"Cooking is a craft, I like to think, and a good cook is a craftsman -- not an artist. There's nothing wrong with that: The great cathedrals of Europe were built by craftsmen -- though not designed by them. Practicing your craft in expert fashion is noble, honorable, and satisfying."
Who else can say that working on their craft has saved them? Saved you from boredom, saved you from heartache, saved you from depression, saved you from making bad decision. Working in a kitchen or behind a bar can be a grind that grinds you down but also a place of salvation when sometimes all you need in life is a distraction from everything outside of your grind. Work with a positive attitude and remember that when you grind yourself down, you sharpen yourself and find your gems. Gems that are always there but you need to grind to find them.
This custom design gives homage to the knife; a tool for craftsmen.
Thank you again Anthony Bourdain for dedicating your life to cooking, craftsmen, culture and people.
Love
Sammy G
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Don't be shy, give it a try. Miller High Life is the preferred beer but anything lite will do. Labatt Blue light is also a spectacular pairing option for all you hockey players out there.
The portions for this cocktail does not take a skilled bar tender to master. Crack a beer, take a few sips then add orange juice accordingly.
Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving week!
Samuel!
]]>My first big trip to South America was to Peru with a group of friends from Detroit. When traveling I typically like to spend a couple of days solo, so I book my flights to arrive a couple of days before and after if I can spare the time. On this particular trip I arrived to Lima a couple days before my friends arrived. My flight landed around midnight and the taxi drove me straight to the Loki Hostel in Miraflores, Lima. By the time I arrived the hostel just finished throwing a party for one of the bar tenders birthday. Turns out, I just missed all the action cause it looked like a bomb went off inside. Passed out bodies laying along the floor and walls, for some reason it looked like someone set off a fire extinguisher. Either way, I missed the party but I was tired and jet lagged so I set off to bed. The next morning I am the new guy in the hostel and dont know anybody. I am eager to make friends and start a convo but it seems to early to bother anyone. I order my breakfast and enjoy it slowly as people start to trickle in to the bar/breakfast area. I finally see my savior, a definite convo starter, A dusty bottle of Fernet Branca on the far end of the back bar. If I order that with breakfast then I am less of an alcoholic and more slightly more sophisticated, instead of ordering a shot of tequila then that just screams alcoholic. The bar keep pours me a shot and is blown away that some white American knows what Fernet Branca is. He then sticks out his hand for an introduction and comments on how much he loves the spirit himself, the people sitting near me also comment on how cool that is and within 5 minutes I am the center of attention at breakfast and made 5 new friends and plenty of recommendations of stuff to do for the day.
That small interaction made me appreciate not just the potency or the taste of a bottle of booze but the culture and the connection that is held inside. A lot of us have forgotten the importance of a well crafted spirit. We've taken for granted how special a buzz from alcohol is and how it is supposed to lower our "walls" that we put up so we bond with the people around us.
Cheers to Fernet Branca
Sammy G
]]>Grab a healthy handful of basil (5-8 leaves) then make the portions easy to remember. As I am making drinks on the fly, I often forget to write down the recipe in between taking payment, making other drinks, checking IDs and explaining to guests whats in the drink. So I tried to keep a habit of making the portions simple and easy to remember.
This fateful evening, a dashing women ordered something "Fun with basil!" as to which I obliged in normal fashion. A lil vodka, a lil St. Germain, a lil Yellow Chartruese, a touch of lime,lemon and grapefruit juice. Shakey Shakey. Serve in a cold collins glass and watch the dashing women fill her mouth with refreshing delight. Holy Smokes Sam! This is amazing. Yeah Yeah Yeah I said in agreement. Little did I know that her enthusiasm for the drink would spark excitement not only through the entire bar but from then on the entire town of Aspen and very quickly on to the drink list. The Bee My Basil was born. For one summer, the Bee My Basil was more popular than any drink other than the good ol vodka soda.
Maybe that is why the drink was so successful, I remember I was always trying to class up the ol vodka soda with a dash of culture and depth. Well it worked and now I wish I would've listened to all the people telling me to put it in a can. Now I missed out and white claw is making billions. Once again this comes down to listening to your customers, truly listening to your customers.
Cheers
Sammy G
In a shaker tin add:
1.5 ounces Vodka - .5 ounces Yellow Chartreuse - .5 ounces St germain
.5ounce Lemon, Lime and Grapefruit Juice
5-8 leaves of basil
Shakey Shakey
Pour over Ice and add soda if you want. Garnish with any of the above mentioned citrus.
