Rosé Season Entertaining

In case you haven't noticed, it's gorgeous out there.  It's officially rosé season, and it's time to load up your fridge for the duration of the summer.

I love a glass of crisp, extra dry rosé, but sometimes a girl needs some bubbles!  Fret not, dear imbibers, not all bubbles require a champagne budget - there are so many amazing sparkling wines that won't break the bank.

One of my favorites as of late is Santa Margherita Sparkling Rosé, a delightfully dry wine that is wonderful for sipping in the afternoon or mixing into a summery cocktail.  It is made with a combination of Glera grapes (typically used to make Prosecco), Chardonnay, and Malbec to add color and richness.  The wine it self is not too sweet and has a slight flavor of red berries and toasted brioche.

While Santa Margherita is delightful on its own, I also tried it in a summery cocktail, a variation on a Negroni Sbagliato, but with Hendrick's Gin, Aperol, and a splash of sparkling wine.  Served over a large king cube and garnished with an edible flower, this might be a perfect summer tipple.

Unusual Sbagliato

1 oz Hendrick's Gin
1 oz Aperol
1.5 oz Santa Margherita Sparkling Rosé

Combine gin and Aperol in a mixing glass with ice.  Stir until chilled, and strain into a low ball glass with a king cube.  Top with Santa Margherita Sparkling Rosé and stir.  Garnish with an edible flower.
Enjoy!

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Santa Margherita. All opinions are 100% mine.

Thank you for supporting the brands that make this blog possible. 

Campari America Spirited Connections Interview Series: Ashtin Berry

This is my last Campari America Spirited Connections Interview of 2017, and I have to say, I'm incredibly proud of the in-depth conversations we have had on Gastronomista this year.  This series has pushed me personally, and has encouraged me to use this platform to help share important stories in the Cocktail & Spirits industry that need to be addressed - head on.  I am so grateful to Campari America for inspiring this series, and for supporting all of the talented bartenders we have spoken with throughout the year.

This month's interview is with Ashtin Berry, an outspoken young woman who is the beverage director of one of New York's hottest bars, Tokyo Record Bar, and someone who has pushed the conversation about diversity in the beverage industry.

Through this series I have tried to put a spotlight on bartenders of different shapes, sizes, colors, people who are doing amazing work and are sure to inspire a next generation of budding talent behind the bar.  What I've learned through my conversation with Ashtin is that our job is not done - we as a community need to continue to support people who don't look or act like us, and continue to have open conversations about our differences.  Because, at the end of the day hospitality is about taking care of our fellow humans.

Without further ado, Ashtin Berry:

Gastronomista: Ashtin, tell us a bit about how you became a bartender and what you're up to these days?

Ashtin Berry:  I became a bartender after working as a cocktail waitress at a Chicago Sports bar. I am currently working on two bars in New York, Air's Champagne Parlor and Tokyo Record Bar, an Izakaya [cocktail] bar focused on vinyl records.

Gastronomista: You have been vocal about social issues behind the bar - namely, diversity behind the bar.  How have you been making your voice heard, and what issues do you think are of concern in today’s environment? 

AB:  I would argue that I've been mainly vocal about racial and diverse equity within our community. I really want to stop using the word diversity as an all encompassing umbrella to talk about inclusion. The fact of the matter is our industry is diverse, but marginalized groups are no equally represented or visible in positions of power.

I think making your voice heard is first about not shying away from difficult conversations. They may not always end the way we would like, but it is still important none the less to continue to engage.

I think the issues facing our country at large are the same ones we are facing in the industry. However, I think the way our industry is constructed it becomes more and more difficult for us to hear different perspectives merely, because those different narratives aren't in the room.

 

Gastronomista:  How do you think the industry could do a better job to support people who work in the cocktail industry of all different shapes, colors, and sizes?

AB:  By constructing spaces that are actually inclusive. Making a statement of inclusivity, doesn't make people feel welcomed. Making people feel welcomed starts with visibility and engagement. If those who act as gatekeepers in our industry do not engage with other narratives nothing will change. I'm using the language "gatekeeper" because many people in our industry have an assumption that power is only wielded by those who can make massive changes. However, having access to tools, knowledge, and varying forms of capitol puts majority of those in a position to implement change even if it is in small ways. However, I can't speak for every group of people so the easiest way to find out how you can support anybody is to ask them.

Gastronomista:  What are the top three things up and coming bartenders can do to be more aware of diversity issues both as a consumer and as someone in the spirits industry?

