The future is in your hands..

Let's get fresh..

A new country, a new look blog. I’m sick of the tired blogspot.com. As well as this I was also sick of explaining and spelling ‘gininnit’ to people.

Welcome to drinktheshitoutofit.wordpress.com

It’s quite nice being back in Australia. I miss the good things in life here like the ease of making a comfortable living, the quality of food, being in daily contact with old friends again and BBQ ‘Shapes’. Many have told me that’s is pretty hard adjusting to the laid-back nature of Australia after traveling the world. It’s hard learning so much about yourself in travels and coming back to a familiarly that you feel you have outgrown somewhat.

In terms of drinks and drinking in this country it’s rather unfortunate that still in the big cities, in the best bars, classic cocktails are still generally only being drank by bartenders. I’m still waiting to find a customer who appreciates the subtle nuances of the De La Louisinane in comparison to the Vieux Carre besides, “That one’s smoother”.

It is pleasing to see the standard of bartending in comparison has raised twice-fold. Training programs like Alchemy and Mixxit have given bartenders a plethora of knowledge and skills and taken our jobs into a profession. Bartenders are working harder and harder to be better at what they do and it’s pleasing to see I can find a lot more drinking holes I can get a great drink in.

That’s enough positively for today however. I have some ‘beef’. My ‘beef’ is with our reluctance to make full use of our wonderful produce. Australia differs from countries like Great Britain and the United States as we have some of the best fruit right on our doorsteps most of the year. It’s relatively cheap and in the warmer seasons we have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to the sweet treasures from the Earth. Why oh why then am I continually seeing frozen ‘fresh’ purees and synthetic syrups in cocktails with too many ingredients? I have no problem with my fellow Australians not wanting sip on straight spirit drinks like their U.S and U.K counterparts, but what’s wrong with putting simple, well balanced, classic, and fresh drinks on menus? If you are a bartender answer me this: Besides lemons, limes and oranges how many other fresh fruits do you have stocked in your bar? What about mangoes, passion fruits, and the on coming wave of cherry season. Why not simplify your menu to classic drinks with a fresh, seasonal twist? A fresh lime & passion fruit Gimlet? A Bramble made with real Blackberries? For God’s sake why the hell would you not have a fresh Strawberry and black-pepper Daiquiri on your list for summer? It’s sure as hell what our customers’ want, and its FRESH!

We keep looking to the kitchen for so much of our inspiration in where our craft is going. Why are we not listening to chefs when they keep waxing-on about FRESH, SEASONAL produce? Let’s start getting to know our fruit suppliers better. Lets get seasonal and start changing the way our customers drink. If we keep plowing them with frozen purees and canned fruits (see Lychee Martini) that’s what they are going to expect.

About five years ago an angry-yet-tongue-in-cheek article from Tim Wastell appeared in Australian Bartender Magazine pleading for bartenders to stop putting lime cordial in Australia’s favorite drink, the Vodka Lime & Soda. We listened, got fed up with a synthetic product and consumers changed the way they drank because bartenders stopped dealing it out.

I urge the bar staff of Australia to start seeing complexity lies in simplicity. A drink does not carry more depth if it has more ingredients. Let’s do ourselves a favor and keep our drinks fresh, simple, and ultimately more grown-up and elegant. The future is in your hands..

TP