]]>Let's start with the Manhattan. The cocktail with the namesake of the city has a wonderful key to its recipe hidden in the portions. 212 is the area code of the big apple and also is the portions of the drink! 2 ounces Rye Whiskey - 1 ounce Sweet Vermouth - 2 dashes of bitters. Impossible to forget and easy to remember even when you're drunk.
Jump in a car now and head west through NY state, Pennsylvania, Niagara falls, around a couple lakes and land yourself in Detroit. Detroit's area code is 3-1-3, I think you know where this is going. 3 ounces Rye Whiskey - 1 ounce Sweet Vermouth - 3 dashes bitters (1 ango, 1 peychaud, 1 orange if you have it). Obviously quite a bit stronger. The inspiration for this drink comes from a truly incredible bar tender J.P. Smith. His original recipe varies a bit but if you only have the necessary ingredients this is all you need.
Friends from Detroit keep asking me for an easy cocktail to make at home. Well here it is.
Recipe:
In mixing glass:
Add Ice - 3 oz Rittenhouse Rye - 1 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
3 dashes each of Angostura, Peychauds, and Orange bitters
1 barspoon of Maraschino cherry juice.
STIR! and pour in a chilled martini glass or rocks glass.
Please enjoy responsibly! #lgrw
Cheers,
Sammy G
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Bar tenders are like potions masters in the Wizarding world. Ingredients, recipe and technique are needed to create each brew. In my humble opinion, the classics ie; Manhattan, Vesper, Negroni, Boulevardier and the Vieux Carre should always be measured. Accuracy is quality, quality is flavor and flavor is what the guest pays for.
In Harry Potter, potions are used for many reasons. They're used to make you look like someone else (polyjuice potion), or give you great amounts of courage and luck (felix felicis) and let's not forget the oh so seductive Love Potion.
Back in the real world though, bar tenders create potions that do almost the very same things as the potions in the wizarding world. I say almost because we know that alcohol can sometimes give you great courage, but not so much luck. A mixologists brew of booze can definitely make you fall in love or more like lust. And when under the poisonous potions spell it can change the appearance of the person right in front of you with the effects lasting for up to several hours.
Just like the potions in the wizarding world, the potions at the bar can be incredibly dangerous. PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY.
Thank you
Sammy G
]]>Most Bartenders truly love their jobs. Setting up the bar before the shift becomes therapeutic to most, then as people pour in you're so busy and having fun that time flies by. Sadly, society these days may sometimes look down at the ones who choose to serve as a career. Must we not forget that our dear friend Bob Dylan reminds us that "everybody serves somebody."
Before modern standards of what the word "career" means, the role of Bartender was many; responsibly serve alcohol, handle more than just the restaurants cash aka part time banker; therapist; dress well; and have a steady hand when in the middle of the craft.
The responsibility to serve alcohol back in the day was very important. The Bartenders knew how much effort and time went into creaking a well aged whiskey and did not just throw vodka+sodas at the patrons face till they blacked out. The back bar was meticulously crafted and designed to inspire awe, the bar tenders would reflect that in their dress and appearance.
Fast forward into the years when consumption was ubiquitously forced down our throats, im looking at you 80s 90s and 2000s. The sad thing is that we were all blindly in on it till several outstanding bar keeps decided to restore the classic craft. Luckily most of the tools of the trade and techniques were not completely lost and has made a massive comeback and alcohol has gotten its respect back (looking at you titos and white claw) Companies forced mediocre products with fancy labels behind the bar. The 9-5 became the 8-6, people had less time to enjoy a well made drink and instead went for the buzz that got to their head the quickest. We soon forgot that it wasn't about getting drunkest the quickest. Impatience started to become prevalent, impatience for quality, flavor, color, glassware. Attitude became the exchange between patron and preparer instead of relief and happiness. Some bar tenders forgot that it wasn't about attitude but a fun, relaxing or sensual atmosphere you and the restaurant creates.
In the last decade or so, some passionate people started the resurgence of cocktail culture. Praise the lord that they did because it is apparent we have all been missing the craft in our lives. This is where tools of the trade starts to fill holes. The clothing that surrounded bar culture had a lot of attitude and no creativity. Now that the creativity is abundant in beautiful restaurants, I was lucky to be surrounded by beauty for years now. The creative juices slipped into my spirit, and out poured these amazing images highlighting what makes our jobs fun and beautiful. A good, clean bar celebrates that bad ass tools they use; bottles, glassware, spoons, shakers, jiggers, strainers, all the Tools of the trade. Drinkers are now classy, prefessinal, well balanced and gorgeous.
