Teksti: Raúl Rexach
Dear readers, two weeks ago I was in the Basque Country for the “Semana Grande” in San Sebastian (lot’s of party). So, taking the chance, I decided to visit a friend of mine and a great bartender (Patxi Troitiño). At the beginning, the thing was to talk with him about his idea of the cocktail world today, and make a review of his bar (I’ll talk about the place later), but after few minutes of talking, something came out, and it’s something that for me it’s a really important question. So, here’s the question: Old Fashioned, Molecular and what would (should) it be next?
Teksti: Raúl Rexach
Dear readers, two weeks ago I was in the Basque Country for the “Semana Grande” in San Sebastian (lot’s of party). So, taking the chance, I decided to visit a friend of mine and a great bartender (Patxi Troitiño). At the beginning, the thing was to talk with him about his idea of the cocktail world today, and make a review of his bar (I’ll talk about the place later), but after few minutes of talking, something came out, and it’s something that for me it’s a really important question. So, here’s the question: Old Fashioned, Molecular and what would (should) it be next?
Nowadays, lot’s of bartender had take the step of the modern cocktails, and please, I don’t want to be misunderstood, there’s nothing wrong on it, but you know how many times, I’ve asked for something simple, like Dry Manhattan, and you’ve got a interrogative face from the bartender.
Patxi and I, we agree: the ones that do not renew their techniques and formulas are heading to a certain oblivion, and those who skip the basic stuff, they are just building the house from the roof. So, the thing it’s to be balanced, being updated with the techniques and new products, but without forgetting the old school, it’s the root for everything. If you thing about it, a big amount of the most interesting cocktails, were created on the late 19th and the earliest 20th centuries. But the most important thing in that conversation we had, and it’s something I’ve been discussing with other colleagues too, in the question of what is going to be next, we realized that there’s nothing new yet. We’ve been using the same techniques for decades, and the ones that we call new, are just cooking techniques applied to mixology, there’s nothing genuine just for behind the bar.
I think that we should talk about the true cocktail revolution that it’s about to come, because it will.
So, if you just go to San Sebastian, go to Errenteria and look out for a place called STICK (since 1996), it’s where, Patxi and Yoli (his sister) do their mixes. She’s the world champion for the 2005 Bacardi/Martini competition, and he’s the national champion of 2009 ABE (the representation of IBA in spain), and they’ve won lot’s of regional competitions. They also have the unique TV-program about cocktails that it’s called “Cócteles a domicilio (Cocktails for delivery)”, which it’s been 40 shows of 20 minutes each one, until now. 41 drinks in the menu, 25 of their own creation, and the remaining 16 are classics.
Here is their website: www.stickcocktails.com
That’s all for now. Yours faithfully,
R Nowadays, lot’s of bartender had take the step of the modern cocktails, and please, I don’t want to be misunderstood, there’s nothing wrong on it, but you know how many times, I’ve asked for something simple, like Dry Manhattan, and you’ve got a interrogative face from the bartender.
Patxi and I, we agree: the ones that do not renew their techniques and formulas are heading to a certain oblivion, and those who skip the basic stuff, they are just building the house from the roof. So, the thing it’s to be balanced, being updated with the techniques and new products, but without forgetting the old school, it’s the root for everything. If you thing about it, a big amount of the most interesting cocktails, were created on the late 19th and the earliest 20th centuries. But the most important thing in that conversation we had, and it’s something I’ve been discussing with other colleagues too, in the question of what is going to be next, we realized that there’s nothing new yet. We’ve been using the same techniques for decades, and the ones that we call new, are just cooking techniques applied to mixology, there’s nothing genuine just for behind the bar.
I think that we should talk about the true cocktail revolution that it’s about to come, because it will.
So, if you just go to San Sebastian, go to Errenteria and look out for a place called STICK (since 1996), it’s where, Patxi and Yoli (his sister) do their mixes. She’s the world champion for the 2005 Bacardi/Martini competition, and he’s the national champion of 2009 ABE (the representation of IBA in spain), and they’ve won lot’s of regional competitions. They also have the unique TV-program about cocktails that it’s called “Cócteles a domicilio (Cocktails for delivery)”, which it’s been 40 shows of 20 minutes each one, until now. 41 drinks in the menu, 25 of their own creation, and the remaining 16 are classics – here is their website.
That’s all for now. Yours faithfully,
R