We’re in the midst of a rum revival in the U.S., and one of the movement’s leaders is undoubtedly Martin Cate, who opened Alameda’s Forbidden Island in 2006 and recently stepped his game up at Smuggler’s Cove in San Francisco. He discussed his background, approach and why rum has gone from supporting player to a lead role.
Josh Lurie: Do you consider yourself a bartender or mixologist?
Martin Cate: Primarily a bartender, because I think the word implies service first, and I hold service in higher regard than mixology. I think it was Jim Meehan who said, “Mixologists serve drinks, bartenders serve people”.
JL: How did you become so interested in cocktails?
MC: I started off over a decade ago digging into exotic cocktail history after having a little tiki party at my house. I bought some old cocktail guides and set about sourcing loads of esoteric ingredients. Jeff Berry’s books were a real guiding light and helped “translate” a lot of what I’d found, and at the same time gave the drinks context.
JL: What’s your first cocktail memory?
MC: My first cocktail memory is being 21 and working with DC. I was an intern at an embassy, and a coworker said, “Have you ever been to a Trader Vic’s?” I said no, and he said, “Well there’s one in DC, we should go- they have drinks as big as your head!” So we went, the Rum Keg was indeed as big as my head, and I fell in love.
JL: Do you have any cocktail mentors? If so, who are they?
MC: Historically, Don & Vic of course. When I first started bartending at Trader Vic’s in San Francisco, the assistant bar manager Lars was a tough taskmaster, but I really appreciated the way that he took the job very seriously and was totally committed to maintaining the traditions of Trader Vic’s. The Vic’s shake, jigger technique, and much more- he really believed that the traditions of the company were what made it special. He inspired me to set high standards at Smuggler’s Cove.
JL: What differentiates Smuggler’s Cove from Forbidden Island?
MC: Forbidden Island was my way of saying “look, lots of people are opening tiki bars again these days, but no one is caring about the drinks. Let’s decorate it right AND do exotic cocktails right.” Smuggler’s Cove represents my goal of moving beyond the great drinks of the tiki bar era, but also looking at the entire 350 year history of rum and celebrating the incredible diversity of the spirit. I also wanted to invest in a larger range of spirits and a deeper and more involved rum education program. Of course, we still feature a huge selection of exotic cocktails, because they’re amazing pieces of work.
JL: What is it about rum that inspires you?
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