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Space Coast Podcast Network
Space Coast Eats - Behind the Bar Crafting the Next Wave of Cocktail Culture
Space Coast Eats Episode 62 featuring Ethan Tyler
Step beyond the velvet rope and into the allure of mixology with me, Jesse, on Space Coast Eats. Our guest, Ethan from Lourdes Library, is no mere barkeeper; he's an alchemist of the modern speakeasy. Listen in as he conjures up libations that will seduce your senses, from a sumptuous strawberry syrup mocktail to the revered Last Word. Savor the tales of our New Year's Eve escapades, the social swirl of contemporary bar culture, and a look back at festivities of yesteryear. Our conversation isn't just about clinking glasses—it's also a peek at what the future holds for cocktail enthusiasts.
Join me on a personal odyssey through the art of the cocktail, tutored by none other than George Jenkins, the 'Straw Hat Barman' himself. Relive adventures from pandemic pastimes to a revived social scene, discovering the secrets of Prohibition-era recipes and transporting them into the present with a culinary twist. Immerse yourself in the process of distilling the essence of nostalgic flavors like caramel popcorn into sippable spirits. Find out why celery bitters aren't just for Bloody Marys and learn the delicate dance of preserving the integrity of spirits like vermouth. This chapter of our discourse is a veritable master class in creative mixology.
The episode comes to a crescendo with my own ascent in the regional bartending ranks. Root for your host as we shake and stir our way to the top with a cocktail inspired by community, the Popcorn for Pops. Raise your glass to the local legends, like the bartender who brought home a 3D printed rocket ship trophy with the Moon Tang Tini. As we wrap up with musings on the latest cocktail trends, from Midori-laced creations to garnishes that defy convention, the promise stands clear: this coming year, we'll not only push the boundaries of what's in your glass, but also who's behind the bar, one innovative collaboration at a time. Cheers to the journey and the magic that awaits with every pour on Space Coast Eats.
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All right, this is Space Ghost Eats. My name is Jesse, your host of Space Ghost Eats, the delicious podcast. So delicious, so scrumptious, so overly tantalizing. So, yeah, we're going to get your taste buds salivating over some very nice craft cocktails in the studio. Ethan the barkeeper.
Speaker 2:Yes, sir.
Speaker 1:Now, widely through the Eaghad neighborhood, from serving up the finest cocktails, Salty Fox, and now you're made your way to the Speak Easy Lord's Library. Oh yeah, and it is a true Speak Easy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, 100%.
Speaker 1:Like you just can't walk in.
Speaker 2:I mean you can walk in, but it's just a library.
Speaker 1:It's just a library.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're just going to see books and an amazing librarian.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, and then what happens?
Speaker 2:You have to find the Book of the Week.
Speaker 1:The Book of the Week which you guys don't you divulge like little Easter eggs, like on Instagram.
Speaker 2:We inform the people what the Book of the Week is on our Instagram and Facebook page.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so you just have to pay attention to the social media to be included, Exactly Like a little wink wink nod on our social media. Speaking of social media, it'd be an honor to see us reposted on your social media handle. We'd love to see everything that we do here get shared by you, your friends. So tune in, subscribe to us on Spotify Space Coast Podcast Network, where you can find Space Coast Eats and many other podcasts produced right here on the Space Coast. So, yeah, we have already some things on the table. You guys can't see, but maybe I'll give you a little sneak peek. Bar Cam activated. We have some ingredients on the table.
Speaker 1:The finest ingredients and before we let these drinks just get too warm when we start off, let's kick off the show with you preparing some cocktails. How does that sound?
Speaker 2:I love it. I love it.
Speaker 1:You have three recipes in front of you, is that?
Speaker 2:correct, correct. I have three recipes. I have a mocktail, I have a winner showcase cocktail that I created. And the last word, which is the finest classic of the classics, the finest of the classic classics.
Speaker 1:I love it. And then stay tuned because we are going to jump right into some of the New Year's Eve talks see what's going on around town, see what your boy Ethan's going to be doing as far as what's going on at Lord's and, of course, let's talk some nostalgia what people do for New Year's Eve in general, what they could expect for the next year regarding some trends in the craft cocktail scene. But right now I'm going to let Ethan give us a play by play, how he's giving us a little peek into his style of cooking.
Speaker 2:So, starting out, we're going to make Jesse his mocktail.
Speaker 1:Oh hey.
Speaker 2:So we have strawberry syrup, fresh start, strawberry syrup, fresh squeezed lemon juice, and I'm going to top it off with some ginger ale.
Speaker 1:Very nice.
Speaker 2:Give it a nice little shake. Activate the citrus.
Speaker 1:I like it. You hear that shake on the mic. Oh, it's going to make it for a good sound bite.
Speaker 2:Every glass drop of rocks glass.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, we got a fresh ginger ale over there. Oh baby, Look at that. Pop pop his fizz. Oh dude, All right, so that is the Marktail.
Speaker 2:He's going to give it a little taste real quick and yeah.
Speaker 1:And I'll let you freshen up, get reset for the next cocktail. Well, thank you. Here we are the show. Until cam Look at that, here we go. Oh, that's delightful. Oh, I can enjoy this all year long.
Speaker 2:That's the difference between using fresh lemon and highly processed lemon.
Speaker 1:No, that's fresh squeeze.
Speaker 2:Okay, this next cocktail is one of my favorites. It is called the last word.
Speaker 1:All right, we got you pouring. What is that solution?
Speaker 2:in that bottle. So inside this bottle we have gin, green chartreuse, lime juice and maraschino liqueur.
