The Punk Bartender

Last week I have the pleasure to take part in an innovative cocktail competition that takes part in Spain for the first time. Spirit Essence. What is new, you might ask. It is the first cocktail competition by teams. It is organized by Magatzem Escolá (http://www.escoladist.com) and sponsored by some of the leading liquor brands in the market, like Diageo, Pernod-Ricard, Torres Spirits and OTC Group. 

The teams will be divided by region and yours truly is in the North region (Basque Country, La Rioja and Cantabria).

The first heat was to determine which people are going to be on the team. The heat was so much fun. First of all, a test with 50 questions, not easy ones, in the form of dates, cocktail ingredients, regions, peat, etc. Tough task. And the second challenge was a blind taste of 6 spirits or liqueurs. This was all that we were working with.

So, at the blind tasting we had to guess the spirit or liqueur category, family, style and brand. The brand obviously, gathered all the portfolios of the sponsors. Not an easy task.

After all this challenges, the six best grades were awarded to be on the team, and the best grade of all, was named team captain, The team captain? Mr. Alf del Portillo, i.e. me. They don’t even know the kind of power the gave me. I am going to rule the world MAHAHAHAA..

STOP.

The rest of the team are Fran Ceacero, Manu Iturregui (from Bilbao, like me), Aurora Almenar, Álvaro Rollón (from Donostia) and Jose Mutilva (from Pamplona). Lads.

What happens next?

We are headed to the semifinal in Barcelona on 18th of October, where we are going to be up for six challenges, one for each team member. Those challenges are Classic (two random classic cocktails out of a list of 48); Light & Rich (no alcoholic cocktails); New Spirit Cocktail (2 cocktails with new trend spirit); Mystery Box; Speed Challenge (all the classics you can make in under 6 minutes) and the Leadership Black Box (two random spirits for the captains, and they have to talk about the spirit and its production, trivia, etc)

I will keep you posted! In the meantime, you can check the competition here: http://spiritessence.es

Salud y buen clima!

Let’s talk all things I don’t like. Meaning in bars. There are a lot of other things that I don’t like, for example the way some people talks about Colin Kaepernick disrespecting his country for not standing during the national anthem. I don’t stand for my national anthem. And he is doing it for a good reason. I am not.

But this is not the point. We are going to talk bar stuff, and I don’t mean not standing to the national anthem in a bar. Things that drive me nuts. 

First of all, you should know that I grew up in a place where hospitality is far away from being professional in a lot of bars and restaurants. No back of house work at all. Prep, serve, clean and go home. This is going to be my first point then. I don’t like how people is not prepared. I don’t like asking a manager or owner how much it cost a bottle of wine. They don’t know the answer. And even less the answer of which cost their top selling dish is. I am not here to tutor anybody. But how much money goes down the drain just for not being prepared about this. And now I see, I didn’t like myself.

I dislike how people takes hospitality for granted. We often laugh about how people ask us ‘What is your real job?’ but it is not laughable at all. To the eyes of the untrained, this is a job that everybody can do. Agree. Almost everybody can do it. But the thing is, how do you do it. I could be a butcher tomorrow, but I will probably mess up the cut on that juice and tender sirloin that you just bought. No sir, not everybody CAN DO IT RIGHT. Usually this is because there are bartenders, waiters, bar backs, cooks, etc that don’t give a shit. I hace worked with many different people, both good and bad, and the ones that are the best, aren't the most skilled ones. The best are the ones that take their job seriously. I don’t care if it is a part time job, if they are thinking about making a career in hospitality, or if they just found themselves out of a job and they turn to a bar or restaurant. The ones that take their job seriously are the ones worth work with. To the others, I don't care if you make a cocktail with shit or stars from another galaxy, if you aren't smiling and taking care of the customer, fuck off.

I don’t like being overcharged based on location. I understand that in some areas the rent is higher or you just hired some top-notch manager. But c’mon, if you are going to charge me 8€ for a Kalimotxo (this is wine and coca-cola friends), at least offer me something. Service, glassware, a smile, a proven professional. Not just location. And don’t you dare to put that humid, bad smelling, dehydrated orange slice in my drink.

I HATE hospitality workers that you feel they just spared your life. C’mon man, we don’t have to be friends, but you don’t have to look at me like that.

I know that not every bar or bartender likes the craft, but I wouldn’t mind some more knowledge. Nothing difficult, just a Collins. I would love to go to a bar in Bilbao and ask for a Collins or a Bloody Mary. Nothing fancy. I can tell you. There are less than ten bars here that know how to do them. But Gin & Tonics looking like salads? You have a hundred bars. 

Here in Bilbao and in Spain, patrons are familiar with free pouring, no measuring and they expect you to serve a double for the same price as a single. And if you tell them that you are going to charge them more for that, they will give you de death stare and they won’t come back no matter how good your service is. So, I don’t like people thinking that we are getting our stock for free.

Now, an example of some things I just described. A days ago I went with a friend to a bar known for its highballs G&T’s and at some extent cocktails. My friend ordered a Vodka Martini with Belvedere. While I was thinking what to have I saw the bartender put on the bar a bottle of Martini Bianco (the sweet one). That was the moment on which I decided to not go for a cocktail. instead, I ordered a Tanqueray & Tonic. Well, the bartender took other bottle without asking, I can’t remember which one, and started pouring and saying ‘I decided to pour this gin, later if you don’t like it, I will make you another one with Tanqueray’. This gin was nothing like Tanqueray, no citrus at all, more juniper and essentially, more bitter. It is not that I disliked the gin, is that I didn't order it. And my friend’s Martini... Finally the bartender realized he got the wrong vermouth, he took Noilly Prat dry and started to make the cocktail. No mixing glass, directly on the glass. An old-fashioned glass. No measuring. By my estimations, it was about 45 ml of vermouth plus 70 ml Belvedere. He the added ice a lemon twist and a lemon wheel. It was not good.

We paid and left.

So, if you dislike something, let me know, let’s discuss stuff. What do you like, what you don’t like. 

Salud y buen clima!

Alf.

I never thought about writing about this, but what the hell.

More or less one year ago one of the most traumatic moments of my life happened. In a span of two months I lost the bar that I owned, I lost my wife, and I lost my house.

Stop the bullshit, man. This is not the place for sad stories.

I was at my lowest. Life took care about taking the last drop of pride, motivation and self-confidence in me. I was dead inside. I was broken. If you are reading this, I don’t wish you to go through this.

I didn’t know where to go or what to do. Everything that I was planning for was shattered down, and if it doesn't sound hard as you are reading it, believe me, it is.

Then I made the decision. Fuck you LeBron.

I realized that not having anything to do in my city, no future, no plans, nothing to hold to; the best for me was get as far as I could from home. 

And what a commitment it was.

I don’t have my bar, but I work in a nice one.

I don’t have my house, but I have a cool ground floor apartment.

Pride is coming back.

I am all about motivation.

Self-confidence? I am on it.

Yeah, lonely at times when I can use a hug or a kiss, but nobody is perfect.

And I am India’s World Class bartender of the year 2015. And I will compete in a month in the world finals!

Me? In a world final? Or I am doing something really good or the world is coming to an end.

I am committed, I am focused and old dreams are getting changed for new ones. The world is the next step, and after that, I am going to start to build my legacy. Not bad for a broken man huh?

So, this is not a sad story. It is a “put your shit together and keep walking” story.

Grilled Daiquiri

Bacardi Gold, grilled pineapple and grilled lime juice combined with the sweetness of the maple syrup.

We add a juicy bacon slice as a garnish.

Salud!