Take a (cocktail) flight with me
Introducing the barmini team
People of the world…if you are anywhere on the East Coast, I am sure you are trying to stay cool right now. Summer officially started on Friday, but I think it moved into D.C. last week. It’s time for simple meals with amazing, fresh, seasonal ingredients, slow weekends, and cold drinks!
Speaking of ingredients…I wanted to briefly mention that my online shop will now be José Andrés Foods, and if you are a paid subscriber, you will continue to be able to use our Longer Tables-exclusive code at the bottom of this for 15% off your next order on the new website! It’s a great time to stock up on whatever you need, including my new line of tinned fish, Fishsnax!
Today I want to introduce you to one of my teams, the bartenders of barmini, our José Andrés Group cocktail bar in Washington DC, who put together a new flight of 5 (!) cocktails every season. This season the theme is islands—the bartenders all picked islands around the world and made cocktails inspired by them! I love the idea of taking a flight around the world through some amazing drinks! Thank you to the team—Ali Hijazi, Hector Sanchez, Jeff Wang, Paige Esposito, and Keyie Tullu, plus Danny Barreto at the lead—for innovating and coming up with new ideas. If you are in D.C., or visiting this summer, definitely go visit them…they will take great care of you!
Let’s hear from the team, and learn a bit more about the craft and passion that goes into one of these cocktails.
Ali Hijazi, Cyprus
How long have you been at barmini?
9 months—it will be a year in September.
How did you get into bartending, and what do you look for in cocktails?
I got into bartending because I was traveling a lot and going to music festivals, and I knew I needed to get out of living on the road. I had a friend who worked at a bar in the GW area, so I started working there and I realized I liked hospitality. I learned the basics, learned their cocktails, and had an affinity for experimentation…swapping ingredients out, getting creative. I love the unexpected in cocktails…I love something vegetal because fruit can be overplayed. I love savory as well…umami, fish sauce. I love the vegetal notes that the fig brings to my cocktail.
What’s your cocktail?
My cocktail is inspired by the island of Cyprus. It has Gin Mare, za'atar, sumac, and fig. I wanted to show the flavors from where I grew up, Lebanon. I started by experimenting with a milk punch using pistachio milk, clarified with labneh, but I pivoted away from that because the yield was super low because there was too much fat in the milk. So I ended up creating a beautiful, simple milk punch with gin and some of the flavors of Lebanon and the Mediterranean, like za’atar and sumac…it drinks like a juice with a nutty palate. I’m proud of it!
Since the theme is islands…what’s your desert island drink?
I love spirit-forward drinks, but if it’s a desert island I would need to stay hydrated, right? So I guess I’d say a daiquiri with aged or high-proof rum—maybe throw in a little amaro.
Hector Sanchez, Koh Phi Phi
How long have you been at barmini?
18 months
How did you get into bartending, and what do you look for in cocktails?
I used to work in the kitchen and then I got into bartending…one of my friends was working as a barback and I was always curious, so I also became a barback. After a few months, the manager gave me a chance to learn the drinks menu, and it took me another year to become a bartender, but now I’ve been doing it for about 6 years. I love to explore new things, even if you don’t like it…try it! Stay out of your comfort zone.
What’s your cocktail? What are the ingredients?
It’s called Koh Phi Phi, named for an island near Phuket, in Thailand. It’s inspired by a mojito…it has mint and carbonation, but then I took it in a different direction. It has a Thai chili but I didn’t want it to be too spicy…just a little hint of the unexpected. It also has coconut water, fermented honeydew, and a little aperol to bring some orange notes and bitterness to the cocktail. It’s topped with a mint and melon air, which adds a really nice visual effect with the red-orange cocktail and bright green top.
What’s your desert island drink?
For an island cocktail, I’d say coquito from Puerto Rico, because it was the first cocktail I ever made and I love the combination of flavors and spices. There are so many ways to do it!
Jeff Wang, Japan
How long have you been working at barmini?
4 years.
How did you get into bartending, and what do you look for in cocktails?
I got into bartending 14 years ago—I bought a Groupon for bartending school in LA, and I never used it. Then I came around to it…and I’ve been doing it for a while now. These days, I’m really interested in cocktails with high salt or savory notes like miso, or parmesan…how do you use cheese in a cocktail? You could do it in the form of an espuma, or fat washing. I love barmini’s mezcal negroni with Ibérico fat wash, or our al pastor mojito. Those types of ingredients inspire me.
What’s your cocktail? What are the ingredients?
I was inspired by Japan, and Japanese ingredients…but it’s also a tribute to a cocktail that was on the menu at the first bar I ever worked at, 12 years ago, where we were using pear puree and Yamazaki 12, a whisky that was cheap back then and is crazy expensive now. My cocktail now uses Japanese whisky, matcha, coconut cream and pandan (an aromatic plant). It’s served as a slushy, cold on the bottom, with a warm espuma on top. The reveal comes when we put the espuma on the cocktail and it’s steaming. It’s basically three cocktails in one!
What’s your desert island drink?
If I’m on a desert island, I’d drink water on the rocks! But really…I’d want a Ferrari (Fernet and Campari) on the rocks, stirred down.
Paige Esposito, Chios
How long have you been working at barmini?
About 5 months.
How did you get into bartending?
I wasn’t exactly looking to become a bartender—I was hired as a cocktail server when I was 20. I was surrounded by talented bartenders doing really cool things, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it while I was in art school. And here I am!
What’s your cocktail?
It’s a savory martini inspired by the flavors of tzatziki. The gin is washed with yogurt, and then there’s a dill vermouth, cucumber brine, air of mastiha (a tree sap liqueur from the Greek Island of Chios), and grapefruit.
I think it’s interesting to try and make cocktails that taste like unexpected foods, especially savory things. I love herbs like dill, flavors like vinegar and black pepper, and salinity. You can use the structure of a classic cocktail and work with every ingredient…add a little bit of dill, a little brine, a little gin…work through each component. It’s funny, because I don’t even like martinis, but I wanted to create a cocktail that was outside of my own palate.
What’s your desert island drink?
Mezcal and ginger beer. I’ll take a lime with that!
Keyie Tullu, the Caribbean
How long have you been working at barmini?
Almost a year.
How did you get into bartending, and what do you like in cocktails?
I was a server in college and realized I loved hospitality—and making people smile. At the recommendation of a manager, I got behind the bar, and I love to combine the elements of the kitchen—the flavors of food in cocktails, like jamón Ibérico, one of José’s favorite ingredients. I love a mezcal negroni for the savory aspects of it, and the idea of an al pastor margarita…those sweet and savory flavors that you get from the taco. I love seeing the looks on guests’ faces when they try something new!
What’s your cocktail, and what inspired it?
It’s made from rum, turmeric, coconut syrup, and a spiced coconut espuma (foam). It’s inspired by the flavors of the Caribbean! I grew up with the flavors of turmeric, ginger, coffee, rum…you’d never think to put those things together, but I think this works really well.
What’s your desert island drink?
Let’s see…traditional rum cocktails are very islandy. But tequila would be excellent. Gin? No…final choice: a rum caipirinha, with rum, sugar, lime…just keep it very light.
Hola, it’s José again…what did you think of their ideas? What’s your desert island cocktail???? Also, please stay tuned for Wednesday’s recipe, especially if you have cocktails on the mind…it’s a really special one to me.