Blogging has given me opportunities to meet some incredible people. I’ve met celebs, and actors make up artists and feminists, artists and people who inspire me regularly.
I’ve also met a lot of people in hospitality. And when it comes to a bar, I definitely know what side I’m supposed to be on. There’s such a skill involved in preparing a drink, getting it perfectly balanced, and serving it – often in a pressurised and very busy environment. It takes practice, effort, and an innate skillset.
When I visited
Dewar’s Hotel, I met Jamie MacDonald – brand ambassador for Dewar’s, and previous winner of Diageo’s World Class bartender competition (2011). The latter is for the best of the best. I have friends who have entered and made it through various stages and the level of thought, care, attention and the challenge are incredible.
So the opportunity to interview Jamie was too good to resist – even though I then spent some time deliberating over what to ask. What do you ask a chap who has travelled the world, owned his own bar, won competitions, and drunk some incredible drinks, in some incredible places?
I put my thinking cap on, sipped a gin, and these are the results.
You’ve been in bartending a long time. Does it still hold appeal for you? What makes it so satisfying?
20 years. Gosh!
Bartending is my craft, who I am, so yes 100% it holds its appeal to me. Though I may not be holding stick, hosting a room or managing an operation, I thoroughly enjoy watching / developing present and new talent. Those giving great service and sometimes I occasionally get to hold court behind the bar.
What is your favourite drink to make?
For the guest, one that raises a smile or expectations. For myself something more simple in its make up but complex on the palate. I’ve been a big Daiquiri fan most of my career.
JM – Me Negroni. Say what!! Definitely not but I do enjoy them of occasion. I’m more of a Boulevardier fan or a Bobby Burns with a good pinch of Dewars 12YO. I can’t say there’s one favourite drink, depends on a mood, feeling, particular time of day, place. Presently I am partaking of whisky highballs but if it were a Negroni to begin the evening then…
Star of Bombay
Martini Rubino Reserve Especial
Campari Bitter
Dash of Grapefruit Bitters
Equal parts and the addition of grapefruit bitters gives it an edge. It’s on the bitter side without the sweetness.
A little off piste, but one from a rummy colleague. Have you sampled the much fabled Wray and Nephew 17 year old ? And is it actually as good as we all think?
My lips are sealed! Haha..
I have tried the rum, many times and also in a few Mai Tai’s, courtesy of Sean Muldoon and Jack McGarry and when we gifted the bottles to those lucky few. It is a very nice rum indeed, which I am very lucky to know and intimately how it was made so many years ago (lips are sealed again). I have a few similar rarities but not the 17YO.
A good bartender can work to a customer’s palate. Is it possible to match a drink to someone without asking?
JM – You can never judge a book by its cover! Though there could be a few tell take signs haha. If it’s a guest you know particularly well then you can judge their tastes from past experiences.
What has been your greatest creation so far?
My bar, The Raconteur. Though short lived it was an amazing experience and taught me many things personally and in business.
Then it would be the people/ bartenders I have trained and nurtured. What they do, where they have gone and what they have achieved within their own careers.
And what has been your best experience? You’ve travelled the world and met some incredible people. What makes you look back with a smile?
The memories, the smiles, the true friendships that have lasted two decades and the places that I have seen and travelled to. Sometimes I forget some of the incredible experiences but then a jolt will bring those memories back and with that a joyful smile.
To follow Jamie’s adventures in booze, you can find him on Twitter.
