Working at the Zig Zag

Working at the Zig Zag

 

Andrew’s father told him to be a Playboy photographer by day and a jazz musician by night. At the age of four, Andrew trusted his father’s aspirations to be a mandate―he remains an avid heterosexual, an acceptable photographer, and a champion of the smoking jacket. He also snuck past the velvet rope with his trombone while underage, but found himself a better drink slinger than bop player. This began a questionable habit that spiraled into a suspect career behind the bar.

Andrew would hate to believe that drinking and serving whiskey eclipsed playing trombone, but this is somewhat true. Now, he just forces people to listen to J. J. Johnson while he crafts classic drinks and builds tomorrow’s. His father deals with it.

Andrew Bohrer dipsographs in a surly fashion at www.caskstrength.wordpress.com and recently authored The Best Shots You’ve Never Tried: 100+ Intoxicating Oddities You’ll Actually Want to Put Down, a book that he did not title.  He is a cofounder of the Washington State Bartender’s Guild. Bohrer was a former bartender at Vessel and Rob Roy.  He was the opening bar manager at both Naga Cocktail Lounge and Mistral Kitchen―all 4 bars listed in Food and Wine’s top 100 bars in the world. Bohrer is currently a ronin bartender, mixology consultant and the spirits educator & portfolio manager for Vinum Importing.  He can also open a bottle of beer faster than any mortal.

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But really, I change kegs, I have scars and I occasionally make vodka sodas for people.  But I also seek out rare liquors, read a ton of books, and listen; these things that others care for.

The purpose of this blog is a writing project that will be a reference for new bartenders. Well honestly, new bartenders that want to learn classic style. You can learn trash drinks anywhere, or trash technique.  You can also read a ton of blogs where some nerd basically just re-prints shit from old cocktail books. What I focus on is how things were done best and finding the best way to do them now; without comprising quality or speed. I try not to write about me, or the grand art of tending bar (but I love both of those things).  Rather I focus on making a manual for this trade, a reference of the basics to become an artisan through mastery of technique, ingredients and the persona of the bartender.

Cheers

i can be reached at andrewbohrer at gmail dot com