Q&A: Why learn the classics?

Sat, 29 Jan 2005 00:32:44 GMT

Since folks often ask me questions, which I sometimes respond in great detail to, and since I am also often at a loss as to what to "blog" about... I figured I'd steal from Peter to pay Paul.

Question:

"There are classic drinks such as the Old Fashioned and the Sidecar, which are so rarely ordered, I can't remember the last time I made one. Does knowing these classics make me a better bartender? Will my management think I'm a better bartender if I know them?"

Answer:

The answer of course is "it depends".
I always find myself comparing bartenders to chefs. If this is a comparison that you don't agree with, then nothing else I say is important.
So let's start off by simply asking ourselves if it is important that anybody who cooks food for a living is a "classically trained chef"?
Of course not. The guy selling hotdogs down by the corner, the lady flipping burgers at some hamburger chain, and countless other people in the food industry have no need for such training. In fact, it would probably get in their way.
Likewise, it isn't important that everybody who pours drinks for a living is a "classically trained bartender" (I sure wish there were such a distinction!).
But just because they might not need to be deeply trained, doesn't mean that there aren't certain aspects of the craft that might not be useful to them if they knew them.
Is a person a better cook because they know what a mirepoix is? Sort of. In many cases, cooks that -don't- know what a mirepoix is, may actually already use this process without knowing the name for it. But knowing that there is such a thing as a mirepoix, and what it is intended to be used for, really helps the cook understand the cooking process better. They might also come across the need to cook a roast, a chicken, or something, and think to themselves "Oh, this is a situation where a mirepoix might be used", and would just instinctively apply that cooking process appropriately. While if the only time they had gone through those actions otherwise, would have been when the recipe had said: "dice some carrots, onions, and celery, and place it in the bottom of the roasing pan"... they might only do this for that specific recipe, without really understanding that it actually is a well practiced process.
Same thing with the Old Fashioned, Sidecar, or many of the other classic cocktails.
My own "knowledge" of the sidecar, allows me to make a better Margarita, Lemon Drop, Aviation, Daiquiri, or any one of the other cocktails that are based on this classic "sour". It also allows me to be given some random products, and be able to recognize their position in this classic recipe format, and create a new drink on-the-spot, which is most likely very well balanced the first time out.
Same goes for the Old Fashioned. It is as classic of a cocktail recipe as classic gets. If you really know how to make an Old Fashioned... and I mean -really- know (which painfully few bartenders do), then you can likewise use that basic understanding to help you make some wonderful drinks that both reflect the qualities of the base spirit, but at the same time contain a spark of creativity.
...ok, so that takes care of the question as if this makes you a better bartender. A tougher challenge is if it does the same for you in the eyes of your management.
This is where it starts getting really sad.
It frustrates me to no end, to have restaurants that put an amazing level of pride into the food coming out of their kitchen, and then not follow through with that same level of culinary dedication to the drinks that come out of their bar. They make their spaghetti sauce from scratch every day, but see nothing wrong with buying bottled sour mix. They painstakingly write up their dining room menu in exact French, and then lead their cocktail menu with Appletini's, Chocolate Martinis, Lemon Drops, and Frozen Margaritas.
They put more training and attention in their sommelier, then they do in their bartender. They wouldn't have any qualms about their bartender not knowing what a Sidecar is, but if their sommelier didn't know what a Cote Roti was, they'd fire them on the spot.
But in the end, it all boils down to "the right tool for the right job". If you are a bartender in the bar equivalent of a "truckstop diner", then simply knowing the recipes for the drinks your customers order, is all you really need, any more would probably not only be a waste of time, but it would also frustrate you to know how poorly utilized your talents were.
However; if you are working at a bar that views themselves as the classy, quality, top-of-the-line place to be... and your management is pushing you to serve blended margaritas, jager shots, and appletinis... then something is definately wrong with this picture.

DrinkBoy: Adventures in Mixology: Q&A

Q&A: Why learn the classics?