CRAFTING COCKTAILS
by Carrie Powell-Davidson

I remember the early days of teaching bartending students. One of their assignments was to create their own signature cocktail. To some, that meant stuffing as much alcohol into a glass as would fit, so the instructions now include a 2 oz maximum. To others, their own creation would be anything that screamed out “This is me!” The Toxic Shock Cocktail comes to mind. Multi-coloured blended concoctions slightly swirled in a huge glass bubbling with images of the Three Mile Island disaster. Perhaps, the most memorable beverage was the one that was created to honour me. As I was great with child, the libation creator blended vodka, dark crème de cacao, Kahlua, and milk into a glass and garnished it with a mini Oh Henry bar. He proudly proclaimed it to be “The Dirty Diaper!”
These 20-year-old protégées could be forgiven for their shock value. The goal was to experiment with product and utilize creativity. They accomplished that. The professional of today, however, must have more of a business-like approach before they’re set free. 

They must understand the purpose of crafting cocktails as well as the expense behind experimentation. Cocktails must be affordable and easy enough to mix that re-creating them, especially during a peak period, won’t price them right out of the running.

Imagine you are the bar owner who sanctioned the creation of the Bloody Caesar. Your talented bartender took the lowly Bloody Mary and made it a Canadian institution. At the time, your bar was the only place in town where someone could experience the Caesar. People would flock from miles away (it was miles back then!) to sample this messiah of mixology. Your bar had something unique and this gave you the monopoly.

Crafting your own signature cocktails today gives you the same edge as that Alberta bar experienced almost 40 years ago. People like choices and get excited about being in on the cutting edge of something new. Give them both in your cocktail menu and you’ve got the new monopoly. Tack on a trendy, snazzy name, and you just may have the next Caesar.

To control the costs of the laboratory time, consider these factors before unleashing the creative juices of Bob the bartender.

• The creator must have a thorough knowledge of all products. This includes not only the alcohol, of course, but also the mixes, garnishes, and even the glassware and methods of drink mixing. If the bartender does not know all the variants, then how can he know what to vary?
• He must have a thorough knowledge of existing recipes. Not only will he know when he is simply renaming the Caesar, he will have a base for building on what has worked well in the past.
• The bartender must be adventurous. Fortunately, we all have creativity. What many of us do not have is the confidence to release it. Your bartender may have exhibited creative tendencies in other areas such as party planning or problem solving. He could become a fine inventor with a little coaching from you.
• The inventor must be competent. To push forward into unchartered territory requires a high level of skill. Only those who are comfortable with their skill level should approach this task.
• The employee must acknowledge the holder of the purse strings. Experiments can be expensive, and even the most skilled creator must know when to cut the losses and bring in back-up.

Where do great creators get their inspiration? They can get it from where they least expect it, and sometimes, they steal it! Here are a few ideas to get those creative juices flowing:

1. Mimicry is the highest form of flattery. Identify a popular cocktail and switch a few things. The Paralyzer is a great example. Convert the base spirit from vodka to Irish whiskey and the secondary liquor from Kahlua to Bailey’s. Build in a tall glass, add a green straw, and kiss my Blarney Stone! It’s a Paralyzed Leprechaun!

2. Find inspiration in a theme. Pick a theme, any theme - summer, taxes or even hockey! The Stanley Cup playoffs - now there’s a cocktail-creating opportunity! If you can find little Stanley Cup glasses, great. If not, Whiskey Sour glasses have roughly the same shape, if you turn your head sideways. What would you celebrate a Stanley Cup win with? Champagne, of course. You’re already using a Sour glass so why not a little lemon, sugar, and maybe some gin muddled together. Add a splash of Blue Curacao to resemble the blue in the Canucks uniform; shake, strain, then top with bubbly. A red blood orange slice could complete the uniform requirements.

3. What’s in a name? Name the drink first and let the subject dictate the ingredients. A customer named Robbie loved coffee drinks. He was from Scotland so Scotch and Drambuie were givens and the Robbie Cristo was born.

4. Create a daily special. Select a favourite ingredient and make it the basis for creation. Do you have a little too much spiced rum in stock? How about a Captain Morgan Martini? Remember where rum comes from, then find out which other products in your liqueur supply originate from a similar place. Almonds grow in warm, sunny places, and Amaretto is one of those amazing products that actually has the ability to create a whole new taste sensation. Consider the spices added to products such as Dubonnet. Would they make a good match for the spices added to spiced rum? Maybe a drop of bitters and a twist that typically go with red fortifieds would smack up this martini.

5. Many brains make light work, so get your staff to brainstorm together. This is not only a great way to encourage teamwork, but they’ll have so much fun, they’ll think it’s staff appreciation day! Divide a flip chart sheet into 8 sections: name of drink, glass, primary liquor, secondary liquor, primary mix, secondary mix, method, and garnish. Decide what the inspiration will be. It could be the name of the bar, an upcoming holiday, a special, or the promotion of a specific product. (Suppliers may be able to help you with prizes and promotional material that can be used to decorate and promote the drink, and even provide an award for the winning concoction.) Record the source of inspiration in the appropriate section and then brainstorm to fill in the rest. Next, make the drink and allow the participants to analyze, evaluate, and make recommendations for improvement. One very important part of this process is to limit the number of taste tests. Not only does unlimited testing cost a fortune, but sampling several sippers does tend to render the tastetester incompetent.

Being a bartender means combining the creativity of an art form with the exactness of a science. If you’re lucky enough to have both Rembrandt and Einstein working for you, why not let them turn you into Gates with a custom-designed bar menu. 

Carrie Powell-Davidson is the instructor of the Professional Bartending Certificate Program at Malaspina University College on Vancouver Island. She writes for newspapers and magazines, and is working on her first book. She is the owner/operator of a bartending service that is currently expanding into a full-service events planning company.