Cheers Fall 2023 | Page 6

DRINK CULTURE

Meet the Mixologist :

What was your first job in the beverage or hospitality industry ? I grew up on a farm in a small Wisconsin town , so my appreciation for our land and its natural bounty started at an early age . My first job in the restaurant industry was at age 14 , working at a nearby tavern washing dishes . It wasn ’ t too long before I was elevated to short-order cook , flipping burgers and loving every minute of it .

It was just the beginning ! A jazz saxophone scholarship got me into college , but I soon realized that I would rather study cooking — and I made my way to the Culinary Institute of America .

Landrace uses native Texas ingredients in the beverage program ; how do you determine what to use and how ? Seasonality is key to deciding which ingredients will be featured on our cocktail menu . We use native Texas ingredients across the beverage program . For example , the Pequin Your Interest cocktails features pequin pepper agave , which is complemented by El Jimador blanco tequila , Cointreau , grapefruit and lime .

What ’ s your current go-to cocktail or beverage ? When the weather is warmer , gin is my go-to spirit for any cocktail or beverage . I particularly love the Malfy Gin Rosa , which features Sicilian pink grapefruits , Italian lemons and bright botanicals .

Would you share one of the recipes from Landrace ? Here ’ s one for our Tequila Old Fashioned .

What is your favorite spirit to work with at the moment ? Waterloo barrel-aged gin is a Texas brand , and one of my favorite spirits at the moment . One of my go-to cocktails is an Old Fashioned , but I actually prefer gin over whiskey . At Landrace , we have a custom cocktail cart that roams the restaurant , it shares unique combinations — from house-made bitters and syrups to curated spirits , like this Waterloo barrel-aged gin — to bring guests fun riffs on the classic Old Fashioned .

Are most guests familiar with the more exotic ingredients such as sotol ? Guests who are familiar with Landrace know that we appreciate fun , different and funky ingredients for a robust flavor profile . They may not know of each specific ingredient , and our team loves to be part of the ordering process and share details on the unknown .

What drinks do you see guests enjoying or asking for these days ? We have a great selection of beers from Texas — it is exciting for people to sample a bit of the local brewing culture . When I travel , I love to explore the local beer scene — in the process , I always learn more about the city !

If you follow mixology trends , you know about Jeppson ’ s Malört , the notoriously bitter spirit of Chicago that is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year . So what ’ s a mocktail based on Malort doing in North Carolina ?

Charlotte-based restaurant Counter , which specializes in wine and nonalcoholic pairings for its tasting menus , had a spring menu theme called Street Food that paid tribute to six cities around the world . Sommelier Michael Myers researched popular beverages for each city and either made his own version or stayed as true to the classic as possible .

Street Food drink highlights included chicha morada for Lima ; Champagne oolong tea ( Singapore ); sweet and sour plum ( Chengdu ); and orange anise syrup and soda ( Barcelona ). But Myers had no idea what drink to do for Chicago , “ so I asked the

TEQUILA OLD FASHIONED

1 ½ oz . Añejo tequila ¼ oz . Agave nectar 3 dashes Mole bitters Lime and lemon peel twists for garnish

Place the bitters in a mixing glass and fill with ice . Add the tequila and agave and stir until well chilled . Strain into a rocks glass over a large chunk of ice . Express the lime and lemon twist over the glass . Drop twists into glass for garnish .

only person I knew who had spent time in Chicago : Chef Sam .” That would be Counter ’ s chef / owner Sam Hart , who told

Myers about Malort . How did Hart describe Malort ? “ He told me it tastes like regret , and you pair it with bad decisions . So that ’ s what I decided to make ,” Myers says .

People tend to drink Malort either straight up or mixed with grapefruit juice . So Myers combined salted grapefruit juice and elderflower simple syrup , with ice cubes spiced with star anise and clove that act as a nonalcoholic version of Malort .

To make the drink , Myers mixes 2 parts of the grapefruit mix to 1 part elderflower simple syrup . Then he puts 5 “ Malort ” ice cubes in a glass and pours mixture over the top . “ That means that as the ice cubes melt , the drink will get more bitter , kind of like regret and bad decisions ,” he says .

6 • Fall 2023 www . cheersonline . com