Joshua Brock, Sternewirth & The Old Main Assoc.
You can have all the technique in the world, but if you aren't good with people ... This, in a nutshell, is bearded Josh Brock's approach to cocktails. Brock, 33, is a fallen-away liberal arts major who started in the hospitality industry: steak houses, coffee shops, some pastry experience ... It was through a job at Boiler House Texas Grill & Wine Garden with James Moore that he came to seriously know cocktails when Moore opened TBA. "I first learned the bar banter routine, then the cocktails," he says. Bartender-about-town Jonny Yumol was there at the time; "Josh is my protégé," he says. Brock calls Yumol "my irritable sensei." But irritation aside, he appreciates the discipline brought to bear in learning "proper technique, balance, grinding it in to make drinks consistent."
As 'tenders tend to do, Brock moved on, this time to Sternewirth at Hotel Emma. To his casual-vibe TBA resumé, he can now add high-volume experience — but he hopes to be shaking there only part-time in the future as the has just accepted an offer to work with Jeret Peña's Boulevardier Group "doing things I'm good at" such as developing a wine program. When given the chance to mix a favorite cocktail of his own, he admits that "gin is my first love," and he takes it back to the classic Martinez, a drink some think of as the precursor to the martini. His creative urges these days are also playing out with his wife, a pastry pro, and a fledgling business baking and delivering cookies. The cookies are also good.
Jake Corney, Jazz, TX
At 28, Jake Corney will helm one of the most anticipated bar programs of 2016. No pressure, right? Thankfully the bartender's resume isn't one to scoff at. After serendipitously landing at Bohanan's Prime Steaks & Seafood (during eldest brother Josh's job interview), Corney worked his way up from server assistant to server and later barback before finally training under late, great cocktail consultant Sasha Petraske, a stickler for detail and service. It was at Bohanan's Bar that he met his future boss, Brent "Doc" Watkins, who will lead the charge in opening Jazz, TX at the Pearl next April.
"We would always talk and hangout ... and I'd make them something different, like a negroni, but I would change and experiment on the band," Corney, who also adds founding large-format ice purveyor H&C Ice Company and opening Paramour to his resume, says.
The experiments continue as the cocktail menu comes together to match themed nights — salsa and Texas swing are already in the works — and chef Lorenzo Gomez's fare, which could mean anything from fried rattlesnake poppers to fried pork chops to chicken parmesan.
"We want the menu to stay very fluid, but with the same kind of structure to build anything on top of it," Corney said. "We're going to keep it fresh, lively, classic."
Roy Dutton, Paramour
Five years in the Army, including two tours in Afghanistan, "gives you global perspective," says Roy Dutton. But apart from the ability to be cool under fire, the experience doesn't necessarily suggest bartending as a career. Dutton's opportunity came when he moved from doing security at a bar to pouring drinks behind one. That first job was at the Faust Hotel in New Braunfels where a new owner was turning the historic property around. "I started reading, learning mechanics. The devil is in the details," he says, "and I was looking to push myself, to grow." The next opportunity came through a friend who knew Chris Ware, Paramour's manager.
Ware is also a stickler for detail, and there were three solid weeks of training, including dilution ratios, temperature and more. "To be honest, everybody here is really critical, but they took me in and helped me learn the recipes and establish good habits," says Dutton. He's apparently a quick study, as not only do his habits look impeccable, but he likes doing bespoke drinks and can improvise on the spot if you should say, oh, start with rye, don't be afraid of bitter components ... And he's not averse to tweaking if someone (ahem) might opine that the Frangelico was coming on a little strong. A quick, military pivot to amaretto, and all was well. Word to the consumer: watch and learn, too. The reason for adding extra ice to the stirring glass is to "trap the cold air." Gotta love cocktail geeks.
Ben Guerra, The Old Main Assoc.
Tattoos seem to be a condition of employment at The Old Main Assoc, Jeret Peña's fourth bar concept, this time in Monte Vista. Ben Guerra got his at age 19 after he moved out of home. "I was young and rebellious then," he says. Now 26, he also admits to another rebellious act, that of dropping his studies in pharmacology at Northwest Vista. "I hated sitting in a lab," he says. You could counter that he's traded one lab for another (insert self-medication reference), but first there was first some dishwashing penance to be paid at Sushi Zushi on 1604.
"They looked at me funny when I said I wanted to move up to bartending," he recalls — but they let him. Guerra's solid, staccato shake is likely a result of the three years spent there — as is his burgeoning creativity. "They gave me some free rein," he says.
That creativity is now being put to good use on Old Main's new menu. The seasonal Here's Looking at You (AKA Drag King), for example, boasts roasted pear that steeps in bourbon with cinnamon sticks and is finished with lemon and whiskey bitters. But as cool as imagining new drinks may be, from the consumer end, the ability to listen — and not just to the ice in the shaking tin — is maybe even more important. Feel free to fill him in on your likes and dislikes. And keep track of him as he evolves. He says he may help manager Steve Martín at Rumble when it opens on N. St. Mary's St. Just one more move up the non-lab ladder.
Olaf Harmel, Smoke & Stir
At 44, Harmel is learning to not waste time. He puts it succinctly, "I finally came out of my shell."
After moving to San Antonio in 2009 and helping open Mons Thai and Bar Du Mon Ami on Broadway, he occupied the landing nook bar at Blue Box from 2011 through early 2015. Harmel helped open Brigid (read more about that on page 29), and through several conversations, Harmel came on board as beverage director for the group responsible for China Garden, Smoke, PopUp For A Purpose and Stir (formerly Hidden Dragon).
For that operation, he's simplifying cocktails and making them approachable for the dining set, instead of trying to make the cocktails overpower the restaurant experience.
"I'd rather a good cocktail be a surprise, that complements the meal," Harmel said at Stir on a recent Wednesday.
Downtown dwellers that miss made-to-order cocktails or just seeing Harmel's calming aura behind the service well won't have to wait a whole lot longer as "Big" Smoke opens this February inside the former Ruth's Chris near Sunset Station. The menu there will closely resemble that of Smoke in Stone Oak, with slight tweaks. Though he literally stopped himself several times from divulging details on the slated basement bar — "no, I probably shouldn't say," is quite literally the most frustrating thing a writer can hear — Harmel insists on approachable and malleable menus going forward.
"There's never just one way to do something."
