Whether you’re Canadian or not, it’s tough to ignore the Olympic craze surrounding us all. Tune into ‘The Straight Pour’, hosted by Paul and Ann Tuennermann, organizers of Tales of the Cocktail, tomorrow morning for some insight from myself and Darcy O’Neil on what impact the Olympics have had on Canadian bars and bartenders.

In addition, you’ll get a sneak peek as to what you can expect from this year’s Tales of the Cocktail event – I’ll be hosting a seminar entitled “Social Media: Creating Cocktail Legends” alongside Brian Rea and Camper English, and Darcy has a few, much more intelligent, seminars he’ll be presenting as well.

The show starts at 11AM EST, and you can tune in at http://www.wistradio.com. And yes, this mean’s that the downtime around Cocktails and Cordials is finally over.

Popularity: 31% [?]

Earlier this week, the National Post published a story entitled “Are you going to drink that tequila or just talk about it?”, which has prompted more than a little bit of discussion within the Canadian bartending community. The article’s author talks about suffering through a tequila tasting in Toronto, claiming that the hosts spend too much time talking about how the spirits are made, and not nearly enough time shooting them back. Canadians, he claims, don’t care to learn more about what they’re drinking or about what makes it superior – they want to just skip to the shot.

He goes on to describe the bartender as “hapless”, and the discouragement to the profession has left more than a few bartenders feeling more than a little upset, but does he raise a good point? How many extraordinary bars or bartenders have you heard of within Canada? Sure there are a few Canadian headliners, but compare that to the news coming out of New York, or San Fransisco, we don’t even come close to the same notoriety.

Bartending in Canada can be significantly more difficult than in other parts of the world, for many different reasons — the most significant of these reasons being our government. Unlike New York State, whose Liquor Authority, which deals with license issuing, and Liquor Store Association, which oversees liquor retailers, each Canadian province has their own, government-run liquor store. What this means to bars and bartenders is that any product introduced to Ontario is subject to the approval of the Ontario government. The result of this is a market dominated by the brands with the biggest budgets, leaving little room for the smaller spirit and liqueur companies to make headway.

How long have Domaine de Canton and St. Germain cocktails and competitions been making news across the United States now? We still don’t have those products here in Ontario. The only reason I have them, along with products like Cherry Heering, G’Vine Gin, and Maraschino Liqueur is that I smuggled them back into Canada when I was at Tales of the Cocktail this summer.

With that said, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) is the single-largest purchaser of wine and spirits in the entire world.. yet our variety and our quality offerings are minimal. Hell, the only spirit-based bitters you can purchase in Canada right now are still simply Angostura Aromatic. Head on over to Liquid Revolution and ask Shawn Soole about the nightmare he’s had trying to set up “House of Bitters” as a Canadian bitters supplier.

So what does it take to succeed as a bartender, especially in Canada? A whole hell of a lot of passion, and a persistence and commitment to the craft that’s sure to drive everyone around you nuts. Anyone can make drinks – it takes very, very little to stand behind the bar and pour wine, beer, and rum and cokes all night. To take that step beyond, requires more than a head full of drink recipes, and a cocktail shaker at hand. How you progress beyond that point depends directly on what the National Post suggests Canadians don’t do – care about what you drink.

Help us prove them wrong.

In case you missed the post on my facebook profile, here’s a copy of my response to the editor of the National Post.
My name is Nick Nemeth, and I’m an incredibly passionate bartender from Niagara Falls, Ontario. Recently, one of my peers from New York City pointed out one of your articles that, even now, I find difficult to craft the appropriate response to.

Besides myself, across Canada there are an ever-growing number of bartenders building a career out of providing exemplary service and quality cocktails to our guests. With that said, there are a good number of us that feel Adam McDowell was phenomenally out of touch with his article discussing a recent tequila tasting, published in the “Happy Hour” section of your newspaper…. See More

Speaking as one of the so-called “hapless” bartenders that Mr. McDowell refers to, I find it incredibly discouraging to think that someone in an influentially significant position like his would talk down about a career that so many of us are working so hard to elevate.

The “great” cocktail cities like New York, San Fransisco, and London (among others) cast a fairly large shadow on the beverage industry, often eclipsing the talent of many equally talented Canadian bartenders. Pair that with the legal red tape and limitations our government-run liquor stores impart on us, and it’s very difficult for an upstanding Canadian bartender to succeed.

Be that as it may, there are a rapidly growing group of professionals across Canada who have built careers out of tending bar. We’ve found much more within that glass of tequila than simply a shot to suck back, and there are a good number of us who are baffled as to how a beverage writer could be so ignorant to the quality cocktail culture flourishing around him.