Speaker 1:Oh, all in the shaker over ice. Oh, we got the up. Glass, glass, oh boy.
Speaker 2:Nice hard shape.
Speaker 1:See Space Goose Eats, where we bring the cocktails to you in studio mix.
Speaker 2:Oh, man look at that.
Speaker 1:That is a good strain, oh yeah.
Speaker 2:And typically it would get a couple of amaretto soaked cherries on top of it. Oh, baby doll, but you know, what today, cutting out the sugar a little bit, is that a New Year's resolution for you, oh yeah, I have so many of those Cheers brother.
Speaker 1:All right toasting.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:Mmm.
Speaker 2:Yeah, lord have mercy.
Speaker 1:All right, let me get a smell of it. Get up in there.
Speaker 2:Fresh off the nose too, very herbaceous oh.
Speaker 1:What's that? One called again the last word, mmm, and that's on the menu.
Speaker 2:It was on the menu, ah, so we took it off the menu because of the green chartreuse ingredient. Explain so green chartreuse is created by monks in France, ah, and at one point there was a scare. It's kind of like during a hurricane, where everybody just buys the toilet paper. Ah you know, so we weren't able to get it for like six months.
Speaker 1:So really yeah, so it was a supply chain issue.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and at one point I thought I would never taste it again.
Speaker 1:That's scary I know right.
Speaker 2:And then we had a customer come in and he brought in a bottle from the 70s. No shit, yeah, a bottle from the 70s, but it was. There was probably only like two shots left in the bottle.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:And I was holding on to it. It was the, the elixir of life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, highly concentrated elixir of life. It was delicious, I'm sure, and then that must have been like you know, it would have to been like a, what I call it. It's not a basement, it's a. Seller seller kept. Oh right, oh yeah because the cork was still like kind of it was.
Speaker 2:It was gone in play bowl. It was gone in today's.
Speaker 1:Oh, I bet well the contents, I'm sure yeah but we still had the bottle.
Speaker 2:We have a nice little museum in the library of some older style bottles.
Speaker 1:Very cool, yeah, especially if you know if the, if the patrons are bringing their own little, you know, private stash, that's excited.
Speaker 2:I mean it wasn't, it was a gift, right, it was a gift for the bartenders, that's nice.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's, very generous very very 40 year old Green chart shoes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, that tastes amazing and hopefully the supply chain thing.
Speaker 2:Oh, it gets. I think it's fixed itself. You know, we we bought a couple bottles, but we're keeping them well hidden Just in case for the apocalypse. I you know.
Speaker 1:Here this, there's a couple other of the cores that are in demand, and EGAD, when the for the baby Guinness recipe, but I don't, I don't mention all those, leave it there, but certainly Hard to find. Liquors, spirits, yeah, apetifs, all of these you know, kind of make a little bit for a, I'd say a little bit of venture. You know, because, let's say, if you could pour a drink that most other places can't, or maybe don't, maybe they don't have, you know, the, the hookup, so to speak, you know, for different ingredients, that's a, that's a nice, like a little, you know, a little nod to what you guys are Doing with the brand and saying hey, you know, we're gonna bring some recipes back, we're gonna tweak it, we're gonna add our own kind of special ingredients, like Some of the the trends, and I want to get into that as well.
Speaker 1:But do we have another drink to pour?
Speaker 2:we do but give me a little second on this.
Speaker 1:Okay, you want, oh, you want, to enjoy it completely. Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh, I see what he's doing, okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I need to take this one down first.
Speaker 1:No, I wasn't sure if those were like a spillable, you know, poor.
Speaker 2:It's a zipper, it's a nice, all right let's separate.
Speaker 1:I agree so With the Lord, lord's again, you guys kind of came through and I remember there was a delay I remember was supposed to be of it come around or a little earlier. So you had the ball. I mean, everything was paused. Yeah, any kind of public engagement, any kind of social gatherings, was highly, highly, highly forbidden, just about discouraged eventually and then finally, like, brought Back. You know, I think everybody just kind of said, okay, you know, let's get over house and go enjoy.
Speaker 2:Sunshine and during that, during that time period, when the owners First told me about this concept and then cove, it hit I. I dived into books and just started doing research, that's on craft cocktails from the prohibition era, sure, you know. And then I went out there and I I found a mentor as well. Shout out to the straw hat barman. George Jenkins I like to throw that one out George Jenkins.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Gotta throw him out there. A little shout out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, good, george, you, you may have to be a space goes eats guests one of these times.
Speaker 2:I hear he has the best home bar. Oh, ever, ever, ever.
Speaker 1:We may have to go on the road for this podcast. So you got a mentor, you. You looked at all the recipes From the prohibition area which are, some people argue, are again. You know, now we're seeing a resurgence in some of these classic recipes, from bees knees to my ties to you know. The more popular ones, I think, the more. How do you say fun, like the old-fashioned, like everything's getting smoked? The manhattan's, you know, up on the rocks, different types of her booth people are Infusing and making their homemade Bitters. Yeah, it's taking a.
Speaker 2:Very culinary approach.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, explain on that, expound on that.
Speaker 2:So I'm deconstructing a food into a liquid for example, with the other cock, just the other cocktail. We'd be making popcorn for pops, so I had the idea of Caramel popcorn. Oh you know like during the holidays.
Speaker 1:It's a great start.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I had that in my head, because that was a tradition for my father and I. We would have the big metal tin really had, like the butter popcorn, the different types in there.
Speaker 1:Oh, the divider, oh yeah, yeah that was our favorite.
Speaker 2:The current caramel was our favorite.
Speaker 1:All right, so the cheddar was left over.