AB:  1. By engaging with people who do not look like them or share the same socio-economic status. I mean, that sounds like a simple thing, but when you go out to industry events what we see is the same people talking to each other over and over. So, expand your list of friends and associates it's not only relevant to creating rich businesses and a bar, but it's relevant to being a socially aware person.

2. By unpacking their implicit bias. Implicit or unconscious bias is something every person has. It can be difficult to admit, but it's essential that as people who train and hire bartenders, as well as interact with consumers every day, we're able to stop and ask how we can make each of those relationships even better. That starts by trying to understand what unconscious biases are and then how we can work to undo them.  Harvard's Implicit Bias Testing is a great start for those who do not know what Implicit bias means or how it may show up in every day lives.

3. Recognizing that conversations about race, gender, sexual orientation, etc are necessary in order for changes to be made. Being uncomfortable is a part of doing the work to undo the exclusive nature of parts of our business.

Gastronomista: In your opinion, why is diversity-minded activism especially important in the bar community right now?

AB:  I'm not sure what diversity-minded activism means to be honest. Humans in themselves are diverse, and my activism is rooted in humanity just as our hospitality as bartenders should be. The bar community should be interested in human rights, because we work in the service of humans.  And, if you cannot understand that from a social justice standpoint you should certainly be able to understand it from a business standpoint. Exclusionary practices, even those that are unintentional, put a limit on our businesses and their potential growth.

Sakè Negroni

Gastronomista: You recently relocated New York.  How has the moved changed your life, and what is in store for you next?

AB:  To be honest, New York hasn't really changed my life, but it has been nice to see friends I normally see once a year. What's next I guess everyone will have to wait to see, I haven't quite decided yet.

Gastronomista: What drives the creative process for you when you're creating cocktails?  Any tricks of the trade you can share?

AB:  Food. Honestly, even if I am not working at a place that serves food, the focus of my flavors always comes with a thought of what someone is going to enjoy before, during, or after they eat. Vermouth is a many wonders and so are Kräuterlikörs.

Gastronomista: Who inspires you in the bar industry right now? Who do you think is doing it right?!

AB:  I don't know if their is anyone doing it right, but there are people doing it right for them and their team and I respect that a ton. I would say Giuseppe Gonzalez, Tiffanie Barrie, and Ariel Arce the Owner of both Air's and Tokyo Record Bar. They are all finding their truth and their paths their own ways and that I think is valuable. Their is no right way.

Miso Sour

Gastronomista: If you could visit any bar anywhere in the world, at any point in history, what bar would you visit?  Who would you have a drink with?

AB:  I hate say this, but if I had the time to visit any place in the world at any point in history I wouldn't be going to a bar. You would more than likely find me at a play and or a bookstore. And if I was going to have a drink, it would be no different than right now: Champagne, always.

Gastronomista:  This series is sponsored by Campari America, can you recommend a favorite cocktail or two for our readers made with their products?

A Campari Mule is probably one of my favorite drinks. It's really simple to it's just 1.5oz of Campari, .5oz Lime juice topped with ginger beer. Otherwise you really cannot go wrong with a rye Manhattan and switch out the vermouth for Cynar. And it's a classic for a reason Aperol Spritzes all day everyday.


Sakè Negroni
Created by Ashtin Berry

1-1/2 oz Umeshu Plum Wine
3/4 oz Campari
1-1/2 oz Junmai Sakè

Add ingredients to beaker and stir with ice strain into rocks glass with fresh ice garnish with orange or grapefruit peel.


Miso Sour
Created by Ashtin Berry

2 oz White Rum
1 oz of Miso Simple Syrup
1 oz Yuzu Juice
1 oz of Cynar

Shake rum, miso simple syrup and yuzu juice with ice until chilled.  Strain into a low ball glass with ice and top with 1 oz Cynar.  Garnish with a fresh shiso leaf.


Campari Spritz
Created by Ashtin Berry

1-1/2 oz Campari
1 oz Plum Wine
Top with Soda

Build in a highball glass over ice, and garnish with a lemon twist.

Campari Spritz

For more follow Ashtin on Instagram.

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Campari America. All opinions are 100% mine.

Thank you for supporting the brands that make this blog possible. 

Campari America Spirited Connections Interview Series: Natasha David

Photo Credit: Eric Medsker

My latest for the Campari America #SpiritedInterview series is about an issue that I care deeply about, and selfishly have a lot of curiosity about.  As a young woman in the spirits industry who would like to have a family one day, I have felt the conflicting pressures of cocktails and motherhood.  I have refused to believe that it was an either / or situation - that if I wanted to have a family that I would have to give up this part of my career that I love so much.  The prospect of sacrificing my career is heartbreaking, just as I imagine it is for so many other women in the cocktail and spirits industry.   

