in Northern California called Abstract Ice. They’re really taking a different approach to this important ingredient. I’m excited to see what we can do together.
I continue to work on my barware and glassware line as well, Crafthouse by Fortessa. There hasn’t been a slowdown in folk’s interest in cocktails- both at the bar and at home. We’re always working on design innovation and new potential pieces.
We will continue to follow and watch Charles and look forward to next years USBG presents World Class sponsored by Diageo US Finals!
If you have not seen the Spinzall 2.0 you are missing out and there are >100 left!
The Spinzall 2.0 is a only centrifuge designed BY bar and restaurant people, FOR bar and restaurant people. It’s the only centrifuge under a thousand dollars that can process enough product for a professional.
After three challenging days of exceptional craft cocktail showmanship with the nation’s top 30 bartenders at the US Finals, the USBG Presents World Class Sponsored by DIAGEO announced Renato Tonelli as the 2023 U.S. Bartender of the Year!
Renato Tonelli got his start in the hospitality industry working globally in Rome before broadening and perfecting his craft in Brussels, Melbourne, and eventually returning to New York City where he was born and raised. With a growing passion for sustainability practices, Tonelli is best known for his love of developing unique and delicious recipes that upcycle food waste. Demonstrating unparalleled hospitality and creativity, Tonelli showcased a skilled and thoughtful approach to the prestigious competition, earning the honor of representing the U.S. at the Global Finals in Sāo Paolo, Brazil this fall.
Hosted in Austin, TX, the World Class US Finals took place at a combined event where the best bartenders across the country first competed in three challenges over two days. From there, the Top 5 Finalists were selected to compete in two final showdown challenges. The showstopping competition of the nation’s leading bartenders resulted in Renato Tonelli being crowned the winner who will move on to the World Class Global Finals
Those interested in taking a shot at the US Bartender of the Year title are invited to apply for the 2024 USBG Presents World Class Sponsored By DIAGEO program. Follow @WorldClassUS and @BartenderMagazine Instagram to learn more and be alerted when applications open this summer.
In the meantime, try your hand at Renato Tonelli’s recipes that helped him win the US Finals this year.
With a passion for sustainability practices, Tonelli is best known for his love of developing unique and delicious recipes that upcycle food recipes that upcycle food waste.
Renato Tonelli was a standout talent, demonstrating that passion and determination for the trade can truly lead to success.
Market Sangria
Ingredients:
1.25 oz Ketel One Family Made Vodka Infused With Fig
1.25 oz Local Orange Wine
1 oz Clarified Grape Juice
2 oz Pink Lady Apple Kombucha
0.5 oz Local Infused Honey
2 dashes Ketel One Botanical Peach & Orange Blossom
Combine Ketel One Vodka Infused with Fig, Orange Wine, Clarified Grape Juice, Honey, Ketel One Botanical Peach & Orange Blossom and Saline Solution into a shaker with ice.
Shake thoroughly and strain into glass
Top with Pink Lady Apple Kombucha and stir gently
Garnish with Upcycled Market Leftovers & Foraged Flowers
Urban Garden Ingredients:
1.25 oz Johnnie Walker High Rye
0.25 oz Seedlip Garden 108
0.25 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth
0.5 oz Green Tea
0.5 oz Lime Juice
0.5 oz Garden Scrap Cordial
4 dashes Saline Solution
2 dashes Pernod
Half of a Muddled Tomatillo
1 oz Egg White
Spray of Green Chartreuse
Garnish: Microherbs
Preparation:
Combine ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously.
Strain over ice into a glass.
Spray Green Chartreuse over drink and garnish with Microherbs.
The newest celebrity to join the spirit owner group is Actress Margot Robbie. She has announced the launch of her new gin, Papa Salt. She will join fellow celebrity gin owners, Ryan Reynolds, Emma Watson and newly announced, Brad Pitt with his Gin, The Gardener Gin
Robbie and her gin-loving friends (and husband) dreamt of creating their own spirit with a simple goal of creating a gin that will compliment any soda, taste great with tonic, and make a mean martini. Fifty nine recipes, and many joy filled sunny afternoons of gin tasting later, we present you with Papa Salt.