Speaker 2:That was for my brother. So I was like how am I gonna turn this into a liquid form, you know? So I made my own popcorn syrup. Oh, hey, yeah, just an awesome. The act to bag a popcorn, yeah, from the gas station.
Speaker 1:Sure.
Speaker 2:Oh man, the butter sensation.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:So I made the syrup and you just throw in the back of popcorn into the syrup and let it soak up all the goodness, and then you just drain it out and then you have your concoction from syrup. And then I also used a Corn liqueur as well, and then rye whiskey. Sounds like a good combo and celery betters, because we would always put celery salt on our popcorn.
Speaker 1:Even the caramel popcorn even that.
Speaker 2:Wow, that's creative.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean salted caramel is like you can't. You can't find a latte in Starbucks without it. Things all the car.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so like whenever. So it seems like that's where craft cocktails are is Taking a food and turning it into a liquid form.
Speaker 1:Like a snack. You can drink, correct, but after three you may also feel a little yeah, yeah, like, so I just Couple.
Speaker 2:Couple weeks ago I heard of they just came out with the Doritos. Stop it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't want to hear anymore. That's just ridiculous.
Speaker 2:I know they're getting big so people are starting to get a little crazy with it, but usually the the crazy things is what? Yeah well, you never know.
Speaker 1:I mean with without you know, jalapeno gin and I'm seeing like all kinds of infused, like you know, like, like you're saying like herbs like food into and it's not flavor, it's not orange flavor, it's like infused with the orange peel essence, essence of the orange and we've had these kinds of things Lemon cellos, an example you know I mean there's some other like alright, let's derive a fruit flavor and formulate a infused neutral Liquor like like vodka.
Speaker 1:So you have a lot of, you know, all the vodka flavors with, you know, infused, because it's easier to flavor a neutral. Spirit, right yeah so I mean I think pinnacle, you know, I think they have like the most flavors.
Speaker 2:They get crazy with it, I mean.
Speaker 1:Marshmallow, I think it's all Mars and Mars. Well, I think I've seen toast and they're like the jelly belly of vodka's, like they have a flavor for every as much as jelly bellies have flavors of jelly beans. They have flavors and you know, you seem like it's. It may be over the top, but Maybe have an ev like one of every, because some of those spirits aren't going to move unless you pour it into a drink that's on a menu and it's like a you know, vital component of that drink menu.
Speaker 1:Otherwise it's just gonna sit over there. I can't. I can't tell you how many bars I used to work at. There's always that one bottle of slo-gen. Oh see SLOE.
Speaker 2:So while other bars of slo-gen sitting on the shelf, we're pouring it.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And we're making a slo-gen fizz.
Speaker 1:Oh, really, yeah, we're using it in different cocktails, like just a hint of it, though it's not the show, it's not the Beyonce but it's the background singer yeah, and I learned that even but some of these spirits, I mean, if you don't use them, they're going to spoil Like a vermouth, she'd treat it like a wine. It should be cold. It shouldn't be like, yeah, you have to High on a shelf.
Speaker 2:You have to keep it in the fridge.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You have to. I can't. Every single time I go to a bar now, ever since I've been working at Lord's Library, I look at the vermouth sitting on a back shelf and I'm like no. That's got to be turned. I'm like stop it yeah.
Speaker 1:You understand what ingredients are supposed to do, how they behave, how they're supposed to be stored and so forth. And yeah, I wish more people enjoyed a dry martini so that the driver would move a little bit more, or more people enjoyed Manhattan. So the sweet vermouth, you know. But over the years, as everything kind of went to or at least in my experience when I was behind a bar, it was a lot of like one spirit, one mixer drinks rum and coax gin and tonics, you know the tortillas.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it started to go more towards quantity and then less about quality. So at the Lord's Library we're flipping that script. We're making more quality cocktails.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, because most times bars were just like there wasn't much of a wine list. You had a blush, which we usually was a white zin, not now. Now people are like, well, where's the rosé list? How many rosés do you have to choose from? Before it was like a blush, white or red, it was a wine list. And then for the beers, the most exotic thing, and we were discussing how even the small batch of breweries have come up in a few years in big ways.
Speaker 1:Now you can't go to a bar without being able to select from, typically, a salad of some kind, an IPA of some kind, a porter or some other kind of sour or some other non-traditional beer. It's not just the four main ones your Michelobelite, your Bud Light, budweiser and the Krona or something. Now it's like you have full-on beer lists. I think people have just gotten to a point where they're demanding all kinds of selections and when you have a desire for these people to come in and find something exotic that they can't just find at their home bar especially if they're on vacation or touring a place they want something unique and new, something they can tell their friends about. That you can't get this. This is a small brewery or a small speakeasy where they have only this brand of mixer or component and that's what kind of sets things apart nowadays. But yeah, in my days it was mostly just like it was shots, limited wines by the glass and a lot of draft beer, but things have. I mean now people are all want that canned beer.
Speaker 1:They want that bottle beer, that exclusive, limited quantity, only brewed this time of the year. So people are looking for more of an experience too, and I know you guys offer that experience. Correct, yeah, and that's not just you and your bubbling smile. It's the personalities and it's also the crafts I mean. You guys have so many tools. How many tools do you have personally that you won't, because before most times a bar was applied, but now with these exologists, they bring their own.
Speaker 2:Right now, I only own my cocktail shakers. Oh, really, yeah we keep all the tools at the bar for all the bar keepers, because I saw that copper strainer.
Speaker 1:Is that copper?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's from the house. But, I keep at the house though.
