:: jim meehan - reserve works tour ::

Yesterday I attended the Reserve Works Tour hosted by the USBG and Diageo where Jim Meehan spoke about topics in his Meehan's Bartenders Manual, constrasted it to his efforts producing the The PDT Cocktail Book, and hinted at his third book deal in the works. I will not try to cover topics that are better accomplished by reading his second book, but instead I will give interesting quotes and insights that we gleaned from this 4 hour session.
Jim described bartenders as simply custodians that sometimes make drinks. We basically clean; we cannot be too proud to clean because it reflects poorly on our establishment, our concepts of food safety, and our desire to retain guests who might not want to stay at a messy bar or at the mess in front of them. Cleaning builds integrity, and Jim compared it to the Karate Kid wax on/wax off scene (which he included in the beginning of his manual). Jim also declared that in the end, most of us will stop bartending for the physical, emotional, and psychological demands get harder as we get older. He described how the young bartender is like the duck where water droplets roll off its back, and how the older bartender is like a leaky roof. He concluded that part of his introduction by praising how bartending is one of the greatest humanity jobs of all time.

"My juicer is not meant to squeeze lemons, it is meant to start conversations." -- designer Philippe Starck

In terms of bar design, Jim pointed out how many of us work in bars where beauty was key and functionality was not considered; often these establishments were designed by an architect and not a bartender. Part of making people want to use a thing or come back to a place is aesthetics, but the functionality is very important.

"You cannot understand good design if you do not understand people; design is made for people." -- designer Dieter Rams

Jim praised the design of Drink in Boston. He described it as a bare knuckle fight in that there were no gloves of a menu or bottles on the back bar. Moreover, he commented how it was the greatest humanity experiment -- all the interactions were based on the bartenders, servers, and the guests themselves, and they did not rely on menus or on televisions to smooth the way. There is nothing else to amuse people besides the drinks and other humans save for "the weird bug display in back" (click here for a photo).

In terms of how we dress as bartenders, the uniform should give purpose and pride to the worker and not instill rage and shame. Furthermore, a bartender should dress themselves to make the range of guests feel more comfortable. This will include the businessman in a suit who will not feel the need to loosen his tie as well as the guest wearing a t-shirt to not feel under-dressed. People go out to watch the bartenders work, and there is a joy in watching humans make drinks fast and efficiently. Before Jim jumped into the techniques section, he mentioned that we need to make money for the business, and the desire to make boundary pushing cocktails will often be at odds with the bottom line. The choice of style and profitability is what you feel most comfortable with in the end.

Jim started the technique section by describing wine service and demonstrating how to pour a glass to guests to the left and right of him. Besides using an open hand technique to show the label, Jim switched hands to open up his body to that guest. If he cross-poured, it would show the guest his shoulder and seem more guarded; when he switched, he was able to provide more intimate or open service. Even in dive bars, a bartender can use this technique to pour Jagermeister shots. While Jim did not spend much time on describing the perfect mise en place, he did focus on that fancy French term for having everything in its place and prepared in advance. Definitely the more organized and prepared the bartender is, the easier it will be to get the drinks out. Jim also brought up the concept of prioritization where a good bartender will have a list of what needs to be done at the moment, 5 minutes ago, and 5 minutes in the future; and a better bartender will be able to project their needs 10 or more minutes in the future. Just like life, things come at a bartender hard and fast, and the bartender needs to adapt, rearrange priorities, and then be able to return to where they were. In addition, great bartenders are excellent problem solvers who do not view it as a burden; they look like they are having a great time being in it and having a million things to do. A good bartender will fall into the zone and own it. Overall, Jim suggested that there is no such thing as perfect technique: technique is improvisational; at its highest level, it is a window into the soul of the bartender. A bartender should find ways to make drinks to tell people what you are as a person.

"Every cocktail was invented by someone, so you have to imagine what it was that the creator wanted to achieve -- what he wanted, what he was looking for -- by creating this cocktail. Find out where and when the cocktail was created, and think about how much of your own personality you can blend into that." -- Kazuo Uyeda in Cocktail Technique

