Care for your craft

Muddle fresh strawberries in tin. Add mint and lightly press. Add all other ingredients to tin. Add ice and shake well. Fine strain into a goblet filled with crushed ice. Garnish with a mint bouquet.

We are doing a Throwback Thursday, because if you did not know, Lost Lake underwent a tragedy and their bar had a fire.  Because of the amazing support of the bar community, they are back up and running!

The inspiration for Ruby Tuesday came from visiting the Woodford Reserve distillery in Kentucky.  There, Bridget, and a group of bartenders from across the country tasted Woodford while eating things like sorghum, chocolate, orange and parmesan. The tasting helped bring out the different nuances that you will find in Woodford. Wanting to incorporate this experience into a cocktail, Bridget uses Cocchi Torino vermouth, one of her favorites, Meletti 1870 for some orange flavors, Scrappy’s Chocolate Bitters, Angostura Bitters and Woodford Reserve Rye. It is a delightful smooth take on a manhattan that Bridget will be happy to make you at Heartwood Provisions.

Bridget Maloney was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, relocating to Seattle while she was in high school.  She started working in the food and beverage industry at a young age, working her way up to bartending. Upon graduating from Boise State University, she quickly returned to the world or cocktails.  Since then she has worked at a variety of different places all over Seattle, finally finding her home at the newly opened Heartwood Provisions.  She is the founder of Women Who Love Whiskey, a non-profit she started with a  few other whiskey loving women that provides education and support for women in and around the Seattle area. She has participated in Speed Rack, Camp Runamok, Portland Cocktail Week, the Cocktail Apprentice Program through Tales of the Cocktail, and was named one of the “Female Bartenders You Need to Know About” by Thrillist in Seattle. If that is not enough, she also helped spearhead Mavens Mixing Drinks by getting together all the Mavens.  Thank you for all of your support Bridget.

The inspiration for my cocktail came from my curiosity of what maturation to Fernet Branca would taste like, so I aged it in a 11 liter American oak barrel with a number 4 char.  The result was so unusual and tasty, I immediately knew I wanted to do a crazy spin on a Toronto.  And knowing how well Fernet and scotch taste together, due to a cocktail named The Smoking Gun, I felt mezcal would be really interesting to try and it worked!

I've lived in Boston now for ten years and have almost worked all of them in the South End neighborhood.  I am currently the General Manager and Beverage Director of Franklin Cafe (a 20 year old neighborhood staple).  Been in the industry for 16 years with 11 behind the stick.  Favorite thing about Boston is how amazing our bar community is to one another, we are like family and only want to support each other.  Outside of work, I am a New York sports fan and love living in enemy territory even more, have a habit of dancing every and anywhere at anytime, and am known for my incredibly boisterous laughter.

2 Dashes Regan’s Orange Bitters

Karen was most recently the USA National Champion for the Beefeater Gin MIXLDN cocktail competition.  She previously worked at Sassafras Saloon.  You might have seen her competing in Speed Rack, but now an attaché with The Bon Viviants.

This is by far... one of our favorite drinks, and when we visit Hazlewood, we always order!

Katie was our featured talent on our Bar Back Kickstarter video campaign, so she might look familiar!  Blackstock is a very talented artist and musician in Seattle. When she is not behind the bar or traveling, she’s the lead singer in MASZER, which is a well received up and coming Seattle based band.  She has been a Ballard staple in this rapidly growing Seattle neighborhood.  Stay tuned because this won’t be the last time you see Katie’s face!

I was inspired actually on a whim to make this drink. I already featured the whiskey in a different cocktail on the menu, when a guest came in and asked for that ingredient, but in a more simple drink. They mentioned that they enjoyed whiskey sours, so I took that ingredient and poof! It was so delicious I wanted to keep making that version of the drink.

Whether she’s infusing esoteric spirits with local ingredients, using her love of the culinary art to expand the horizons of cocktail ingredients, or resurrecting Prohibition-era recipes, Stephanie Teslar’s curiosity in the art of cocktailing is never-ending. Steph’s interest in the bar began at the age of 17 in her home state of Pennsylvania. Steph fell in love with fine wine and went on to study and be certified through the Court of Master Sommeliers as well as the Society of Wine Educators. Her love of spirits soon lead her to move to Phoenix to run bar programs for Kimpton Hotels. Since she arrived at Blue Hound in 2012, her experiments behind the bar have not gone unnoticed, earning her nominations for a variety of industry prizes including Phoenix New Times’ “Big Brain Award” for culinary excellence. She also won the Arizona Restaurant Association’s 2014 “Foodist Awards” for master mixologist.

“Last Man Standing” was named for Jimmy Russell, distiller of Wild Turkey. He is the last working distiller of his generation, and one hell of a great guy. This cocktail is bitter, yet softer than you might expect. It’s unusual. It’s robust in flavor, but it’s low proof - which means that if you’re drinking them all night, you might also be the last man standing.

Lana Gailani abandoned academia for restaurants, trading a basement office for a basement kitchen. She spent several years working in fine dining pastry before switching sides and training as a sommelier. After a stint at Michelin-starred Hakkasan, she discovered a love of spirits and began bartending at Empellon Cocina, where a deep love of agave was born. These days she’s preaching the mezcal gospel at Seamstress, Pouring Ribbons, and Holiday Cocktail lounge. When she’s not pouring drinks, she’s dreaming of joining the circus.

For the original cocktail, Zulcoralis wanted to create a cocktail that is bitter, herbaceous, yet light and refreshing that complements the hot summer in Texas. Amargo Limón delivers that flavor profile and can be enjoyed at a cocktail bar or while tubing on the river.

Zulcoralis Rodriguez, 29, hails from the tropical island of Puerto Rico and made a home for herself and her family in San Antonio, Texas. She has worked in the hospitaily industry for several years, but had her sights set on making her mark. Currently, Zulcoralis holds the position of head bartender at the historic The Esquire Tavern, oldest bar on the Riverwalk, where she has worked for the last three years. Her latest accomplishments include being Miss Speed Rack Dallas 2015 and was named one of the top 8 women to watch in 2015 by Beverage Director magazine.

Photo: Rob Chicoine