Food & Beverage manager of St. Augustine’s TPC Sawgrass, Member of the Chilled 100 and one of our esteemed Chilled 100 Spirits Awards Judges gives us his thoughts on the best way to create memorable cocktails and where he thinks cocktail culture is headed.
What inspired you to become a bartender?
I think that like a lot of individuals who join this industry, I never planned on becoming a bartender. Bartending was something that called out to me initially. I had bartended in a few bars throughout college, but when I went to graduate school and continued bartending something finally clicked for me. I was spending time, energy, and money pursuing a career through school that I didn’t actually love. I was just going through the motions of what I thought was expected of me from everyone around me. But bartending – now that was something that had my full attention. Each and every shift was challenging, exciting, and presented amazing opportunities. The people working in those bars were actual humans – not just stuffy shirts focused on publishing the next big article in a scholarly journal. Bartending also gave me an avenue for creativity that I never had before. Working with new and fresh ingredients every day was incredible. Hopping behind the bar was the first time in my life that I was genuinely excited about what I was doing, and I haven’t looked back since.
Where do you tend bar now? What makes it unique?
I’m currently working as the Food & Beverage Manager at TPC Sawgrass working for the PGA Tour. It’s an incredible opportunity to be working for a program that is pushing the industry forwards in terms of not just food and beverage, but also in the world of hospitality. The thing that makes TPC Sawgrass so unique is that we’re not just there for private members – we’re open to the public to join us as well! We have two beautiful golf courses, a full-service restaurant, beautiful views of the course as you dine from our verandah, and access to some of the best golf facilities in the country. We’re constantly pushing innovation in terms of food and beverage while staying grounded in amazing hospitality for our guests.
Who has been most influential in your development as a bartender?
If there was ever one person who was the most influential in my development as a bartender, it would absolutely be my wife, Jessica. She was the first person to believe in me that I could make a career out of working in this industry. She’s been by my side since day one – we even met working in the trenches at a bar together. Jess has pushed and encouraged me to continue to grow and learn in ways I never thought possible. She’s always there to taste my drinks, convince to stop overthinking naming cocktails, and guide me towards the next step in my career and personal growth.
Do you have any advice for novice or at home bartenders?
The best pieces of advice that I could give novice and at home bartenders are these: • Get behind a bar! The best way to learn about making drinks is to get behind the sticks and start making drinks! If you’re a novice bartender or bar enthusiast, there are tons of bars all over the country who would love to have you working part-time a few days a week. You’ll get the exposure and training to take your game to the next level. • Drink what you like and don’t let anyone tell you differently. • Read. Read. Read. I’ve found that the second-best thing that helped me become a bartender, other than being behind the bar, is to pick up a book about the craft and dive into it. There are some amazing resources available now that weren’t available ten years ago. I’ve always believed that if others have paved the road to success in front of you, you should walk down that road. Take their experiences and expand upon them and learn from them! • Don’t get overwhelmed. At the end of the day, it’s just putting liquids in cups.
What is your favorite ingredient right now and why?
I think my favorite ingredient right now has to be coconut – in every form. Coconut is so incredibly versatile in creating unique flavors. You can use coconut oil to fat wash spirits, use the flesh to create creams or infused garnishes, use coconut water to thin out cocktails while adding tremendous flavor or turn that water into ice cubes for your cocktail as well. Coconut, as a flavor, isn’t confined to the world of tropical drinks. It can elevate a Manhattan or Negroni to the next level just as much as it can a Daiquiri or Mojito.
How do you go about creating a cocktail? Is there a specific process or simply a moment of inspiration?
I think creating new cocktails is such a unique experience for each individual bartender – the same way painting is unique to each artist – we just use spirits and fresh ingredients instead of paint and a canvas. For me personally, inspiration comes from a few different avenues. I like to work with new ingredients and if I find one I haven’t worked with before, I deconstruct it in every way imaginable. I juice it, dehydrate it, clarify it, fatwash it, candy it, gelatinize it, infuse it, turn it into non-traditional glassware – you name it, I’ll experiment with it. The goal is to find the best use of the ingredient for the style of cocktail that you’re looking to make. I also like to look to the classics and other bartenders for inspiration. Classics are classics for a reason; they’re the building blocks for every cocktail you see on a menu when you go out to dine or celebrate. Other bartenders are also an amazing resource! Social media has connected us in ways we never thought possible, and you can find so many great things through that avenue. Maybe a bartender at another bar has a really cool infusion or syrup that you want to use? Reach out to them and ask about it! Maybe that one ingredient spawns a new concept you never thought of before and then all of sudden you’ve got an entire cocktail menu based on the uses of turmeric or beets. The sky is truly the limit for inspiration.
Do you have a special technique you use or a tip for making a particular drink?
I think that special techniques for bartends aren’t always practical for every single bar. Each bar has its own challenges and opportunities that are unique to that venue. Something that works at one bar, might not even be possible at another bar. The two biggest things that helped me grow as a bartender was learning how to make drinks from the bottom up and mastering round building. By building drinks from the bottom, you start by working with the cheapest ingredient first. This way, if you make a mistake during a busy night in the weeds behind the bar, you aren’t throwing out two ounces of spirits, but instead a few dashes of bitters and some lemon juice. Round building was also crucial in my growth as a bartender. If you’re making a daiquiri, a Mai tai, and a pisco sour – picking up that bottle of lime juice once, instead of three times, helps make drinks so much faster.
Where do you see the bartending/cocktail culture headed?
I think the next step for bartending is expanding on the experience for the guest. We’re in an age where anyone can make an amazing cocktail – it’s not just the high-end craft bars anymore. The big decision to consider is why the guest is willing to come to your establishment instead of someone else’s. What are you offering to increase their experience? Is it amazing hospitality? Is it an absolutely stunning interior? Maybe your bar has an interactive component to it? Do you have great drink specials? Maybe you just tell really great dad jokes that keep them coming back? Elevating the cocktail experience while also providing hospitality is definitely the next frontier for cocktail culture that is going to set bars apart from one another.
Local Legend
Jon Mateer’s original cocktail
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Coconut Fat washed Bourbon
- 1 tsp Demerara Syrup (2:1)
- 2 Dashes Tiki Bitters
- 1 Dash Angostura Bitters
- 1 Dash Saline solution (7:1)
Preparation: Stir and strain over a large rock into a rocks glass / Garnish with two pineapple fronds, a pinch of nori seaweed, and an edible flower. To make the coconut fat washed bourbon – Combine 1/2 cup unrefined virgin coconut oil with 500mL of bourbon in a sealable container. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Then, seal the container and place the mixture into the freezer overnight (12 hours minimum). Remove from the freezer and scoop the “hockey puck” from the top of the container. The hockey puck is the leftover fat from the coconut that doesn’t infuse into the spirit. Strain the remaining bourbon through a coffee filter, nut bag, or mesh chinois. Store and keep refrigerated to enjoy!
Mateer.jonathan@gmail.com
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Source: Mixology News
