· This week we talk to Joe Raya, owner of the Gin Joint in Charleston, South Carolina. He & his wife also make delicious syrups for bartenders called Tippleman’s. There are 6 varieties and they are all awesome: o Burnt Sugar o Island Orxata o Falernum o Ginger Honey o Lemon Oleo Saccharum o Barrel Smoked Maple · Its Bartender Journey Podcast # 129 ! · First lets do a cocktail of the week! Its a Bourbon/Maple Old Fashioned using the Tippleman’s Barrel Smoked Maple syrup. The syrup is made using barrels from Willett Distillery. I used about ½ oz. I happened to have a lovely bottle of Willet Pot Still Reserve Bourbon, so I figured lets use that in our Old Fashioned! It’s a pretty incredible Bourbon and it’s tempting to just drink it neat or with one ice cube, but I used it anyway -- 2 oz of Willet Bourbon in my quite decedent Old Fashioned. I used Basement Bitters from Tuttletown distillery. These are the guys that make the great Hudson Whiskey among other things and their bitters are great! · If you don’t have any Tippleman’s syrups yet, consider ordering some at tipplemans.com. But meanwhile, try experimenting with a good quality maple syrup in your old fashioned. Grade B is what is recommended for using in cocktails. You might consider mixing it with a little hot water to make it easier to mix into your cocktail. And if you don’t have the Basement Bitters, try substituting other aromatic bitters – Angostura is of course an awesome choice and widely available, but perhaps try experimenting with a few other brands too! · To make an Old Fashioned – mix the sugar (or syrup in this case) with the bitters in the bottom of your Old Fashioned or rocks glass. Add the whiskey and some ice – ideally one big hand-cut ice cube and a twist. Usually it would be an orange twist in an Old Fashioned, especially if it were a Rye Old Fashioned, but I used lemon in this case. A little extra citrus “zing” from the limon goes better with the Bourbon and maple flavors. · Book of the week is Its All About The Guest by Steve Difillippo. · The subtitle of this book is Exceeding Expectations in Busines and in Life The Davio’s Way. · Steve is a great businessman. In his book he has lots of great lessons for us, including: “every decision you make: is this going to make things better for the guest?” · There will always be demanding guests who are ready to get upset about nothing. They will require a lot of attention, but you can’t let that distract you from the other guests. · Figure out how much it costs to make what you are selling, otherwise you may be loosing money without even knowing it. · Its not just WHAT you do, its how people PERCEIVE what you do. · Our Toast this week: ‘tis better to spend money like there's no tomorrow  than to spend tonight like there's no money!

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

Related