Jim pointed out that recipes are templates that can change over time and through improvisation. The Aviation was a good example as most people were making it without crème de violet since it was published in 1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book that way and crème de violet was absent from most bars. When David Wondrich found the original Aviation recipe in Hugo Ensslin's 1916 Recipes for Mixed Drinks, people latched onto the concept and wanted the liqueur to be made available again. However, many people soon learned to despise the drink made this way since the floral element makes the cocktail taste like soap. So perhaps the ingredient was lost over time since gin, Maraschino, and lemon was a more desired combination. Thus, change can come from adding or subtracting ingredients. A good example of adding was in Morgenthaler's inclusion of high proof Bourbon in his Amaretto Sour.
Jim exclaimed that a cocktail menu is a business plan by another name, Without a menu, servers and bartenders have to do everything, and a cocktail menu is like a script or instructions for guests to use the bar more readily and efficiently. Jim divides menus into three pillars that come out to 12-18 drinks total; opening a place with 10-12 drinks is a smart idea for it is easy to add drinks but awkward to shrink lists. However, with more drinks on the menu, the mise en place expands with the need for more cheater bottles, bitters, and garnish jars. The first of these pillars is the signature drink which has nothing market seasonal and is perfect all year round. They are the most popular drinks at the bar, and the guests will chose them and not the owners or bartenders. Ego cannot get in the way when figuring out this section. It will be the drinks that the guests like drinking, the bartenders like making, and the accountants like keeping for the financial aspects. The second is the cold and warm seasonal drinks that consist of hot toddies and stronger, richer drinks for the former and spritzes, Collins, and refreshing, hydrating lower ABV drinks for the latter. These are not the cost driving leaders; the bar can afford to make them but they are not drinks that can be done throughout the year. The final pillar is the limited edition. This is for the guest who asks "what's new?", for the cocktail geeks to see something unusual, for media attention by using new products (to get on list articles), and for depleting limited ingredients such as samples or small allocations of product. This last cluster will help the bar stay relevant to the press and to the cocktail nerds but will not be the money makers. Thus, the list will be a consideration of pour cost (the business aspect), the execution time, and the originality aspect. The list should not be viewed only as a recipe-driven combination but it should pay attention to other aspects of life. This where Jim brought us the concept of zeitgeist -- the spirit of the times, and creativity can come from cultural zeitgeist too. When considering menu items, bringing on too many local or terroir-driven ingredients makes it difficult to travel with or to replicate elsewhere (for example, PDT's Benton Old Fashioned made with an infusion from a single producer's bacon). Also, the drinks that stand the test of time often have fewer ingredients; the big ones like the Martini, the Manhattan, and the Margarita all have 3 ingredients in the recipe.

In the next section, Jim spoke about service and hospitality. In Danny Meyers' Setting the Table, Jim found that the book did not teach hospitality as much as it motivated the server to do better. Jim wondered about how to bring the concept to life? Hospitality is not something that you can train; it is something that your mom, coach, or other inspirational figure taught you. The concept is hard to track for it is how somebody made you feel. Hospitality is making someone feel seen and feel that they belong. Furthermore, hospitality is not trying to make everyone feel equal but trying to make them feel like they are the only people who matter. Service has a connotation with formality and with someplace trying to be fancy; service though is something that can be taught. The good practice of service leads to hospitality. Hospitality can include dressing properly, getting proper haircuts, not having visible piercing or tattoos that would discomfort the guests, and more. Overall, its the little things. Good karma such that good habits beget good habits, and personal connection such as through eye contact at key moments can also help. In addition, ritualistic things that suggest a fresh start are important to signify that we are taking care of you such as a warm towel to wash your hands at the beginning of a meal.

Jim focused that steps of service are not linear but they are a cycle that includes checking in and table maintenance. Jim differentiated that we do not serve drinks to people, we serve people with drinks. In mixology bars, the bartenders spend so much time washing tools and resetting that it is akin to a cat cleaning itself in full display and not caring. What we should be doing is cleaning the outside of the bar first before the tools: maintain the table first and then the station. The table is the commerce station of the guest, and the guest might want to leave if they have to sit in front of their filth too long. Also, do not stop table maintenance after the presenting the check; keep the water refills coming and be aware if they want to continue their experience by reopening a tab. As an aside, Jim mentioned that the guests might not want to talk to you: get over yourself. Finally, there are four places to say thank you: when the check is dropped, when you accept payment, when the slips or change are returned, and when the guests get up to leave.

In the question and answer section, Jim spoke of management. He described that when a manager is younger, they want to respected, and when they are older, they want to be liked. Instead, learn to build relationships so when there is a need to be gruff, there is humanity behind it. Also in terms of progression, when a manager is younger, they try to do leadership by example, and when they are older, they realize that they cannot do it all due to life and time constraints and they learn to be motivational and to delegate.

For more of Jim's words of wisdom, just go buy and read his Meehan's Bartenders Manual, and keep a look out for his third book!