Inspiration comes in funny ways.  Through the magic of Instagram I have watched Natasha David, owner and operator of New York City's NiteCap, take on the challenge of motherhood head on.  She was behind the bar, pregnant, ignoring the bewildered looks of her customers (a woman can work behind the bar and not drink - whaaaattt?)  Then, she gave birth to her adorable son Elliot, and was refreshingly honest about the struggles and joys of being a working mom in an industry that is notoriously demanding on its labor force. 

I knew I wanted to interview her for this series - I wanted her honesty on the record about exactly how much women can do in this industry.  I, for one, am really proud of her.  Her story gives me comfort that I don't have to give up my dreams - or a future of kids, family, and a healthy life/work balance. 

Without further ado, Natasha David:

Gastronomista: Natasha, tell us what inspired you to become a bartender and what you're up to these days?

Natasha David: I moved to New York to attend NYU as a drama major (with a minor in Latin American Studies) and had worked in restaurants, clubs and bars all throughout college to pay my bills. Once I graduated, I obviously thought I would become an actress, and quite honestly was doing pretty well. But everything they say about the acting world is true, and I got sick and tired of auditioning for yet another “exotic mistress,” being on a diet every day of the year, and well, playing the game. I soon found myself looking forward to being behind the bar and dreading my auditions. So I fired my agents and decided to become a bartender.

Nowadays I am the co-owner and operator of Nitecap. I also own a consulting business with my husband, Jeremy Oertel. Current projects are the SoHo Grand Hotel, Roxy Hotel and MADE Hotel. And then I work with a number of brands developing recipes for them.

Gastronomista: Not long ago, you became a mother.  Tell us a bit about the challenges and the amazing discoveries about being a new mom behind the bar - from pregnancy to having a small kiddo.

ND: I’ll be honest—I had a pretty miserable pregnancy! I puked every single day, multiple times a day plus Elliot, my son, decided to hunker down on my sciatic nerve. I had always envisioned myself bartending until the day I pushed him out, but after multiple shifts where I had to run and stick my head in the toilet mid round-building, I decided that was not in the cards for me. But I certainly didn’t stop working.

We had to suddenly move the bar to a new location when I was about six months along, so sitting back with my feet up eating ice cream wasn’t really an option (ha ha!), nor would I have wanted it to be, as I am not the type to sit around. Moving the bar basically meant opening a new bar, and it kept me very busy. I was actually placing a beer order when I went into labor!

Once I had Elliot, I wanted to give myself a month-long maternity leave, but being a very stubborn person, I worked from my hospital bed as I felt a need to support my staff (who would have been totally fine!) during this time of transition for the bar. And this, I think, was a big mistake for me.
Having a child and being a mother has been my number-one goal and desire for as long as I can remember, and the joy that my son gives me is something that cannot, by any means, be expressed in words. And I am going to be completely honest here, I have been suffering from post-partum depression, and I think it’s largely because I didn’t allow myself to step away from work, focus on being a mother and get to know myself and my new identity.

So these past 10 months have been a bit of a rocky journey, but one with many discoveries, good and bad.

Gastronomista: How has becoming a mother changed your professional career, and what have been the greatest takeaways?

ND: It’s incredible how your priorities can literally change from one day to the next. I used to put work before my personal life all the time. Now, Elliot and family time are number one! I am much more picky about the projects I take on. If they are going to take me away from my son, they have to fulfill me in some other way.

Gastronomista: As a young woman with aspirations of having my own family one day, I am in complete awe of what you do on a day-to-day basis.  In fact, I’m thinking of starting an entire series on the blog called, “Lady, how in the world are you doing all of this?”, showcasing women achieving their career goals while raising children.  On that note, how in the world are you doing all of this?

ND: Well, I’m getting by, and so are all of those Instagram moms. This illusion of “balancing it all” isn’t real. And any working mother, if she is being honest with you (perhaps after a couple of drinks) will tell you the same. Being a working mother is not easy, but it is VERY worth it! It helps that I have an incredible partner on this journey who will literally bring Elliot to Nitecap for 30 minutes just so I can see him, who will pick up shifts so that I don’t have to work as much and who will drop everything if Elliot or I need something.

The bar world is not a traditional setting for raising a child—odd hours, loooong hours, no sick days, no health insurance—but the bar does have an intensely loyal sense of community and a willingness to be flexible, two qualities that I are more valuable than any of that other stuff.

Although being a mother is my number-one priority, I obviously still have goals for my career, and I have very happily tweaked those a little because my focus is my family. So yes, you can have it all if you are willing and open to accept change.

