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| Alex Jump, Rino Yacht Club |
Dedicated readers of Gastronomista already know that I am working on an
amazing campaign in partnership with Campari America with the goal of highlighting socially-conscious bartenders who use their platforms to make the world a better place. Last month's
Spirited Connections interview was with
Tristan Willey about Bar Sustainability, and this month we are talking about Women's Equality with a few ladies who are changing the game for women in the Cocktail & Spirits industry.
This month's Campari America Spirited Connections interview brings us back to Denver, Colorado and to the heart of The Source, the
Rino Yacht Club, one of Denver's hottest cocktail bars. The woman who brings us here is
Alex Jump,
winner of the Southwest Finals of Speed Rack 2017. I caught her at her post behind the bar before she jets off for finals on May 21st in New York City.
Before we get to know Alex, I had the opportunity to catch up with co-founder and bar boss-babe
Lynnette Marrero to understand more about what inspired Speed Rack, how it has changed the game for female bartenders, and what is next for Lynnette and her business partner,
Ivy Mix.
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| Ivy Mix & Lynnette Marrero |
Gastronomista: Lynnette, you and Ivy started
Speed Rack six years ago, what inspired you to start the competition and how has it evolved over the years?
Lynnette: It all started as Ivy ran into me at the Superbowl Feb 2011 and told me about this idea she had for women bartenders called Speed Rack. Since I was president of
LUPEC NYC and was already working nationally with other chapters it was a natural partnership. We then worked to take the idea and give it the structure and format we have today.
We decided to create a platform for women bartenders. We wanted to create a competition that tests bartenders in real life situations. Instead of testing their ability to create one drink we wanted to challenge them to showcase what they do every day in a bar; create quality cocktails with speed to service in mind. Speed Rack, the tour that it is now, is the result of an intense few years and I could not be more proud of what Speed Rack is today. As we expand globally it is incredible to see how it translates worldwide.
Gastronomista: Speed Rack has brought attention to female bartenders in a unique way – how do you think Speed Rack has changed the industry for women?
Lynnette: I think it has helped women get into a different tier of the business. Many of our past competitors got incredible job offers post competing in Speed Rack. It has also created a network for these women.
Grastronomista: What has been the best take away from Speed Rack?
Lynnette: In the past six years we have grown from small local us competitions to a global phenomenon, expanding every year to new cities and countries, and investing in their bar communities. We have had over
800 women compete in Speed Rack, we've raised over
$550,000 against breast cancer.
Gastronomista: What do you think bar programs can do to be more aware of Women’s Equality?
Lynnette: Offering opportunities for upward mobility for women. There are a lot of women in the bar community but there are fewer at the top. We need to create mentorship opportunities, training, and offer other assets to women to gain the experience they need to move up into top beverage position.
Gastronomista: What is next for you two? World domination?
Lynnette: Year 7 is next year. We are hoping to expand to more markets while we keep investing in adding more to the Untied States, such as the
Sisterhood Project we started this year. Our first empowerment day will be on
Monday, May 22 and will be an amplification of the sisterhood.
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Which leads us to Alex Jump,
Miss Speed Rack Southwest 2017. Speed Rack has a way of amplifying up and coming talent, letting the world know about the new female bartenders we should all be paying attention to. So, pay attention.
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| Southwest Speed Rack Finals 2017 |
I sat down with Alex to talk about her experience at Speed Rack, how she started bartending, the unique camaraderie that comes along with being a Speed Rack finalist, and what's next for this incredibly talented lady.
Gastronomista: Frist of all, congratulations on your
Speed Rack win! Tell us a little bit about how you secured victory!
Alex Jump: Thank you!! Leading up to the big event, I spent a lot of time practicing for Speed Rack at work,
RiNo Yacht Club, with a coworker (
Heather Hass) who was also participating in Speed Rack. We would practice almost every day with bottles filled with water. We practiced making water cocktails for both the preliminary rounds & the judged rounds. I also practiced a new way of picking up bottles that made me a little faster, I think.
Last year was my first attempt at Speed Rack, and even though I had spent some time getting advice from friends about the competition, I was essentially walking in blind (I hadn’t even attended a Speed Rack before I competed in Nashville). After competing last year, I had a better idea of what I was walking into, so I spent a lot of time thinking about the competition & how I could work efficiently. I feel like I spent just as much time mentally preparing as I did physically.
As far as on stage, it was a real hair splitter!
Nicole Laurita & I finished the final round within ½ a second of each other!! It all came down to our 4th (last) cocktail, our
own riff on a Ramos Gin Fizz, which Pamela Wiznitzer ordered. Neither cocktails were perfect, but mine sat with a better meringue on top, & Nicole accidentally put a whole egg in hers. With penalties I only ended up beating her by 10 seconds. It was so close.
Gastronomista: Speed Rack is an incredible program that promotes Female Bartenders – why did you choose to compete, and what was the best take away from the competition?
Alex Jump: Speed Rack is probably my favorite competition of the year for so many reasons. Not only do they
promote female bartenders in a way that literally no other competition ever has, but they also raise money for breast cancer research.
What’s not to like? If you’re an attendee, you get to cheer on badass women in your region while drinking cocktails to raise money for breast cancer research. If you’re a competitor, you get to spend an entire day surrounded by inspiring female bartenders and rooting for each other while they’re on stage. Aside from the feeling of doing something good for the world, I’d say the best take away is the
feeling of camaraderie that you walk away with after the day is over. I chose to compete because I knew it was something that I wanted to be a part of.
