You wouldn't go to a doctor who hadn't been to med school. Or hop a flight piloted by someone new to the whole "flying thing." Yet that's what most of us do when we belly up to the bar and order a drink.
Sure, some bartenders graduated from one of those comically dreary bartender schools you see in strip malls. And on-the-job training's only as good as where you work.
But when it comes to real drinks — not just generous pours of booze — it's hard to beat a cocktail shaken or stirred by a member of the United States Bartenders Guild, a national group of pros and enthusiasts dedicated to the craft of making great cocktails. Proof of membership is a boozy equivalent of the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. And lucky for local cocktail lovers, greater Tampa Bay just got its own chapter.
"[Guild membership] is to bartending what SEAL Team Six is to soldiering," jokes Dean Hurst, general manager at SideBern's in South Tampa and founding president of the chapter, dubbed the Left Coast Bartenders Guild.
"[It's] for the same reason you should be more eager to eat a steak at Bern's versus a diner," says guild member Kamran Mir, bartender at Czar in Ybor City. "You've got someone with passion who cares about ingredients, preparation and presentation serving you."
And judging from the drinks I've had at members' bars, I'd mostly agree. We're talking places like Ciro's Speakeasy & Supper Club; Datz; Timpano's Italian Chop House; Fly Bar and Restaurant; The Ritz Ybor; Bernini's Restaurant; Mise en Place; The Mandarin Hide; and Pane Rustica, which recently started serving cocktails.
Here are recipes for two very nice summer cocktails, served by Left Coast Bar Guilders in their respective venues.
Info about Left Coast Bartenders Guild parties, seminars and members at www.leftcoastbarguild.com.
L-O-L-A Lola
Nathan DeWitt, bar manager 0x000Aat Mise en Place
Ingredients:
1 1/2 ounce Van Gogh Black Cherry Vodka
1/2 ounce Cherry Heering liqueur
1/8 ounce sweet vermouth
3 dashes of Bitter Truth Chocolate Bitters
Splash or two of soda water
Directions:
In ice-filled Collins glass (or any tall glass), add all ingredients except soda, which you should add last during a quick stir. Optional: Garnish with one or several maraschino cherries. (Use Luxardo or similarly high-quality brand, not those Day Glo obscenities you find at the grocery store.)
King's Crown
Dean Hurst, general manager at SideBern's
Ingredients:
1/2 pitted peach (Dean's partial to those from Bradenton's King's Family Farm)
1 1/2 ounce vodka
3/4 ounce Cocchi Americano (vermouth-like Italian aperitivo)
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup (equal amounts of sugar and water, dissolved)
1/2 ounce soda water
Directions:
In shaker muddle peach (muddling means squish up), add all other ingredients except soda water and generous amount of ice cubes. Shake vigorously and strain into ice-filled Collins glass. Top with soda and give quick stir. Garnish with thin peach slice.
This article appears in Jul 14-20, 2011.