Interview: bartender Brad Bolt (Bar DeVille)

Bartender Chicago

Photo courtesy of Siobhan Cullen

INTERVIEW CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Who are some other bartenders that you really admire, and how come?

I admire our entire staff at Bar DeVille first and foremost. Their hard work and dedication to our success is more than I could ever ask for. The list of bartenders I admire could actually be turned into a book. There is usually one thing I can find in any bartender that I will apply to my approach behind the bar. It’s not always a cocktail bartender either. I may just oversee a bartender at a dive bar handle an unruly guest in such a polite manner that I learn from that. Everyone has something to offer and I do my best to find that something.

What was the last cocktail you developed, and what was your approach?

The last cocktail I developed was a Daiquiri variation. I took a blend of two rums, lime, and demerara syrup as the base and simply added Angostura bitters and garnished it with Green Chartreuse blue blazer.

What’s a great simple cocktail for people to make at home, and what’s the recipe?

If you’re solo or with just a couple and at home, the Old Fashioned is great. I’d just go with 2 oz of Rye (or Bourbon), a few goodly dashes of Angostura, a quarter ounce of simple syrup (I use demerara, but simple is, well, simple for anyone), and garnish with an orange peel.

For a party, I would go with the Champagne Cocktail. Douse a sugar cube with Angostura, drop it in a flute, fill with bubbly and throw in a lemon peel. It’s really easy to make and prep time is so quick you still get to mingle.

Where do you like to drink and what do you like to drink when you’re not at work?

I do my best to stop by bars my friends work at which tend to be restaurants with a cocktail program, cocktail bars, and neighborhood joints. I’ll usually only have one cocktail and then switch to a beer to sip on.

If you could only fill your glass with one more cocktail, what would be in the glass and why?

I’d have a Boilermaker. Miller High Life. Van Winkle 13 Year Old Family Reserve Rye.

Who would make it?

Jason Turley would open the beer because I like the way he opens bottles of beer. Matty Eggleston would pour the whiskey. And Eric Hay would serve them to me because he is the nicest of the three! Just kidding. I would just want them to all be there and drinking with me.

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Joshua Lurie

Joshua Lurie founded FoodGPS in 2005. Read about him here.

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