UBER FOR BARTENDERS MANUALS

Last month in Seattle, bartender Zane Harris formed a company called Elso to produce tools such as stirring pitchers, silver strainers and bar spoons modeled on tools used in many 19th century bars. Mojito and the huge PUG! muddlers handcrafted by New York woodworker Chris Gallagher (the name is an acronym for Pick Up Gallagher's!) have earned ardent fans among bartenders.

Dionysos has designed muddlers for San Francisco bartender David Nepove, who markets a line of barware under his nom de cocktail, Mr. Lacking this kind of diversity in contemporary tools, some bartenders and aficionados are designing and manufacturing their own.

UBER FOR BARTENDERS MANUALS

Legendary 19th century bartender Jerry Thomas traveled with a customized set of silver bar tools, and some vintage cocktail manuals and bar catalogs feature advertisements for mixing glasses, Champagne taps, ice picks and other tools that range in style from bluntly utilitarian to flamboyantly ornate. While this passion for better barware may be limited, it's hardly a new phenomenon. 'It doesn't have to be flashy,' Johnson says. San Francisco bartender Jon Santer special orders cocktail spoons from Florida that retail for $2.50, and uses Oxo bar measures and jiggers that can be found in most kitchen stores Johnson recommends Oxo strainers as reasonably priced yet dependable. Not that price is the sole indicator of quality. 'When you're spending that much time doing something, it's worth the money to feel that much better about what you're doing.' 'I spend so much time behind the bar,' he says.

Not surprisingly, some bartenders are making room in their tool kits - and opening their wallets - for better equipment.Īmong the muddlers, strainers, spoons and other tools Dionysos brings to work is a silver Ercuis shaker from France that sells for more than $500, which Dionysos says he uses every night. While mechanics and chefs commonly assemble sets of preferred tools to use each day, bartenders are often expected to use whatever gear is supplied to them, even if those tools are of execrable quality: Hawthorne strainers, identified by their curved metal coil, that fit poorly atop shakers and quickly fall apart cheaply made shaker tins that warp and split under heavy use and the ubiquitous bar spoons with red plastic tips that are prone to falling off and disappearing into the depths of an ice bin or a customer's Singapore Sling.

'Your tools can inspire you to work at a higher level, so you make drinks that are much more enjoyable.' 'Whether you're a car mechanic or a bartender, your tools are important to your job.' Better tools, Johnson notes, can help elevate the quality of a finished product - in this case, a cocktail - from good to sublime. 'There's this comfortable feel of working with something you know.'Īt Heaven's Dog, bartender Eric Johnson agrees. 'I take my own tools to work, and that raises eyebrows with some people, but a chef or a line cook would be expected to bring their tools to work,' says Marcovaldo Dionysos, bar manager at Michael Mina's Clock Bar at the Westin St.

Uber for bartenders