Speaker 1:I don't have a briefcase, oh, ok, like most exologists, Because I mean, I'm sure I'm not alone, but I noticed a trend to go with a leather apron, oh the apron, you know. And it's got the pocket with all the assorted bitters in the chest you have to have the apron.
Speaker 2:The apron's huge. When we first opened the bar, I started to notice my dry cleaning bill was out the roof Because you got to stay fresh behind the stick. You got to stay fresh.
Speaker 1:Well, you have to have that crease.
Speaker 2:Oh, nice crease.
Speaker 1:I mean, you know what I'm saying Like that extra starchy, you know it was more so just when shaking the cocktail, especially cocktails with egg white.
Speaker 2:You know I would just notice. I would notice. I'd go home and my clothes just have spots all over it, so I was like I need an apron you do need an apron. You know, and then I just found an awesome apron on Etsy. On Etsy. Yeah, I found on Etsy. You shop on Etsy?
Speaker 1:Yeah, we're learning a few things about this guy. He likes his up drinks and his pinky out, I know, and he shops on Etsy. I'm bougie. Now Is what you know regarding this apron? Are there different styles that you were shopping Like? Ones without pockets, one with pockets?
Speaker 2:I wanted pockets. Yeah, yeah, you have to have pockets, did you get?
Speaker 1:your name Like leather.
Speaker 2:No, no name, no leather or burned in or anything like that. Not yet, not yet. But I have a cool idea for a new apron.
Speaker 1:Well, Christmas was just a couple of days ago. I mean it's not too late to get this bartender a nice gift.
Speaker 2:But yeah, that'd be cool man, I'm a cool man.
Speaker 1:Nice little birthday. Oh, he's already dropping some hints, all right. So looking for that nice etched branded Ethan across the chest? I think that'd be cool, I know, especially if you win this competition.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, Aren't you in a competition? You want to talk about the bar boss competition?
Speaker 1:Bar boss. What is that? And tell me what you want to talk about.
Speaker 2:So the main actors from Breaking Bad?
Speaker 1:are hosting it, oh funny.
Speaker 2:Correct. Yeah, they're the faces of this competition. So at first, you know, I saw it as a. I saw their marketing on Facebook and at first I was like, oh man, this is probably going to be a scam or something Like I didn't know how to think about it, so I didn't enter it right away. But then all my coworkers at the bar are like, hey, you should enter it, enter it, enter it. And I was like, ok, you know what? So I created a profile, I entered it and now I'm in eighth, eighth place.
Speaker 1:Yeah, eighth place, yeah, in my region.
Speaker 2:Yeah, breaking Bad. How funny, I know right. So I'm eighth right now and tonight actually is the. So if I'm in the top 10, I move on to the next round. And tonight is the final day to decide who moves on to the next round To the top five.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it has to be so.
Speaker 2:Right now I'm eighth, but next week I'm going to need some extra votes, I'm going to need some help.
Speaker 1:All right, well, you heard it, that's called action.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and the prize is $10,000 for the winner. Oh hey, and they get their photo on the cover of Bartending Magazine.
Speaker 1:Wow, that'd be a nice, that'd be a nice honor.
Speaker 2:I know right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, cover of a magazine.
Speaker 2:Yep, and with the 10,000, I want to donate 2,000 to a local charity. Which charity? I'm not completely sure yet.
Speaker 1:I know there's a cool one across the street from Salty Fox the Ways for Life. I didn't know, yeah, yeah, it helps people who have aged out of the foster system and it's because, at 18, it's like where do you go?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Ways for Life is that kind of bridge to support, like helping some of these kids who age out of the program. They didn't get adopted and they still have no place to stay. Nobody to you know.
Speaker 2:And they're based out of O'Galley.
Speaker 1:They're right across the street from Salty Fox.
Speaker 2:I'm going to have to go visit them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. They just had a nice little fundraiser the other night in the Palkenlot. They had some live music and they had some art.
Speaker 2:Oh, it's right behind the library, right behind the library. Wow, it's the big blue building.
Speaker 1:It's yeah, it's pretty much. Yeah, it's right there, right on.
Speaker 2:I'm going to have to put my feet on the ground and go visit them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's right there on Guava, you can't miss it.
Speaker 2:OK.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and, but that's just one of many in need.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, it's a bunch of things.
Speaker 1:That's generous, you know, because, let's be honest, a cash prize in Sweepstakes world I'm sure most of you who have won can vouch for that. You don't really keep all of it After taxes and everything else, you know. So you may net maybe 7,500, and you know. But whatever you commit, that's a very generous offer and no matter what, where you give it to, you all deserve to give Ethan your vote. He's great. If you haven't had the pleasure of sitting in front of him at a bar, do yourself a service and head over to Lord's Ask for Ethan.
Speaker 1:He'll make you one of the better cocktails in the area, and you, sir are fresh out of a cocktail.
Speaker 2:It's time Popcorn for pops.
Speaker 1:Popcorn for pops. Yeah, let's get the bar cam, hopefully. All right, that's still moving along. I see we got the big ice block now. Yeah, ok, big ice block and what's going into Shaker?
Speaker 2:So ice first.
Speaker 1:Ice into the shaker.
Speaker 2:Get the chill and dilute the cocktail.
Speaker 1:Yes, ok.
Speaker 2:So I kind of want to talk a little bit about Remember when you DJed.
Speaker 1:Oh.
Speaker 2:For the interview.
Speaker 1:You're going to interview the interviewer.
Speaker 2:That's probably one of my proud moments. Aw, that was awesome, had the red carpet out.
Speaker 1:All right, well, I'll let you tell a story.