Papa Salt is an easy-drinking gin that celebrates the subtle taste of native Australian botanicals. Flavours are brightened with zesty wax flower, hibiscus and citrus peel—all wrapped up with subtle hints of nutty wattleseed, the mild spice of pink peppercorn and an unmistakable minerality from a hint of oyster shell. Yes, there’s a lot to it, but in the end we hope you notice just how easy it is to drink.
Have it long or short, this gin was made for sessionable drinking — our go-to is a generous pour of Papa Salt, with soda, lots of ice and a wedge of fresh grapefruit.
The gin is bottled at 43% ABV and is made in Byron Bay, Australia. It is available to purchase via Iconic Beverages for RRP AU$85 (US$56.86).
Signature serves:
PAPA’S SALTY DOG
50ml Papa Salt Coastal Gin
100ml Grapefruit juice
Lime wedge
Crushed Ice
Sea salt
Salt the rim of a well chilled highball glass. In a cocktail shaker combine ice, Papa Salt & grapefruit juice. Shake until well chilled and strain into prepared glass with crushed ice. Finish with lime wedge. It’s fresh.
DIRTY DRY MARTINI
50ml Papa Salt Coastal Gin
10ml Noilly Prat Vermouth
20ml of olive brine
Nocellara Olives
In a mixing glass, combine Papa Salt Gin, Noilly Prat Vermouth and olive brine over rocks of ice. Stir with a bar spoon for at least 30 seconds until the dilution is well chilled and smooth to taste. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with 3 olives skewered through a rosemary stem. Sip slowly (or quickly).
NOW LIVE: TALES OF THE COCKTAIL 2023 TICKETS AND CONFERENCE AGENDA
Tales of the Cocktail Foundation (TOTCF) is pleased to announce the launch of its Tales of the Cocktail® (TOTC) 2023 ticket sales and conference agenda, now available via the Foundation’s website. Toasting its 21st year, TOTC will ring in this celebratory occasion in New Orleans from July 23-28 and feature another exceptional lineup of seminars, events, networking opportunities, tastings, and awards programming, all aimed to “Vitalize” the cocktail community — the conference’s 2023 theme.
Beginning today, conference-goers can choose from a variety of daily and weekly ticket passes, discounted bartender passes, event tickets, and complimentary tickets to Tales’ philanthropic- and wellness-focused events, including Beyond the Bar and the Days of Service. Complete details about the variety of ticket options can be accessed onTales’ ticketing platform.
Will you be attending TOTC this year? Let us know in the comments!
Monaco’s Hard Lemonade line will become the Official Hard Lemonade of UFC and the Official Canned Vodka Cocktail of UFC, providing the brand with a deep level of integration into key UFC assets, including live events and broadcast features in select U.S.-based Pay-Per-Views, and prominent branding inside the world-famous Octagon®.
UFC® AND MONACO® COCKTAILS ANNOUNCE U.S. MARKETING PARTNERSHIP
Monaco branding will also have a presence within the Octagon during the upcoming 31st season of The Ultimate Fighter, the most anticipated in the show’s history, as it makes its debut on ESPN and features former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor and No. 5 ranked lightweight contender Michael Chandler as coaches.
Monaco and UFC will also collaborate on original content that will be distributed through UFC’s popular digital and social channels, which reach more than 230 million users worldwide. Additionally, the agreement provides for an annual Brand Ambassador fund that will bring the partnership to life through appearances, content, and creative campaigns with UFC athletes.
“We’re proud to welcome Monaco Cocktails as an official UFC partner,” said Grant Norris-Jones, UFC Senior Vice President, Global Partnerships. “Customer demand for ready-to-drink beverages continues grow, and UFC, with a median fan age of 36, the youngest among major sports in the U.S., UFC is in the best position to help our alcohol and spirits partners reach those consumers.”
“We’re thrilled to invite the incredible fans behind UFC into the world of Monaco Cocktails and amp up the audience’s energy through our best-selling canned cocktails,” said Don Deubler, CEO of Atomic Brands, parent company to Monaco Cocktails. “As an official partner of UFC, we’re honored to be a part of an organization that has revolutionized the fan experience. UFC and Monaco Cocktails are aligned in shaking things up for our audience – we’re excited about our joint commitment to better the consumer experience through our partnership.”
