Cheers Fall 2022 | Page 8

DRINK CULTURE

Meet The Mixologist :

Luis Betancur is beverage director at Boston-based Tuscan Brands , which includes seven restaurant concepts and two retail markets . A sommelier and a Chilean native who immigrated to the U . S . at age 27 , Betancur also teaches mixology and wine classes at La Scuola , the Williams Sonoma and Tuscan Market cooking school in Salem , NH .

What was your first job in the beverage or hospitality industry ? My first job in the industry was as a busboy in a French restaurant by the South End of Boston . Great wine and , of course , profiteroles .

What is your favorite spirit to work with at the moment ? Rum currently because of the Tiki moment and the summer . It ’ s super easy to hide and to enjoy in many classic cocktails .

Tuscan Brands includes seven restaurant concepts and two retail markets ; how does the beverage program reflect the concept ’ s Italian culture ? By pushing the boundaries ! We make everything from scratch , including many fun syrups , leveraging everything out of the fruit and herbs — peel , juice and pulp . We create cocktails with many dimensions while using Italian liqueur and Amari .

What cocktails , wines and beer are Tuscan Brands guests interested in these days ? The Dirty Martini is a classic ; also the Espresso Martini and fun , flavorful spicy Margaritas . Our trending wines include coastal wines like vermentino , vernacchia and falanghina , and some obscure wines like Etna bianco from the majestic Etna Volcano . The beer trend is changing ; still some interest in IPAs , but now we can see more light and crisp refreshing pale ales and nonalcoholic beers like Athletic from Colorado .

As a native of Chile , are you a fan of the Pisco Sour ? I drank so much pisco … so much . I love a classic sour , but my favorites are the Passion Fruit and the Mango Sour . In Chile you can find so many fruits like cherimoya or custard apple . A little different than the internet will show you , custard apples are a creamy , sweet-granny apple with a touch of lemon — to die for .

MAKIN ME COCONUTS

1 ½ oz . Coconut rum

½ oz . Blueberry vodka ½ oz . Fresh-squeezed lime juice Blueberry basil puree Seltzer water

All ingredients into a shaker and shake for 10 seconds . Pour over fresh ice into rocks glass . Garnish with blueberry-lime flag .

Would you share one of the most popular at Tuscan Brands , or one of your favorite drink recipes ? This is a difficult one , we have so many popular cocktails from our talented bartenders , but here is the recipe for Makin Me Coconuts .

The Golden Tiki , a Tiki bar in Las Vegas ’ Chinatown , broke the world record for the Largest Mai Tai on Aug . 30 , 2022 . The event was the culmination of a week-long celebration commemorating the bar ’ s seventh anniversary .

Guests helped pour more than 300 bottles of alcohol into the giant mixed by beverage director Adam Rains . It took a little more than 30 minutes to build the 100-gallon cocktail in front of a live crowd .

The final product weighed in at more than 900 lbs . and well surpassed the previous record of 55 gallons . The monumental Mai Tai was witnessed and certified by Raul Faria , president of the Las Vegas chapter of the U . S . Bartenders ’ Guild .

What did The Golden Tiki do with the giant drink following its creation ? They filled two fountains with the record-breaking cocktail for the party guests to enjoy .

8 • Fall 2022 www . cheersonline . com