Speaker 2:All right, so I coached. I was the head strength conditioning coach at FIT. My years get a little mixed up, so I'm not for sure on the exact year when it happened, but during summertime we have summer workouts and I believe this is when I mean we had been friends for about two years.
Speaker 2:Yeah, about, about the time and we came up with the idea to have him DJ during one of our workouts, one of our summer workouts, and the student athletes just loved it. It was amazing. Every single time I see you, I think about that day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, we got the. I think I brought some fog and lasers, yeah, so they came through the door of the gym.
Speaker 2:Had no clue what was going on.
Speaker 1:And they came through like a rock star entrance with lasers and smoke and loud music, and then they did a workout at like 10 or something at night, I forget.
Speaker 2:I felt like it was midnight. It was midnight, oh crap.
Speaker 1:And it was quite the party. Ok, so while you were telling that story, you poured a delicious drink.
Speaker 2:Yes, the popcorn for pops.
Speaker 1:Popcorn for pops. And that's the infused syrup.
Speaker 2:Yep, the infused syrup with popcorn, and it's the rye whiskey, the corn liqueur and celery bitters.
Speaker 1:All right, did you take a sip yet? No, I haven't. You can go first. I'll go first. Let me try this popcorn for pops.
Speaker 2:That's the deconstructed cocktail.
Speaker 1:Yeah, let's have a reminder everybody to vote for Ethan on the boss bar.
Speaker 2:Bar boss.
Speaker 1:Bar boss.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you can find the link on the Lordess Library's Instagram page at the top.
Speaker 1:OK, so go in the bio, click vote for Ethan. Get him those votes. We're going to see our boy get on the cover, give away some cash to a local charity and, yeah, be our local celebrity here. Hey, I think I have another podcast you could be on. So, with that being said, you're already kind of making a name for yourself here, locally, though, even without being on the cover of a prestigious magazine. You recently got awarded rightfully so for a recipe that you created at a local bartending challenge.
Speaker 2:Let's hear that story. Yeah, it was the Kennedy Space Center. Mars Teeny Shake Off was the competition.
Speaker 1:Mars Teeny Shake Off.
Speaker 2:Mars Teeny Shake Off Yep. And the cocktail I created was the Moon Tang Teeny.
Speaker 1:I like it Moon.
Speaker 2:Tang.
Speaker 1:Teeny as in Tang. The not squeezed fresh orange juice, no, but the powder, the powder that all the astronauts appear to love by the way. Little plug for Tang Hit us up. We could talk Tang all day. So the Moon Tang. Yeah well, how'd you come up with that concept?
Speaker 2:All right. So I had a customer come in last year when the Artemis Space Launch was supposed to go off, but there was a long delay.
Speaker 1:After the third time or the fourth time?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I think after the second time I had a customer come into the bar and he took a gamble with me which is an option on our menu where you come in and you can Just roll the dice. Yeah, you roll the dice, you tell us if you're allergic to anything, and then you give us a concept. It can be a dream that you had the other day. Oh fun, it could be your favorite snack. It could be your favorite book. It could be your hero.
Speaker 2:And you tell us this, and then we create, we turn that concept into a liquid for you. Wow, yeah. So this customer he told me. He was like yeah, I was on the team that built the Luna Map. It's a satellite that was going up with Artemis.
Speaker 1:Yes, I have heard about it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so he told me all about it, all about that, and told me where he was from. He's from Wisconsin and he likes Manhattan. So in my head I'm thinking OK, he likes Manhattan, he's from Wisconsin, I'm going to make him a Brandy Manhattan. So, I made him this cocktail and it was delicious. He loved it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, OK.
Speaker 2:So fast forward to this competition. I was like OK, I have the perfect cocktail the perfect cocktail in my head Because I was like, ok, I already created a space cocktail, but then after a couple of people tried it and in my mentor, I told him about it- and he was like well, if you want to win this competition, you got to make something sweet.
Speaker 1:And I was like you're correct. Yeah for all pallets. Yes, correct, for all pallets.
Speaker 2:And I was like you're right, so I had to go back to the drawing board. The competition's in a week, oh wow week left.
Speaker 1:In a week left, yeah. So I already thought I had it in the bag in the rack Right Back to the draw board.
Speaker 2:Yep. So after one of my shifts I'm sitting outside relaxed hanging out and I'm looking up, and then it's a clear night sky, no clouds or anything, and I look up and I see this big orange ball in the sky, right, all right, and I'm like what is that? And it's a spaceship going on. I thought it was a street light.
Speaker 1:Funny yeah, and I was like why is it moving Exactly right. What's in this?
Speaker 2:drink. And then that's where the Tang idea came in, because it's orange. Oh OK, you know what I mean. Yeah, voila Tang. So, and then and then. I know, it sounds a little crazy.
Speaker 1:It's great.
Speaker 2:And then I saw the rocket shoot across the sky and I'm like, oh wow, it looks like a splinter.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:I thought to myself Tiki, like being on a pirate ship, yes, so I made a Tiki style cocktail with Tang powder. So that's how I came up with the drink. But the name for the drink was developed by my friend Adrian. And as soon as he said Moontang, I thought about Wu Tang, you know, and then- Sonomas.
Speaker 1:Moontang, Moontang. We on a swarm.
Speaker 2:So then everything else was a wrap, figuratively, and-.
Speaker 1:Exactly Literally yeah, wow. So tell us all the ingredients again, okay so the Tang powder.
Speaker 2:Yep. So it gets Tang powder. It has a Havana Club, a Neho rum, oh Yep. And it gets lemon juice, fresh squeezed lemon juice, almond orjot, which is an almond syrup, and then it also gets aparol, a little aparol for taste and a little bitterness and sweetness also. That's the cocktail. And the garnish is a nice lemon lion's tail.
