Where are you from?
Manchester originally but I call Leeds home.
Where do you/have you worked?
Verve, Leeds
Favorite Bars?
Mostly places I’ve been to when on holiday or working abroad, as professionals we should all know that a great drink is only about a fifth of importance in a great bar. Equally important is service, decor, lighting, music choice and volume and of course
who you are with. Shankey’s boatyard, Barbados sticks out in my head as one of my favourite times relaxing in a bar. It’s on the beach so there are women in bikinis, hot sun, cold beer and chilled music, with a friendly relaxed service and reasonable prices, what more could I want? In Leeds I like Call Lane Social’s bar, It’s got the only Tiki bar in Leeds upstairs and it’s done really well. The Reform next door to us is a great bar to party in. Mojos on the other side of us is always good, Wax bar just opened up on new briggate and I love the ghetto blasters they use for shelving.
How do you like your Martini?
I like a Gibson with Beefeater gin 10:1 ratio. There is nothing in this world like a gin soaked pickled onion (or a gin soaked bartender for that matter!)
Favourite Drink?
I couldn’t say, It’d be like picking a favourite child, simply not fair on the others.
Bad ass barman/Rock n Roll moment?
Every time someone goes out of their way to say thank you for a great night, this is why I am a bartender.
Ever done it on a bar?
A gentleman never tells…
I’m no gent though so yes: on, behind and over.
What's next for you?
I want to open my own bar, I reckon I only need about £50k to do what I want… so if everyone would like to start tipping for good service please?
Best/worst chat up lines you've heard at a bar?
Worst :
Customer: Hi, what’s cheap?
Me: Obviously you are, but that’s alright it’s the end of the month and I’m
broke, give me your phone number. (I can’t believe that actually worked)
Best :
I don’t know, Are there any good chat up lines? OK, not a chat up line, but it
did work: Girl at the bar chatting with some dude I have ascertained is not her
boyfriend. I have to go do some office work, so I’m shouting my bartender a
list of jobs to complete whilst I’m away, making sure the girl can hear me. The
last on the list? Get this girls phone number for me. She left her phone number;
I have a date on Thursday so it couldn’t have been that bad??? Or maybe she was
just drunk.
What did you want to be as a kid?
A policeman I think.
Tell us a secret or something we don't know?
Being my mate or having a nice rack will NOT get you served any quicker in my bar, so don’t get stroppy because you actually had to wait your turn for once.
If you were to make a barchick cocktail, what would you put in it?
Recently I’ve been working with the bartender’s most hated spirit: Vodka.
Finlandia grapefruit, Luxardo maraschino, sweet vermouth, freshly squeezed
grapefruit juice, lemon juice, simple syrup. It was inspired by the Hemingway
daiquiri so I called it the Hemingway Finnish because I like to think I’m
funny.
