One thing we love to do at Bars and Clubs is to celebrate the great ideas of the bartending community, showcasing recipes to inspire you in your own bar.
With the current state of the world, we’re doing something a little different this week, with some ideas to avoid being driven up the wall by isolation.
As mentioned in our article full of resources for bartenders, a good way to pass the time at home is to keep practicing your craft. Think up new recipes, experiment with new ingredients and try different techniques – get creative with what limited things you may have on hand.
This is something that Melbourne bartender Tom Gibbs is doing while in self isolation. He said that through all the craziness, it helps to feel connected to the industry from afar.
“I’m spending a lot of time cooking, and seeing if I can transform the waste products into ingredients. Helps me feel connected to the industry still,” Gibbs told Bars and Clubs.
“I’m doing a roast tomorrow and the plan is to roast the potatoes separately in oil and rosemary, then try to do a fat wash with the oil after the roasting to see if I can make a roast potato vodka.”
If you’ve never tried to do a wash, or aren’t sure of where to start with new techniques, the good news is that there’s a multitude of online resources at your fingertips. There are video tutorials, interactive tools and virtual courses, many of which are free under the circumstances right now.
An example is Ananas Academy, from Speakeasy Group’s Sven Almenning, which has been made free for all individual users during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Announcing the change, Ananas stated: “If you have lost shifts or worse, don’t hit the Netflix binge! Start up-skilling now and be ready to shine when all this blows over.”
The message behind that is a powerful one – as well as keeping you entertained while at home, practicing your craft now will help you look great to future employers once the pandemic is over. Who knows what the world will look like then, so it’s best to be prepared!
Another way to set yourself up for this future success is by building a solid reputation. Despite not having a physical bar to wow customers at right now, there are still ways you can get your name out there.
A bigger proportion than ever of the consumer market is living their lives online right now, looking for entertainment, social connection and a distraction from isolation. With the recent spike of consumers stocking up on alcohol, there’s a significant opportunity available.
Take advantage of the weird satisfaction people get from watching things being made, and take your bartending to a social media audience. It’s worked incredibly well for online sensation Tipsy Bartender, so there’s certainly the market.
You could film in depth tutorials, quick snippets or time lapses of making a cocktail or experimenting with ingredients, and even live stream interactive demonstrations. Instagram and TikTok are the biggest sites for videos right now, so put yourself out there and have some fun with it.
An idea on where to start content-wise, is to think about recipes that put a tasty twist on the horrible situation we find ourselves in now, like a Quarantini, Piscorona and Pandemic Punch. Or try a different take on a classic that already suits the time, like a Penicillin.
We’d love to hear about what you get up to, so please be sure to tag us on social media! We’ll be sharing things like this too – hit us up if you want a shoutout.
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