TODAY’S CULINARY COCKTAILS
Alexander Sourmpatis, bar manager, Casablanca Social Club in Greece, shared his take on the sector’s upcoming trends with HN, including some he has long been championing.
What are some of the techniques you use to fashion drinks?
When it comes to purees, infusions, fatwashing and vacuum, I use all of them in a cocktail list. It depends, of course, on the season and what I want to achieve, but they are all required to make a complete list of drinks.
In a country that prides itself on its fresh and flavorsome produce, what ingredients are you currently choosing to use the most and why?
It’s not a myth that Greek bartenders have always used fresh ingredients in their cocktails, in part because customers immediately recognize them and are often reminded of their childhood! I really like using herbs and spices, but my all-time favorite is beetroot. In my opinion it gels well with almost everything and it’s very diverse.
Why do you think bartenders have been turning their attention away from the bar to the kitchen?
I’ve never thought of the bar and kitchen as two different industries. Despite the fact that they work in different ways, a kitchen has always provided helpful tools for bartenders to extract, increase and create flavors. However, a kitchen will never have this relationship with the customers, which is why bartenders will always have to adopt and improvise accordingly.
F&B outlets are putting an increasing emphasis on ‘zero waste’ policy initiatives. Is this affecting how you choose your ingredients?
Certainly, more bars are trying to use ingredients that they might have previously thrown away. The bar I am running couldn’t have done otherwise; after all, this is money saved at the end of the month - money that we can invest in other things, rather than throwing in the bin.