Q. Adam, you made the move across the Irish Sea. Tell us about your new role with All Bar None...
A. Well, there‘s lots of different aspects of my job to be honest which is one of the best things about it. Our main thing at All Bar None would be the event side of things. These would mainly be events from all of the major drinks companies. We have a number of portable bars which we install to venues, and our main focus would be cocktails. As it’s summer time, festivals is what we're mainly busy with at the moment - just had our 1969 converted airstream at Taste of Dublin the other week, and then Body and Soul, a small festival, this past weekend and Sea Sessions coming up this weekend.
But as I said there are other aspects to my job which include cocktail training (again it’s mainly the major drinks companies who get us to do this), most recently Pernod-Ricard (Ireland), with a focus on Havana Club rum. Of course, other parts of the job are events like private parties and the like..
Q. Do you miss the daily grind of being behind the stick or have you found your niche in events?
A. Absolutely! There are a few things I miss. The thing I really miss is the rapport with customers and building up a relationship with people in the bar through different drinks and chat and being able to make drinks for people that they really enjoy and make them happy. Or being able to try out new drinks and play around with stuff - because you have all of the equipment at your disposal and the people to try it. When you make 1500 whiskey sours in two hours, like we did at a Jameson event recently, you can't really get that sort of rapport with customers or be able try things out!
Q. Bartending has grown in recent years as a viable vocation, especially with the growth of roles such as beverage consultants and brand ambassadors. 5 years ago, did you think you would be following a career in this industry today? Where do you reckon your lucky charm will take you in the next 5 years?
A. Em, I don’t know. Probably not to be honest. Working in bars and bartending is something I've always enjoyed and always done. I was working in a bar from the age of 15 then behind a bar and pulling pints when I was 16. But I don’t think I really saw it as a career until recently - although I had thought about it quite a lot while I was at Uni. It was at Uni when working as bartender became a real passion and interest for me. I probably spent more bartending and learning about that than I did actual studying! It’s really great that the industry has become a more respected and viable career option for people nowadays. 5 years from now? God knows. But if my lucky charm could get me anything, I would like it to get me my own bar, like most bartenders want. I would say that would be the end goal. So I think that possibly could happen in 5 years. I would also love to start something, perhaps a brand maybe. Have a few ideas, so we'll see what happens.
Q. So, you have the honours of being the first international guest bartender at The Corpse & Cocktail. What can we expect on your list?
A. Yeah, gotta say I'm pretty happy about that and really looking forward to it. Well I haven’t had too much time to think about it, but since I'm coming over from Ireland, and we are Celtic cousins, I might do a Celtic Connections cocktail list! All of the main spirits being Irish or Scottish, or maybe just a loose connection. We'll see how the list comes together!
Q. Trend and ingredient-wise, what are you digging these days?
A. Trend-wise, I think maybe the return to an old-school style of bartending and recapturing of all the classics which has been going on for a while now. Stuff like David Woodrich’s book ‘Punch’, could really push it back onto the cocktail agenda after being forgotten for so long, and this can only be a good thing, as it is such an under-used area. Ingredient-wise, maybe the return of decent and more readily available Vermouths - the likes of Fernet Branca, Punt e Mes and Antica Formula for example - is great for bartenders to be able to play about with.
Q. Final words. Favourite all-time cocktail and why?
A. Jesus, emm. I get asked this a lot by people when they find out what I do and generally struggle to answer. It depends what mood I'm in or where and when it is! But if I had to pick it would be an Old Fashioned. I generally like simple classic drinks with strong flavours - Collins, Manhattans, Daiquiris, Sazeracs...you get the idea! And if you have a really good Bourbon or Rum and make an old fashioned with it, I find that very hard to beat. So my favourite cocktail would be:
Rum Old-Fashioned
60ml Pyrat XO Rum
10ml Sugar Syrup
Dash Gary Regan Orange Bitters #6
Dash Angostura Aromatic Bitters
And of course the (all important) ice!
10ml Sugar Syrup
Dash Gary Regan Orange Bitters #6
Dash Angostura Aromatic Bitters
And of course the (all important) ice!
The Corpse & Cocktail welcomes All Bar None's Adam Murphy on Sunday 3rd July. Doors from 8pm.