Monaco Cocktails, which was established in 2012, are real cocktails completely malt-free, featuring real spirits to offer a crisper finish with a kick. Monaco created a Hard Lemonade line, their remix of a timeless classic to serve up bold, delicious flavors that embody the taste of summer: crisp lemonade, juicy peach and fresh strawberry. With two shots of vodka in every can at 9% ABV, Monaco Hard Lemonade quickly became an instant crowd-pleaser, known as the ultimate canned cocktail for bold consumers looking for high energy moments.
Monaco Cocktails partnership with UFC will debut May 1, ahead of highly anticipated events such as UFC® 288: STERLING VS. CEJUDO on May 6 and the 11th Annual UFC International Fight Week in Las Vegas in July, where Monaco will have significant presence. These events will mark the beginning various combined activations throughout the year.
Monaco Hard Lemonades are currently available at convenience stores nationwide for $2.50-2.99/12oz can.
Brad Pitt has entered the spirits industry chat with his launch of The Gardener Gin! Brad, the Perrin Family and Tom Nichol announced the launch of The Gardener Gin, which will be officially presented at the Carlton during the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.
To celebrate the reopening of this famous French Riviera hotel, the iconic “Secret Garden” cocktail has been created by its bartenders in collaboration with the gin legend ,Tom Nichol, one of the world’s pre-eminent Master Distiller. Radiating the French Riviera spirit around the world, The Gardener Gin celebrates an incomparable Night & Day art-de-vivre that the exceptional Cannes Festival has embodied for over half a century.
After amassing over 40 years of experience in the art of making gin – he forged his name at Tanqueray where he perfected his craft and received Lifetime Achievement Award from the Gin Guild in 2015 – Tom Nichol decided to create the ultimate London Dry Gin that he has always dreamed of. Like a rare organic grand cru, with a unique, intense taste, The Gardener Gin is a return to the classic, combining both purity of flavor and elegance thanks to the exceptional quality of its fresh citruses. Made from wheat in copper stills, the gin rests upon a canvas of juniper, licorice, angelica and coriander. It is a melding of lush greens and brilliant golds, laced through with an unconventional blend of both fresh and dry citruses – pink grapefruit, bright lemon and the yin and yang of sweet and bitter orange from Cap d’Antibes area.
Matthieu Perrin (co-founder): “The light of the French Riviera is a lifeblood. Here, in this place blessed by the gods, the earth is tended by The Gardener. The Gardener works in harmony with the shifts of the season, the exchange of warmth and cold, the pleasures of living well. With the wisdom of experience, the gift of intuition, the whim of experimentation, The Gardener builds a recipe that combines the mystery of nature with the pleasure of knowledge. The Gardener tends earth, time, all the while guarding a way of life that exists nowhere else in the world.”
From Christian Dior and Brigitte Bardot to Grace Kelly and The Rolling Stones, the French Riviera is a place dreamers and artists have sought for centuries. Its citrus groves and honeysuckle hedges have called to Picasso; its gentle hills to Cézanne; its regal cypresses to Van Gogh; its fairytale forests to Matisse. Over many long afternoons and evenings spent sharing in the abundance of the land, the Famille Perrin and Brad Pitt birthed an idea. An endeavor to create a mirror of the French Riviera – to bottle up its very essence so that the world, too, might experience its beauty. Within those moments of conviviality, they dreamed up a spirit that could convey the light, aromas and flavors of the land. Instinctively, they knew it must be a gin, a spirit with the rare ability to translate terroir. A gin of the French Riviera, The Gardener would encapsulate the art-de-vivre – the art of living – in this special place. Each an expert of their craft, the Perrins and Brad sought an equal who could bring their vision to life. In Tom Nichol, somebody with the same commitment to quality without compromise, they observed a shared pursuit of beauty. With this triptych of creators, The Gardener was born of a mutual love of the French Riviera and all its art de vivre.