Popularity: 77% [?]

Wine to Water reached out to me quite some time ago on Facebook and Twitter, but I hadn’t really sat down to look at their organization until this past week. Founded in 2004, the non-profit organization focuses on providing clean water to countries throughout the world, and has already made a huge difference in countries including Sudan, India, Cambodia, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Haiti.

The organization was founded by former North Carolina bartender, Doc Hendley. In January of 2004 the first fundraiser was held and by August of that same year Doc was living in Darfur, Sudan installing water systems for victims of the government supported genocide. From their website:

“When the idea came to me to start Wine To Water the only real world job experience I had was tending bar. I dreamed of building an organization that fought water related death and disease using completely different methods than anyone else. So I started raising money to fight this water epidemic the best way I knew how, by pouring wine and playing music.”

And so far, Wine to Water has made a huge difference throughout the world. Earlier this week, I received a message on Twitter from Doc that peaked my curiosity:

“Need a HUGE favor. We are 3 weeks away from the end of CNN Heroes. Please take 2 seconds, follow link & vote for Doc http://bit.ly/1J9CHo“

On November 26, for the third year in a row, CNN plans to honour the efforts of everyday people making a difference. Each of the top 10 CNN Heroes will receive an honorarium of $25,000, and the CNN Hero of the Year, making the biggest impact will receive an additional $100,000 in recognition of their efforts to better the world.

Through Cocktails and Cordials, I promise I won’t ever ask you to donate to me or the website, or any other cause for that matter, but I sincerely hope you will take the two minutes to recognize the extraordinary efforts of one of our own to make the world a better place. Doc Hendley is doing an amazing job, and I certainly count him among my own heroes. Please vote for him at:

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/vote/

For more information, or to find out how you can get involved, please visit:
http://winetowater.org/

Popularity: 62% [?]

It’s certainly been a busy week for me. In addition to the recent coverage in Pulse Magazine, and the Niagara Falls Review, my most recent article for Taps Magazine just hit shelves here in Ontario. For those of you not familiar, Taps is the Canadian authority on beer, and the magazine gets published countrywide four times per year. For the summer issue, Taps wanted to take a refereshing look at what we could do with beer on the patios this year, and I recommended Beer Cocktails.

Putting together this article was a bit of a challenge for me, as I hadn’t really worked in depth with beer as an ingredient in cocktails before. In the end, I came up with a few accessible, easy to make at home cocktails using some of my favourite beers, and the reception has been incredible. Without further adieu, I present to you Taps Magazine’s Cool (Beer) Cocktails for a Hot Summer.

Innis & Gunn Hibiscus Manhattan

Nick Nemeth
Taps Magazine, Summer 2009

Summer’s here, and patios across Canada have already started to rock. In previous years, pomegranate cocktails were all the rage, citing their “anti-oxidant” benefits, and more recently, the Mojito has made it’s way to becoming the king of patio cocktails. Unfortunately for many of us beer lovers, spirits, liqueurs, and juices thus far have dominated the summer cocktail movement. It’s time to shake things up a little.

This year, why not throw a little beer into the mix? For years, the “Shandy” has dominated the beer cocktail market. It’s tangy, refreshing, albeit simple, mixture was served initially as a means of masking the quality of poor beer. By adding ginger ale, ginger beer, or lemonade to your lager, bartenders created an instant classic, and today, the possibilities for beer cocktails stretch about as far as the bartender’s imagination.

In recent years, the “Michelada”, and blend of beer, lime juice, and hot sauce, served in a salt-rimmed glass over ice has become another new favourite, alongside contemporary efforts like the Beer Margarita. Today we’re going to try something a little different. I’m proud to present to you my top five cocktails for beating the heat this summer. Be warned, though, these cocktails pack quite the punch! Cheers!

Nickelbrook Green Apple Pilsner – Green Apple Smash

Maple syrup in a cocktail? I know how weird it sounds, but for the longest time, this has been one of my favourite “secret ingredients”, and it lends a smoothness and unique flavour to cocktails which help round them out very nicely.

Pair that with apple, and you have a sure-fire winner. Nickelbrook Green Apple Pilsner blends natural apple juice with a hint of lemon to a light pilsner, making it a great beer to enjoy on a hot day, on its own, or in the Green Apple Smash.

Ingredients / Method
0.50oz Forty Creek Whiskey
0.50oz Galliano
0.50oz Maple Syrup
Build ingredients over ice in a cocktail shaker, shake hard, and pour into pilsner glass. Fill with Nickelbrook Green Apple Pilsner.

