Ericka Duffy

Type

Bartenders

WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

Canada

WHERE DO YOU/HAVE YOU WORKED?

Currently, I work on projects with Mike Aikman and Jason Scott, with their events company Mothership, their bars Bramble, The Last Word, and Lucky Liquor Company and on their upcoming distillery/brewery venture. I am also working with tea-guru Kasim Ali on cocktail and tea events at Waterloo Tea. I have worked as a barista at Wellington, Kilimanjaro and Project cafes. I have worked in perfume with LUSH. I worked as the “Dreamer” at Lounge Bohemia for a couple of years, which was as a creative consultant.

FAVORITE BARS?

My favourite bars are the ones I’ve had the most memorable experiences in: Edinburgh: The Bowery Bar (RIP), Lucky Liquor (as a customer and as a bartender), Bramble (I started going to Bramble when I was a barista at Wellington which is just a hop-skip-and-a-jump away. Little did I know I’d be working with them, years later). My first cocktail experiences were at a Toronto drinking institution called Souz Dal in 1998 and I love that bar (& my cousin Lauren bartends there now). Also in Toronto: Sneaky Dees, The Henhouse (run by my pal Bobby Valen), 1602 Dundas Street (for whisky). In London, I love the American Bar at the Savoy & The Artesian at the Langham for living up to my dreams of what cocktail bars should be. And White Lyan for pushing the boundaries.

FAVOURITE DRINK?

Lagavullin. Neat.

Bad ass barman/rock n roll moment?

I’m not very “bad ass” or “rock and roll”. I’m more of a geek, I think. I once dreamt about putting cocktails in bathtubs & I got to do that last year in Amsterdam. That was a good moment.

Ever done it on a bar?

Yes.

What's next for you?

Working on some sensory events for the Edinburgh Science Festival with Charles Spence and Ben Reade. Working on some secret food projects in Cardiff with Street Food Cardiff. Working on product lines for Lucky Liquor Company (exciting!).

Best/worst chat up lines you've heard at a bar?

I’m hearing impaired (I wore hearing aids as a child) so I typically hear nothing. Or I feign to, if it’s dismal. Just to make it more awkward.

If you were to make a barchick cocktail, what would you put in it?

I would make Josephine’s Bathwater which I made for Rebecca Asseline for Courvoisier. Basically the story goes that Napoleon wrote a note to Josephine that said “coming home in 3 days/don’t wash” so I was inspired by her bath, post. It’s cocoa butter washed Exclusif, lactic acid, and VSOP infused with neroli and rose tea, served alongside rose infused bubbles, a rose petal & cocoa butter garnish, and a cognac infused candle burning alongside.

How do you like your Martini?

Filthy.

What did you want to be as a kid?

Happy. That's all.