Speaker 1:A lion's tail. A lion's tail, the garnish yeah, I'm impressed. It sounds like it sounds delicious, and that one, the overall. Was that the people's choice or was that a judge's? It was the judge's choice.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Wow and the judges were three astronauts.
Speaker 1:Really.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that was awesome too to see what an honor.
Speaker 1:To see the look on their face when they tried it I was like man, they've been in space, Right.
Speaker 2:You know it's like. And then they tried the cocktail that I made and they loved it. That was awesome. And they kept the glasses that I served it in.
Speaker 1:Dang, they want to go home, and Not forget that they're like, it ain't fried chicken. I'm not finished with that you see all that goodness stuck to the edge.
Speaker 2:I need my glass back, please.
Speaker 1:Mr Ashman, I don't know, yeah, it was fun.
Speaker 2:We brought up our crew. You know the owners came up with me. Aw yeah, and a lot of. I had a lot of support and that was amazing. I'd like to shout out everybody who came up to the competition with me, because they didn't have to do that.
Speaker 1:And what'd you take home?
Speaker 2:I took home a Got a trophy. I got a metal-.
Speaker 1:Or a metal-.
Speaker 2:A 3D printed rocket ship. Trophy, yeah what a huge martini glass and the planet Mars in the martini glass. That is bomb and it lights up what the? If you wanna come check it out, it is at the library above the fireplace Nice. Gotta have it on display if it lights up, I mean it's a disco trophy going on, here it's special man.
Speaker 1:so with a week left celestial timing, let's call it with the rocket and the mood, and your friends all around you tasting, helping you figure out the concept. That's special man. Yeah, it was fun. So how much of the? You must have a bunch of other original recipes, or is that just one of a few?
Speaker 2:I mean, yeah, I have a lot.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, none that I mean, even though I everybody, all the bartenders at the library create cocktail, new cocktails, on a daily basis.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay.
Speaker 2:On a daily basis because of the take a gamble option. Oh, funny it forces us to be creative.
Speaker 1:That gamble cocktail, that's fun.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it is. It is how many times a?
Speaker 1:night. Is somebody ordering?
Speaker 2:that. So hold on, we can do this right now. Okay, let's go, I'm your bartender, you're the guest. Oh, so you wanna take a gamble today?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm looking at this list and I've never seen a gamble cocktail. What does that mean? Oh, take a gamble.
Speaker 2:I like that. Okay, good choice.
Speaker 1:I'm an adventurous kind of guy, I'll take a gamble.
Speaker 2:So are you allergic to anything? No, not allergic, okay.
Speaker 1:No, no, no allergies.
Speaker 2:No, no, no, okay, all right. Do you want this cocktail to be sweet?
Speaker 1:floral Dry earthy, with a little bit of smoke.
Speaker 2:Ooh earthy and smoke awesome. So is there any type of spirit that you do not like? For me, it's Southern comfort, because I had this horrible experience in high school in Daytona, probably on spring break, probably anything sweet Anything.
Speaker 1:Sweet yeah. So maybe a rum, but a light rum, not like a real heavy dark rum.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Most any tequilas, gins, vodkas, whiskies is great.
Speaker 2:Okay, so you brought up rum first, so I'm thinking we're gonna stick with rum Rum is great. Okay, rum's good. Okay, now just tell me a little bit about yourself, or actually, what's the first? When I say this word? Tell me the first thing that comes your mind Gotcha Podcast, Studio Bet. And that's how it's done. And then I just get back behind the bar, I look at all my ingredients and I think to myself studio, studio.
Speaker 2:And then when I think studio, I think green screen. So now I need to find ingredients that will make this liquid green. And then you said not sweet. So I know that I'm not picking sweet ingredients as well. So right off top of my head, I'm thinking Midori melon, the liqueur, I'm thinking a light rum, and then I'm gonna go with maybe a splash of green chartreuse in there, because I like you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's hard to find. That's hard to find ingredients.
Speaker 2:I'll pull it out the cellar.
Speaker 1:Make a little absinthe even.
Speaker 2:Ooh, I'm gonna spray the glass with absinthe.
Speaker 1:Oh, there you go. Oh, yeah, there you go.
Speaker 2:And then after that I'm gonna stir the drink and then I'm gonna put it in a nice fancy glass no ice, and then voila.
Speaker 1:I like it like an up glass. Almost can be like a microphone. Oh Psh.
Speaker 2:You got it.
Speaker 1:See you're a natural? Yeah right, I'm a natural drinker or no, but that's a fun Not anymore. That is a fun concept.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's awesome. That is a fun concept.
Speaker 1:And again pushing boundaries, getting out of the comfort zones, because I know I was there especially like working at, like the high volume bars, Like I worked at a Joe's Crab Shack behind a bar. It's okay until it's like a Monday night and it's like two for one margaritas.
Speaker 2:And so you're making double everything. That's how I feel about espresso martinis.
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh, again, how original.
Speaker 2:But espresso martinis are fantastic.
Speaker 1:They're fantastic, I mean, but I was making them, I feel like 20 years ago they were trendy, but I think because of they're always gonna be trendy. I think because I see them on Bravo every season.
Speaker 2:Now they're grading fresh Parmesan on top of espresso martinis. I don't know if you've heard of that one.
Speaker 1:Maybe blue cheese, but a Parmesan.
Speaker 2:They're doing Parmesan on top of espresso. That's a little too sharp for my coffee. I haven't tried one yet. But see, blue cheese is smoky, so that goes already to my palate, blue cheese is more of a martini thing.