Creemore Springs Premium Lager – The Creemore Caipirissima
For those not familiar with the term, muddling is the process of crushing the limes in the glass to express their juices and essential oils. This cocktail, an offshoot of the Mojito, adds elderflower cordial to sweeten it, and add a tropical depth which rounds out the drink very nicely. Creemore has long been a beer synonymous with summer to me, and this cocktail will surely be one I’ll be enjoying on the patio this year.

Ingredients / Method
1.00oz White Rum
0.50oz Elderflower Cordial (Available in most grocery stores)
½ lime, cut into quarters, muddled
1 teaspoon Raw Sugar
Fill with ice, top with Creemore Springs Premium Lager.

Alexander Keith’s Premium White – Keith’s Premium Punch

With the weather warming up, the “white” beers are already starting to dominate bars and restaurants everywhere. Traditionally served with citrus, the addition of Limoncello and pomegranate juice delivers a new depth of fruitiness to an already light and refreshing beer.

Ingredients / Method
1.00oz Limoncello
0.50oz Pomegranate Juice
Juice of ½ Lemon
Build ingredients in large pilsner glass, fill with Alexander Keith’s Premium White.

Innis & Gunn Original – The Innis & Gunn Hibiscus Manhattan

One properly made Manhattan is a cocktail I can sip on all night long, and when I tasted Innis & Gunn for the first time, I was instantly reminded of my favourite drink. Blending the two, with their smooth, oaky, and vanilla flavours was a no brainer, and finishing it with my “shock and awe” garnish, a candied hibiscus flower makes one pretty great cocktail.

Ingredients / Method
1.00oz Bourbon, preferably Makers Mark (I use a vanilla-infused bottle at home)
1.00oz Sweet Vermouth
0.50oz Hibiscus Syrup, substitute cherry juice if not available.
Build ingredients over ice in a large mixing glass. Fill with beer, and stir until mixed thoroughly.

Black Oak Nut Brown Ale – The Double Black

Kahlua is a liqueur that confuses many people, because most aren’t able to see past the overwhelming coffee flavour. Search a little deeper, and you’ll discover a deep chocolate, and vanilla flavour which pairs incredibly with fruit, such as the black currant found in Cassis. Follow that with a smooth, malty beer like Black Oak Nut Brown Ale, and you have a beer cocktail you can sip on all day.

Ingredients / Method
0.75oz Kahlua
0.25oz Cassis
Juice of 1 full lime
Build ingredients over ice in a cocktail shaker, shake hard and strain into a chilled martini glass. Top with Black Oak Nut Brown Ale.

View photos of all these cocktails, and more at the Cocktails and Cordials Flickr photostream

To find a copy of Taps Magazine near you, click here (Canada Only).

Popularity: 42% [?]

When I got back from Tales of the Cocktail this year, I was fortunate enough to sit down with a local paper, the Niagara Falls Review, who managed to catch my excessive Twitter updating, and were curious to learn more about Tales of the cocktail, and where cocktails where headed in Niagara Falls. It hit the paper yesterday — here’s a quick peek. While I don’t think I would ever equate one of my cocktails to pepto bismol, on the whole I’m very happy with the way things turned out.

Copyright ©2009 Corey Larocque, Niagara Falls Review

Corey Larocque
Niagara Falls Review
Tuesday, July 28, 2009

“Sex and the City” made the Cosmopolitan a household word. But the vodka, triple-sec and cranberry-juice cocktails shouldn’t be candy-apple red the way Carrie Bradshaw drank them. They should actually be pinkish, like Pepto Bismol, says Nick Nemeth.

“The difference between the two is mind-blowing. The difference is like ‘why have I been drinking this for so long?’” says Nemeth, the bar manager at Johnny Rocco’s restaurant on Lundy’s Lane.

The 21-year-old St. Catharines man was the only Niagara participant at the recent “Tales of the Cocktail” convention in New Orleans in early July. It’s like professional development for 15,000 bartenders from around the world. He calls it “inspiring” to learn what’s going on in cities like New York, London, Amsterdam.

He got so excited, he posted Twitter updates from the convention every 20 minutes.

Now that he’s back, he is convinced Niagara bartenders should elevate their work like the region’s chefs and winemakers have over the past 15 years.

“Unfortunately, in Niagara we trail behind the world in where our cocktails are at and the importance that are placed on cocktails,” he said while mixing up a Margarita to show what it’s like with premium ingredients, fresh juices and a properly salted rim. Powdered mixes or pre-made syrups don’t cut it anymore.

A good bartender takes as much care behind the bar as a good chef does in the kitchen, Nemeth says…

To read the full article, visit: http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1674668

Popularity: 29% [?]