Drinks went from being served with attitude to being served with passion. Clothes for bartenders, chefs, cocktail drinkers are going from attitude and no creativity to elegance and creativity and fun. Wear the clothes proudly because what we do excites the people around and if you do it well you will be rewarded.
Cheers everyone!
Sammy G
@toolsofthetradebrands
]]>Thoughts on a drink with a recipe well beyond our comprehension of infinite possibilites.
]]>The everlasting Old Fashion.
The Old Fashioned cocktail is both prolific and classic. Classic in it's ingredients (Whiskey, Bitters, sugar) but ever changing in it's preparation. Brown sugar, white sugar, cane sugar, raw sugar, simple syrup, gomme, demerera. Muddle, stir, rinse, dilute. 1 dash, 2 dash, 3,4,5, dash. Lemon twist, orange twist, cherry, or a combination of both. Rye, Bourban, American, sour mash.
While making thousands of these in front of patrons, you start to notice that the drink is taking note. Watching with wonder on how their Old Fashioned gets prepared. Bar spoon, Yarai glass, rocks, muddler, jigger and strainer. The Tools of the Trade wielded by the bar tender are the unsung heroes at the bar but are the stars of these designs. The drink gets drank and it's gone however the bar tools stay the same for every drink. On these shirts and hats though they will be the for everyone to see. Will it make them salivate or just make you look cool, that's for you to figure out when you wear a well fit shirt.
What whiskey do you prefer: Bourban, Rye, American or Sour Mash?
Enjoy the drink and enjoy the Clothes,
Sammy G
@toolsofthetradebrands
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A true witches brew, just gather the likes of Artemisia Absinthium or by the more popular name of Wormwood, grab some green anise, a touch or two of sweet fennel and other herbs, roots, and spices. Distill to an incredibly high alcohol percentage, and bottle the green fairy.
When the time is right, or wrong for that matter, let the fairy fly. Grab your absinthe fountain and fill it with ice water, stage your absinthe goblets beneath the spouts and fill the goblet appropriately. Slide the absinthe spoon over the goblet and let a sugar cube come to rest, open the spout to a consistent drip. Drip Drip Drip then SIP. Sip slowly, oh so slowly because the fairy might be small but she is powerful. Dance around you as you fall into her trance. What seems like a Tinkerbell of your deepest delights can become a fright if you can not get yourself together before the nights end. Who says all magical creatures are our friends?
Absinthe is famous for its green hue, the main design of the Absinthe shirts comes in green but they look damn cool in the Black or White back grounds as well.
Feel free to contact @ToolsoftheTradebrands on IG to tell me about what your favorite Absinthe brands are.
Sammy G
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The bar manager, J.P. Smith was and still is a "cocktail savant" of unmatched creativity and talent. He took incredible care in making the bar beautiful, easy to use even with a seemingly infinite number of ingredients. On top of keeping the bar beautiful he made sure to keep his bar team happy by making sure we were having FUN behind the bar because how much fun we have reflects on to the guests and the guests are there to have fun!
After several years and countless hours spent in that restaurant, I could not get over the inherent beauty of the tools that we use constantly every day. Every tool was simple in its design and multi functional and incredibly well constructed. Jiggers, shakers, bar spoons, knifes, rocks glasses, coupes, tiki glasses, muddlers, high walled coupes, absinthe fountains and so much more. These images kept rushing through my mind and I never saw anybody making fun art involving these tools. I kept saying to myself "how cool would it be to outline these tools and put them in a collage pattern on a shirt and then slap our restaurants logo on it." Well I was working so much and rock climbing in my free time and never got around to making these shirts. 5 YEARS go by and I can't stand it anymore! I took an Adobe illustrator class and got to work. I spent several months re acquainting myself with the program and designing several hours a day before I went to work. As the shapes came to life, my creative mind kept growing and so did the combination of images. The tools became beautiful and I was confident I found the correct medium to display this art.
Tools of the trade art is meant to celebrate the beauty of the tools we use, the sexy curves of the glassware and the inspiring and fun art we get to express through BOOSE.
Thank you for your time,
Cheers,
Sammy G
@Samtheleo
@toolsofthetradebrands
Toolsofthetradebrands.com
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