Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/113109
B.A.: Why is St. Louis a place that beverage professionals should visit? M.S.: Not many have been here. This market is just as vibrant and alive as most of the markets I���ve had the privilege of visiting. We���ve had seven micro breweries open up over the past three years���Perennial, Four Hands, Civil Life, 6 Row, Cathedral Square, Urban Chestnut and Charleville���and there are more coming. There have been three distilleries opened over the past few years���Spirits of St. Louis, Pinckney Bend, Mastermind���with more on the way. St. Louis has as many bars as we do stop signs, possibly more. The variance of styles and types of bars will match up to any city in the U.S. Just like Sanctuaria���s beverage menu, there���s something here for everyone. B.A.: What is your inspiration when designing a cocktail program? M.S.: Everyone reading this. I look and see what cool things you all are doing at your bars and get ideas of my own. I try to expand on existing ideas and concepts and bring my own twists to them. Every now and then I���ll get an original idea and roll with it, but for the most part I���m seeking what���s going on everywhere else. To all of you, a big thanks!!! B.A.: What is your favorite mixing season and why? M.S.: 5 p.m. to close. That���s when we���re open. I like my job. B.A.: Describe your guests. M.S.: Ever been to a circus? Envision tuxedos and evening gowns drinking champagne cocktails sitting next to and conversing with the lannel wearing carpenter who is enjoying his Budweiser and whiskey shot while high-iving the Don Johnson attired lawyer over a Cardinal home run who is eyeballing the mid-20-year-old in sweatpants and white V-neck sipping a Side Car who is asking the Mohawked bartender about all the antique glassware who is trying to help the other 50 people behind her. B.A.: What is your most memorable experience as a bartender? M.S.: There are quite a few, all worthy of note. But here���s a good one and a weird one: Good: One of our reps came in late on a weekday night with leftovers from a cocktail dinner he helped with. He handed me a bottle and said, ���Here. This is for you. Thanks for your support.��� It was a $160 bottle of cognac. I grabbed glasses for everyone at the bar and poured out samples (about 15 people). He saw this and was impressed: I didn���t keep it all for myself. I received an unopened bottle of the same cognac in the mail a few days later. Weird: A lady walked in to the bar and requested a drink with juice where she couldn���t taste the booze. So I made her a drink with those specs and slid it in front of her. She placed the glass up to her lips (I don���t think she even took a sip) and slid it right back. ���Oh, that���s too strong,��� she said. ���I���ll just have a Vodka Martini no vermouth, please.��� People amaze me. Angel���s Tears by Matt Seiler, Sanctuaria, St. Louis ��� 1�� oz. Maker���s Mark Bourbon ��� �� oz. Leroux Triple Sec ��� �� oz. fresh lemon juice ��� 4 drops absinthe ��� Mix all in a tin, add ice, shake for 15 seconds and ine strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a grapefruit twist. B.A.: Give us three tips on how to start a cocktail club program. M.S.: That all depends on what your bar can handle, what is feasible in your market. I took over a year planning our club. 1) Get your bar set up for success. That includes everything. What your wells look like, where your tools are located, what each bar station looks like, etc. 2) Train your staff . . . and then train them some more. Do they know what each ingredient behind the bar tastes like? Can they bang out drinks and be clean at the same time? Can they make a recommendation if someone says, ���I like bourbon. Make me something.��� 3) Be aware that your perfectly orchestrated attempt to do this will need constant tweaking. You cannot and will not think of everything that would make this endeavor fool-proof. I���m still making improvements to the bar and our Club has been operating for over two years. B.A.: If you were a comic book character who would you be? M.S.: Lex Luthor. The guy is always thinking up something, no matter how outlandish, and just makes it happen. He doesn���t care what others think, believes nothing is too great to overcome and has that try-try-try attitude. Plus, even when he���s bested by Superman, he still goes home to his multi-million dollar mansion. If that���s his way of losing, I���m in. march 2013 / the tasting panel / 101