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| The All-Amari |
Gastronomista: You live in Denver, which is notoriously a male-dominated city (and nicknamed Menver). How do you navigate your career in a male dominated industry in a dude-centric town?
Alex Jump: I’m so new to Denver that I’m not sure I’ve really noticed the outnumbering of men to women yet, honestly! Since I’ve moved here I’ve been fortunate enough to get hired on to two really wonderful bar teams in town- the
RiNo Yacht Club &
Mercantile Dining & Provisions.
There certainly are a lot of men in the city, but there are also a lot of women in Denver doing some really amazing things.
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| Author's Favorite - A Classic Negroni |
Gastronomista: What are your favorite bars right now?
Alex Jump: Oh man.. I’ll try to narrow this down. It’s hard to even pick a place to start. Here in
Denver I’ve fallen in love with the 715 Club, Star Bar, and B&GC.
715 Club is the perfect amount of dark & dive-y. It’s the exact bar I want to sit at when I get off work & need a Coors Banquet & a shot of Cynar.
Star Bar is a Denver institution for sure, & it completely lives up to the hype. They have an awesome back bar and karaoke two nights a week. Win/Win.
B&GC is a beautiful bar in the basement of the new
Halcyon Hotel. It’s stunning inside, and the cocktails are lovely.
Since I’m from the South, it’s no surprise that some of my favorite bars are also located there.
Robert’s Western World in
Nashville is one of my most favorite places in the world. Amazing live music, dancing, & the Recession Special ($5 for a Bologna Sandwich & a High Life)… how do you not fall in love with that
Honky Tonk? Then there’s
Kimball House in
Decatur, GA. It’s absolutely gorgeous, the food is wonderful, & the drinks are complex & delicious.
Ticonderoga Club in
Atlanta is another one of my favorite bars in the South. The space & décor makes you feel like you’re drinking in your own personal clubhouse. The food is absolutely incredible & the cocktail & wine lists are always lovely. And finally,
Empire State South in
Atlanta… The hospitality that Kellie Thorne & her crew exude at that bar is outstanding. All of these bars feel like home when I’m there.
Other bars that I love are ones that inspire me every time I visit them:
Dante,
Death & Co.,
PDT,
Clover Club,
Trick Dog,
Clyde Common, &
La Factoria, just to name a few. The people running these bars are constant sources of inspiration & motivation for me.
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?
Alex Jump: Honestly… It may not seem like that far back to go, but I think I would go back to the early 2000’s when
Sasha Petraske was opening Milk & Honey. I never had the opportunity to know him, but
his legacy will influence my bartending for the rest of my career. I wish I had been able to sit at his bar, drink a cocktail, and ask him questions.
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| Wild Turkey Rye, Lustau Oloroso Sherry, Cynar, Lemon, Sesame Seed Orgeat, Egg White |
Gastronomista: What drives the creative process for you when you're creating cocktails? Any tricks of the trade you can share?
Alex Jump: I get a lot of inspiration from what my Chefs are cooking. What’s in season and what’s being served on dishes in the restaurant. When working on new cocktails, I always draw inspiration from a classic in some way. One of my bar mentors said to me,
“Classics are classics for a reason. They will be good until the end of time. History has decided that they will be remembered. Because they are balanced.” So if you’re working on a new cocktail, but already have a blueprint mapped out for you from a classic, you’re nearly guaranteed to create a balanced cocktail.
Gastronomista: This series, as well as Speed Rack, is sponsored by
Campari America, would you mind sharing a few of your favorite recipes with us using Campari America products?
All Amari
Co-Created by Alex Jump of Rino Yacht Club
1 oz Cynar
3/4 oz Braulio
1 oz Punt e Mes
Stir and strain into a chilled Nick & Nora Glass. Garnish with an orange peel.
* * * * *
Speed Rack Finals will be held May 21, 2017 at the
Weylin in Brooklyn.
The Finalists:
Top 8 Winners:
Elyse Blechman – Tongue-Cut Sparrow; Ms. Speed Rack Texas
Mony Bunni – Boleo, The Kimpton Gray Hotel; Ms. Speed Rack Midwest
Clairessa Chaput – Highball Lounge, Central Kitchen; Ms. Speed Rack Northeast
Jacyara de Oliveira – Rob Roy, The Hideout; Ms. Speed Rack Northwest
Helen Diaz – Bloodhound, Churchill; Ms. Speed Rack California
Jenny Feldt – Le Diplomate; Ms. Speed Rack Southeast
Alex Jump – RiNo Yacht Club; Ms. Speed Rack Southwest
Anna Wingfield – Mother’s Ruin, Ba’sik; Ms. Speed Rack New York
Wild Card Winners:
Katie Astrauska – Moneygun; Midwest Wildcard Winner
Tiff Jones – Pagan Idol, Rickhouse; California Wildcard Winner
Jen Laforge – Tiger Mama, Franklin Café; Northeast Wildcard Winner
Megan Radke – Canon, Liberty; Northwest Wildcard Winner
Zulcoralis Rodriguez – The Esquire Tavern; Texas Wildcard Winner
Jess Sandberg – Under Current; Southwest Wildcard Winner
Kristine Serrano – Forest Hills Station House; New York Wildcard Winner
Andrea Tateosian – Urbana; Southeast Wildcard Winner
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