Speaker 1:No, trust me when somebody asked for a black and blue martini it was a dirty black olive stuffed blue cheese.
Speaker 2:I've never heard of a black and blue martini.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's a dirty one, but instead of the Spanish olive, it's a blue cheese stuffed black olive.
Speaker 2:Did you guys hand stuff them?
Speaker 1:We did. We had many Wow. Our goudos to you.
Speaker 2:Our Garnes station was massive.
Speaker 1:No, it was almond stuffed Spanish, garlic stuffed Spanish, regular Spanish blue cheese stuff.
Speaker 2:You're making me look bad.
Speaker 1:right now, we all have our place of work and everybody has their signature, whether it's your Garnes heavy or if you're a feature heavy with unique mixers and appertiefs, then certainly that's going to set your brand apart, especially being like nobody. I mean, if somebody asked me like well, what do you recommend? I'd pour them out a beer. I don't have time to think for you but if you don't know what you? Want. I mean I've got a great list. I could make just about anything under the sun.
Speaker 2:But if yeah, so anytime a customer doesn't know what they want, we always take a gamble with them. I like that Always.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I would just hand them some, just like out of fun, just hand them some ice, or like pull out a card deck, like pick a number so that's how many ice cubes you get.
Speaker 2:I actually thought about that. That's an idea that I've been kind of toying around with. I don't know.
Speaker 1:Well, you don't want to be full. You're not really a casino bar. That'd be fun like a casino bar in Vegas.
Speaker 2:It's not, but you know, like if but it'd be funny to get in. Let's say, you have some dice, you roll the dice and the number you roll is the cocktail that you get. Right Like that's a cool concept as well, but I don't want to give too much away.
Speaker 1:No, no, but that could be a fun concept, so I can't believe we're already getting into the last part of the hour. Man, time flies when you're having fun it does yeah, yeah. So uh, we're, we're, yes, exactly.
Speaker 1:When you have an awesome bartender fixing you a delicious mocktail and other cocktails. No, it's, it's, it's quite nice, it's, it's nice surprise, and I think we're going to get out, get out of here this episode with just some final words for 23. And I really want to to you know, for the audience. We did to let the audience know if there's any kind of trends that you see happening. What you may bring to your craft in 24, or anything else people may want to look look out for, as far as you know, is it. Is it infused liquors? Is it more types of simple syrups or bitters being infused? Like, where do you, where do you see the, the challenge? Or opportunities.
Speaker 2:So um for for the new year coming up, yeah, I really want to focus on fresh local ingredients.
Speaker 1:Okay, I want to.
Speaker 2:I want to reach out to local chefs. I want to talk to them. I want to pick their brains to see what they're doing in the kitchen, so that I can bring that knowledge to my kitchen.
Speaker 1:Do you you think there's any opportunity for, like, improving the garnishes?
Speaker 2:Um, yeah, garnishes can always be improved. And that's another local fresh ingredient option as well. You know cause, if you're infusing something into a spirit or a syrup, whatever you're infusing, you would want to garnish the drink with what you're infusing as well.
Speaker 1:Right, I mean I think a missed opportunity would be to use a California orange in an old fashioned in Florida.
Speaker 2:you know, use the local citrus for your, you know your drinks, you know I mean uh, but yeah, I mean little things like that I think could, could be fun.
Speaker 1:Um, I like to see you know. I think one of the funner trends as well is like the, the, the grilled pineapple garnish or you know things like that.
Speaker 2:We've done that, yeah, we've done that before I, you know, I want to get the torch out. I want to smoke more. Yeah, yeah, more torches, more, more fire, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, more fire. I could see that becoming a little more trendy. What about, um, anything like gimmicky, like, are the vessels going to change? Are we going to go from a Collins to a rocks glass, to a up glass, to maybe something different?
Speaker 2:No, so um we? We like to stick with the tradition you know, in the classics.
Speaker 2:So, like, glassware is always going to be a constant in what we do, but what's going into the glassware is what's going to constantly be changed. You know what I mean. So for me, I need to to dive back into the books. You know I need to find that lost recipe that somebody in New Orleans created in 1895. Right, that's the cocktail I'm looking for. You know, I'm looking for the book that's in your great, great great grandfather's basement, that has dust on it.
Speaker 1:That could be a fun call to action.
Speaker 2:Calling all grandkids.
Speaker 1:We need you to crawl up in that attic.
Speaker 2:Don't be scared.
Speaker 1:Lift that old shaggy carpet, see what's on that floorboard. You may find some treasure down there, the long lost cocktail, you know, and it could be because of a supply chain thing, maybe you know. Maybe it was when moonshine got outlawed or something, and, and you know, the all these cool moonshine recipes got lost in. True, I mean you know, but I know moonshine has made a little bit of resurgence. It's not the same taboo thing that you know you made in bathtubs and radiators and you know I want the bathtub stuff, the bathtub gin.
Speaker 2:That's what I want.
Speaker 1:And from the, from the, from the prohibition area. Tastes like soap, yeah, or the, but yeah, that white light Radiator distilled moonshine yeah, there's a lot of gosh. I mean, you know, cocktails and and spirits in general have had quite the history.
Speaker 2:Oh, there's been so much turnaround, and it's really true when you think you create something new, it's already been made. Probably, but the thing is, it's already been made and it's already been documented also. Right Published, correct it's just about who can find it.