Gastronomista: How has the team at Nitecap supported your life as a new mom?

ND: I don’t even know where to start on this answer. Alex and Dave are pretty much the most wonderful partners in the world. We were friends before being business partners, so having that personal connection certainly helps. I was actually nervous telling them I was pregnant, but they were both overjoyed when I told them; they just rolled with the punches and listened to my needs.  I recently took a little three-week leave of absence to tackle my post-partum depression, and they didn’t flinch and did everything they could to support me.

And when it comes to the staff, well they have been a dream! My head bartender, Lauren Corriveau, has shouldered most of the burden and has done so gracefully and with no complaint. We are very, very lucky to have a real family at Nitecap—the team really cares and is invested in the bar and in every individual that is part of it, so they all go the extra mile. Additionally they all love Elliot and are so great with him.

It makes me very happy to know that Elliot is growing up in such a loving community.

Gastronomista: What advice would you have for bar owners / managers who want to be as supportive as possible to new mothers?

ND: PAID MATERNITY AND PATERNITY LEAVE!!! I know this is difficult for small businesses—trust me, I am one—but it’s so important. So get creative, maybe start a little savings account and put in $50 a week, and then you have a reserve so that when the time comes, your mamas and papas can take the time that they NEED with their new families.

I would also say offer your staff financial planning seminars. It’s SO important if you want to start a family.

And if you are a staff member on a team with someone who has a child, be understanding and be willing to be flexible. It will be much appreciated in a way that you can’t even imagine.

Gastronomista: You recently relocated to Red Hook, New York.  How has the moved changed your life, and what is in store for you next?

ND: We haven’t moved quite yet! My mother, who is moving from Seattle, purchased a home that we can all live in together. I’m not quite sure what the future holds to be completely frank. I do know that I am over carrying a stroller up to my 4th floor walk-up every day and I am certain that I want my son to have a backyard and a great education. So we, as a family, decided to relocate. Jeremy and I are very lucky in that we own our apartment in Brooklyn, so I definitely see some commuting and over-night trips in my future as I want to make sure Nitecap is in a good place. And I’m going very against my personality here, but I’ve just decided that even though this is kind of crazy, it’s going to work because we want it to work, so we will figure it out!

I don’t want to speak to soon, but there are some exciting opportunities up here work-wise that we are exploring, and eventually we hope to open something of our own. So I guess, stay tuned.

Gastronomista: What drives the creative process for you when you're creating cocktails?  Any tricks of the trade you can share?

ND: Creating cocktails for me is definitely very influenced by mood and color—maybe that’s my theatre background. There is something very magical about drinking a cocktail that stirs up some sort of emotion or memory or creates a new memory—and by all means, that emotion can be as simple as, “Damn, this is good!” So I guess I’m thinking more about the lasting, lingering effect of the experience than I am about an ingredient.

Gastronomista:  Who inspires you in the bar industry right now? Who do you think is doing it right?!

ND: I mean, there are so many! I’ve had some incredible mentors and some incredible strong women like Katie Stipe to look up too. But I am continually inspired by the folks behind the Quixotic Projects who are based in Paris—they are masters of creating transportive, fun, but intensely professional spaces.

Gastronomista: If you could visit any bar anywhere in the world, at any point in history, what bar would you visit?  Who would you have a drink with?

ND: I mean, I guess I could give you a very intellectual and historically significant answer here, but really, in my heart of hearts, I just wish I was in a low-cut sequins jumpsuit, in platform heels, under a giant disco ball, at Studio 54 drinking a glass of Champagne with Grace Jones and Liza Minnelli.

(Author's Note: Yaaaassssssss)

Gastronomista: This series is sponsored by Campari America, can you recommend a favorite cocktail or two for our readers made with their products?

ND: I’ll always drink an Americano if you hand it to me or if you want something from me. A little Boulevardier variation of mine:

All In
Created by Natasha David

1 ½ oz Wild Turkey 101 Rye
¾ oz Campari
¾ oz Dry Vermouth
1 tsp Crème de Cacao

Method: Stir, Strain

Glass: Nick & Nora
Garnish: Discarded Lemon Twist

Mermaid Parade
Created by Natasha David

1-½ oz Aperol
¾ oz Pasquet ‘Marie Framboise’
¾ oz Grapefruit Juice
½ oz Lemon Juice
½ oz Simple Syrup
Egg White
Top with Seltzer

Method: Dry Shake, Shake, Strain, Top w/ Seltzer

Glass: Fizz Glass
Garnish: Edible Glitter

For more follow Natasha on Instagram.

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Campari America. All opinions are 100% mine.

Thank you for supporting the brands that make this blog possible.