Tony Abou-Ganim and Dale DeGroff Return To The Roots of Mixology 
In the last few years, as cocktail creation has become more of an art form, the level of education and dedication behind the bar has led to the advent of “mixologists,” whose craft and competence are pushing success in this industry to new heights.
    As two of the most recognizable names in the industry, Master Mixologists Dale DeGroff and Tony Abou-Ganim have helped cultivate the art of mixology and its role as the life force behind every great cocktail list. The pair will deliver a joint keynote address at “The Show” in Las Vegas in March, sharing their vision.
    Dale DeGroff began his career decades ago, spanning famous employment at New York’s Rainbow Room to earning the appellation “King of Cocktails,” through award-winning menu creation, education and publication of books such as “The Craft of the Cocktail.” Today, one of the world’s leading authorities on life behind the bar, DeGroff provides beverage consulting and bar training seminars to renowned establishments when he is not working on his latest venture as the president and founder of The Museum of the American Cocktail, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing education in mixology and history of the American cocktail.
    Tony Abou-Ganim, nicknamed the Modern Mixologist, today can be found on the Fine Living Network program “Raising the Bar: America’s Best Bar Chefs.” From his days at Jack Slick’s Balboa Café in San Francisco to assisting in the opening of Harry Denton’s Starlight Room to working with Steve Wynn to create one of the country’s most lavish drink programs at the Bellagio Las Vegas Resort and Casino, Abou-Ganim has inspired the masses of the industry and wowed thousands of patrons with his innovations in taste.
    Between the two, this world has come to savor more than 500 cocktail recipes, gleaning enlightenment on all-things cocktail in the pages of Vanity Fair, Wine Enthusiast, Fortune, Wine Spectator and Playboy. It is now Nightclub & Bar’s exclusive turn to sit down and talk shop.

NCB: Both of you travel and educate bartenders in training sessions hosted by spirits companies. What aspects of cocktail creation do you find bartenders are most uneducated about, and what are the biggest mixology considerations they should be learning?
Tony Abou-Ganim: Product knowledge. I am always amazed at how much there is to know and depending on how committed you are to the craft generally defines how far you’ve taken your product knowledge. I, for one, am fascinated by our profession and never stop learning. This being said, I am constantly reminded of how little we actually do know about the spirits we pour and the drinks and histories of those drinks prepared from them. I often ask bartenders I train, “Do you ever ask yourself who mixed the first Margarita or Bloody Mary?” Or perhaps, “What is Sour Mash anyway?”
Dale DeGroff: Schooling for bartenders has for years been limited to classes on technique and courses like TIPS for responsible beverage service. Many of the bar schools widely available are not able to offer instruction in recipe preparation, because they lack a liquor license. The biggest challenge facing the industry is getting back to the culinary side of the profession and teaching ingredients and recipes.

NCB: Both of you have created cocktail programs for restaurants and bars. Tony, when you first take on such a project, what are you first considerations, and what is the process of developing the drinks and the program?
TA: There is probably more to it than I can lay out for you here, but the first thing I ask a potential client is “Do you have a hero to champion your program?” If they don’t have that one person in place that will take ownership, oversee and nurture the program, then they might as well save their money. (The key considerations are to) define their program/concept, develop the program, implement the program and the overall beverage philosophy and evaluate the program.

NCB: Which spirit companies do you feel have really turned heads in 2006 and why?
TA: It seems like almost every spirit company, distributor and individual brand are realizing the need and benefits to product knowledge and training and implementing some type of programs. I feel Southern Wine & Spirits is continuing to lead the way with their contributions to training and education. I would give a nod to the folks at Plymouth Gin for really resurrecting their brand in the United States, especially among the professional bartending community. I can also personally speak to the contributions that Finlandia vodka is making to training bartenders around the country with their Finnishing School programs. Also Moët Hennessy USA’s continued support of and belief in training and supporting the bartending profession.
DD: Diageo and Brown Forman have mounted aggressive programs to educate bartenders in this country and around the world. Pernod Ricard is also mounting serious educational programs for bar and waitstaffs in wines and spirits.

NCB: The consumer today really looks for intriguing flavors. Dale, what flavor trends do you think are the most important right now, and what do you see on the horizon?
DD: Flavors from the East like ginger and lychee are hot because Pan-Pacific cuisine is hot. Likewise the flavors and ingredients from Mexico and South America are popular –– cachaça, Pisco, premium tequilas. Berries are showing up in all the flavored spirits, and fresh berries at the bar are sure to figure more and more in drinks over the next couple years … (I also am seeing) roasted tropical and other fruits like pineapple and apple included in cocktail recipes.

NCB: Obviously, mixologists believe in the fact that better, fresh ingredients are crucial, and today’s consumers more than ever respond to that. Many are willing to pay more for these drinks –– at least among certain demographics and in certain types of bar concepts. Do you think that more venues will develop staff mixologists? Or do you think the trend toward quality is isolated in a certain demographic?
TA: I really hate to refer to the use of better, fresh ingredients as a “trend,” although I guess you can say it is. I would rather refer to it as returning to the roots of mixology. I truly believe as our guests continue to be exposed to proper, well-crafted cocktails, they will no longer settle for artificial, imitation spirits, juices and mixes. As guests become more demanding about the tipples they choose to consume, they also will become more demanding about where they choose to consume them.
DD: The future is in fresh ingredients, and a culinary approach to cocktail and the operations that don’t move in that direction in some way will eventually suffer loss of business and will not survive.

NCB: Where do you see yourselves in the next five years?
TA: Good Lord willing I will be back behind the stick, maybe my own joint, with a cocktail shaker in my hand doing what I love to do more than anything –– serving you a great experience in that triangular shaped glass!
DD: Expanding Beverage Alcohol Resource, the BarReady program I am building with four partners — Doug Frost, Paul Pacault, David Wondrich and Steve Olsen — to bring fine bar skills to the whole country and beyond. And, when not involved in the lofty pursuit at the track in Belmont, Churchill Downs or some other sunny clime –– God willing –– with a Martini in hand, if the liver holds out.                                   NCB