Speaker 1:Who can find it and who can make it and improve it. And sometimes you know it may be taking an obsolete ingredient and sourcing it again and creating that infused simple serve with it or whatever it may have you and incorporating it back into you know some, some modern recipes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, and like childhood memories. That's another thing I want to dive into is like stuff from our from when I was a kid.
Speaker 1:You were drinking when you were no, no.
Speaker 2:Not that, but like so.
Speaker 1:Like, for example, what um, like some high C juice boxes or something like, no, like, um.
Speaker 2:So what's a like? A snack when you're a kid, or even a dessert when you're a kid, that you remember.
Speaker 1:Well, when we went out for a rest to the restaurant, it was always like the moose, like the chocolate moose was always kind of like nice and rich and creamy. Um, and then, of course, growing up in South Florida was a lot of flawn, you know okay some nice custard. Yeah, custard for sure.
Speaker 2:So it's like taking those ideas and turning them into cocktails. Then you really dive into the to somebody's desire. Yeah. You know, then, as soon as cause, like I created a cocktail called the um, the s'mores old fashioned, oh, yeah, yeah. So this one, this cocktail, I, when I was creating it, I used to love sitting next to a campire in Indiana in the wintertime eating a s'mores.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean. So I wanted to bring that childhood memory into a cocktail form and I did, you know then. And then whoever drinks it, you know you, you think about sitting next to a fire eating s'mores you know, so you just get attached to that Right. And then next thing you know you're dreaming about it.
Speaker 1:Ethan shaking it. Shaking baby, I, I like it.
Speaker 2:You were taking a wrong turn. I like it. I like it.
Speaker 1:No, but, uh, no that. But I think, being being adventurous, allowing yourself to challenge, you know, even like the, the most like, maybe unsung of memories, like you know again you know going back to childhood, you know, going back to just a simple campfire.
Speaker 1:Um, I think there is some. I think there's a. You know it's not too much of a novelty for people to be like you know what I'm, I'm, I'm going to try that. I want, you know, I want more of this. You know I would, I would like, uh, you know to, to maybe see like a summer vacation menu. You know, something that that tastes like this a sea breeze and, and you know, crunches like sand.
Speaker 2:You know, or something, some, some new menus we are going to be bringing out in the night in the new year.
Speaker 1:So right now.
Speaker 2:Right now we have a Tiki Tuesday menu. We have an old fashioned Wednesday menu. In the new year we're going to have a martini menu, okay, and we're going to be doing a classy brunch menu on Sundays. I like it so super excited for those. Make sure you guys come check us out in the new year yes, which is going to be awesome. And then, for those people who are looking for something to do on New Year's Eve, come check out the Salty Fox, because we are going to be having a back to the 90s party.
Speaker 1:Really. Yeah, that's going to be special so break out all your clothes, all your tires, encouraged.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, like your jumpsuits, the, the funky glasses. You know the uh.
Speaker 1:Crunchies, oh the scrunchies. Yeah, fanny packs.
Speaker 2:Oh, fanny packs, for sure, yeah, you neon.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I got. I got some swatch watches from back in the day, yeah.
Speaker 2:Bring out your uh old, uh Shaquille O'Neal Orlando Magic jerseys. There you go. That was my thing in the 90s. I used to rock, rock the Shaquille.
Speaker 1:Well, you had to.
Speaker 2:He was my favorite.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, I mean, you know, listen, we all had those. Uh, you know bird, I remember Barkley. Yeah, yeah, I remember all those. You know popular jerseys.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean. So that sounds like a lot of fun. 90s New Year's Eve, salty Fox boards still doing first come, first serve service with, um, their brand of cocktails, correct, and uh, in a complimentary toast at midnight. Yep, okay, probably both locations.
Speaker 2:Both locations Sure, sure yeah.
Speaker 1:And um, of course, you know exciting things. Coming to EGAD, you got a big old venue popping up across the street.
Speaker 2:I know I'm excited.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so, um, so, a lot of fun in EGAD, a lot of the cool things happening, Um, and I just uh, I'm excited for everything that happened in there. There's a new space on Highland, uh coming to Balder's, another space, uh adjacent to the traditionals getting uh talked about. There's a couple of different things happening. So, um, check out, Ethan, go say hello to my boy.
Speaker 2:And then uh, before I forget, I would like to shout out Sam and Veronica.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:The owners of um, the Loris library and salty Fox. I appreciate them because they they? Um took a gamble on me, you know, and that's rare in this, in this world, to find somebody who's willing to do that for an individual.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, you're not kidding. And especially from a football background.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know how'd you get behind the bar. I worked security.
Speaker 1:And I think there's a little truth in there right, yeah, you start as a bouncer yeah, yeah, that's crazy Well.
Speaker 2:I love saying you know, make the gains in a career that you probably didn't train or get you know qualified or not, I mean, the only experience I had, right, was my grandfather making his own wine. Oh, I know so that's pretty cool so maybe that some of that probably like soaked into me a little bit.
Speaker 1:A little bit of influence. Yeah, you know, I would say yeah, and then my dad cooking chitlins.
Speaker 2:If anybody cooks chitlins, I'll take a bowl. Oh really, yes.
Speaker 1:Well, Ethan, this was a pleasure.
Speaker 2:Thank you for the drinks.
Speaker 1:This has been marvelous. We really hope you guys enjoyed this episode, and where could they find you? On the social media or anywhere else?
Speaker 2:How could they follow you? Oh, you can follow me on Instagram. My handle is ETIME E T Y M E E. I like it. Yeah, show you what time it is.
Speaker 1:That's right. Moon tag Moon tag Moon. Until next time. This is Jesse with Space Goose Eats, and this has been a delicious podcast. Yeah, love.
