Crafting and cranking out unique cocktails at Helen, bar in Birmingham, Alabama, are how Bar Managers Hannah Smarr and Kristine Brown continually elevate experiences.
We asked the duo about their cocktail program and their Bella Donna cocktail, a bubbly libation crafted with Segura Viudas Cava, Suntory Haku Vodka, HelenCello, and an Angostura–Brûléed sugar cube. The sparkling spritzer has become a crowd favorite.
Hannah Smarr and Kristine Brown behind the Helen bar (credit: Elise Ferrer)
Tell us a bit about Helen Bar. What can guests expect when visiting?
Helen’s bar offers guests a friendly and laid-back environment where anyone can feel welcome. We focus on ensuring that every guest has the experience they are looking for when they walk in the door. Whether they are here to have a special cocktail crafted just for them or wanting their trusty vodka and soda, we’ve got them covered!
What can you tell us about the beverage program? What inspires the cocktails?
Our cocktails are inspired by the simple yet elevated food that we offer. We strive to create new and interesting takes on the cocktails that are historically known and loved. Just like the 100-year-old building that houses Helen, we offer a timeless and re-inventive atmosphere.
Tell us about your mixing style/go-to ingredients.
We pull influences from many different bartending and cocktail styles. Our primary focus behind the bar is to keep it simple, yet noteworthy. We love to keep fresh ingredients and use infusions to our advantage.
What can bartenders do to level-up their mixing games?
Play with flavors and trust your palate. Remember that there is a purpose to the garnishes you use and the ice (or lack thereof) that you present in any cocktail.
Give 4-5 tips to creating memorable/unique cocktails.
- Always use fresh citrus.
- Bitters are your friend.
- Proper dilution is just as important as balancing your flavors.
- Just because you don’t love a single ingredient, doesn’t mean it won’t blend. beautifully with others.
- Infusions make life easy.
Talk to us about making limoncello and mixing with limoncello in cocktails.
We began making limoncello to reduce our citrus peel waste. It has since grown to become one of our favorite ingredients. It offers many benefits to our bar program such as increasing our sustainability while also being a delightful accent to cocktails due to its well-rounded profile. Limoncello is bright, bitter, and sweet all in one.
What should bartenders know?
Practice reading your guests. Know when they want more from you and know when it’s time to step away. It is important that we provide a fun and professional environment that suits the needs of the guests you see. Remember to be kind to yourself and don’t take it too seriously. We are providing a service, but to do so we have to take care of ourselves first.
Bella Donna Cocktail Recipe
Ingredients:
- ½ oz Helencello*
- 1 oz Haku Japanese Vodka
Preparation: Pour ingredients into a champagne flute and top with cava (we use/recommend Segura Viudas or an alternative brut cava). Soak a sugar cube with about 12 dashes of angostura. Toast sugar cube with a torch and drop into flute. Express a lemon peel over the top as garnish. We make our *Helencello in house and it is a blend of lemons, oranges, and grapefruit, however, a store-bought limoncello would work well as a replacement. **We find that the sweeter notes on this vodka pair best with the brut cava.
The post Trusting Your Palate with Helen Bar Managers Hannah and Kristine appeared first on Chilled Magazine.
Source: Mixology News
