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What would you want people to know you for as a bartender?

That’s an interesting question. I would like them to think of me as someone who really respects the craft, respects his potential and respects the fact that just like any craft, there are those that are authentic about it and those that are just exploiting it. I would like to think that when people know I’m behind a bar, or my name is on a cocktail list, that there’s going to be some authenticity. I’m not interested in just slinging drinks. Sometimes it’s cool to sling drinks. You just want to check out and have fun behind the bar, but I think I’ve had the great opportunity to work with and learn from people who take this very seriously and respect every single bottle that they’re using, know what that brand is, why they’re using it, and combined with that skill, know that people that are sitting at the bar enjoying themselves. I would like people to think of that when they come to my bar.

What does a cocktail have to be to go on one of your menus?

For these two restaurants I work for, they tend to have some sort of Latin influence. We work a lot with tequila, a lot with mezcal and rums and sherrys. To make the menu, they just have to be good. They have to be multi-layered. They have to be interesting, but we try to stay away from super esoteric ingredients and combinations. Sometimes we do for the fun of it. Sometimes on these menus that Julian, I and Josh put together, we just put a bartender cocktail and kind of understand most people won’t really get it or it won’t suit the normal palate, but we’ll put it on there because we like to reach out and branch out sometimes.

For instance, this one cocktail I put on this last menu, it’s called Losin’ It. It’s a combination of añejo tequila and bourbon and a really nice French crème de cacao, Tempest Fugit. It has lemon and honey in it. What makes it interesting is that I use a cocoa and sea salt rim and then I use dry ice to flash freeze and crystallize mint. I pulverize it into dust, so when you drink the drink by itself, it’s kind of sweet and salty. To balance it out and add acid to the cocktail, we actually make a house escabeche, pickles radishes and carrots and peppers, so you eat that while you drink and it altogether marries into a balanced cocktail. We’ll do fun things like that, but not always. Sometimes we’ll just do a nice sour and sweetener and spirit together, because it tastes good.

What’s the collaboration like with Julian at this point?

We call it a “drink tank.” We get together and over a series of three or four days, we’ll just bring all our ideas to the table. Thanks to Bill Chait, we’re provided a pretty awesome opportunity to have any brand or anything that we want. That gives us a huge advantage, as far as being able to put interesting flavor combinations together. We’ll do that, we’ll come in with ideas and have access to any kind of spirit and any kind of brand that we want, play around with it until it works.

What’s the biggest challenge about being a bartender?

Keeping up with the trends. Specifically L.A.’s attitude toward the food boom. Everyone’s interested in the new restaurant, new bar, new drinks, new atmosphere. It’s kind of that attitude we’ve had with clubs, “What club’s opening on the Sunset Strip, and how long will it last?” That’s almost transferred over into restaurants, which is good because it provides an opportunity to be fresh and be cutting-edge, but it’s bad because you may have an excellent concept and an excellent thing going, and this attitude of wanting the next best thing and the next new thing, you kind of get left in the dust pretty quickly, even if you’ve put together a really nice combination of menu and atmosphere. So keeping up with that and people constantly asking, “When’s the next menu coming out?” “Well, we just released this menu two days ago. Why don’t you try to understand the menu?” I guess that’s probably most challenging.

What’s your approach when naming cocktails?

Julian’s through-line on all his cocktail lists tends to be of the kitschy, cheeky names. A lot of times we’ll just do a play on words. A lot of times I’ll have band references. I kind of like the fact that there aren’t any rules, especially when we do Test Kitchen, that’s when I know we can do names that wouldn’t normally get approval.

A little more risqué?

Yeah, a little more risqué.

What do you look for when you’re hiring a bartender?

I look for someone who’s just willing to work hard, isn’t going to be satisfied with letting everyone do everything for them, someone who’s constantly aware of what’s around them, and is constantly open to learn, has an open mind and is enthusiastic about it. That happens but they’re very few and far between.

Do you have any favorite type of music behind the bar?

I tend to like and have it be rock and rock. That’s what I like a lot. We don’t really do that so much here, very often, but I know when I worked for a short stint at Sotto and Test Kitchen, they were pretty good about playing some heavier rock music, just fun.

If you could pull a guest shift at any other bar, what would it be and how come?

That’s a good question. I might want to guest bartend in L.A. at some place like The Varnish, something that has a legendary name about it. I can work with some really big people and learn their style. But I also kind of want to work behind a club bar. I definitely wouldn’t want to work there for good, but maybe one night in a high-volume, madness club bar, and then make $800 at the end of the night.

That part wouldn’t be painful. Where and what do you like to drink when you’re not working?

My palate is constantly changing. If you asked me that in one month, I’d probably tell you something else, but right now, I’m into tequila and bourbon. So I’ll sip a lot of those, just neat, on the rocks. My go-to answer for this, all the time, if I’m just going to have one cocktail, it’s either going to be a Negroni or a Daiquiri. I just think both of those cocktails are as close to perfect as you can possibly get.

Who would you let make it for you?

One of the two Julians. Julian Wayser or Julian Cox. I think those guys can always execute a perfect cocktail.

Negroni and Daiquiri? What’s the key to great versions of those?

Daiquiri, you’ve got to use fresh juice and you’ve got to have a nice rum. Which rum? I don’t know. I guess a Haitian or some sort of agricole. I like that kind of extra funk those rums bring to that drink, but if you gave me Flor de Caña, a dry white, I’d be happy with those.

For a Negroni, the recipe I like making for myself right now, we’ll use Beefeater 24, I like how that adds those extra citrus notes. For the vermouth, I like to use a Spanish vermouth called Perucchi. And then I’ll use Campari.

Is it a Negroni without Campari?

Yeah, right. It is not.