MSA Pure Spirits 2017 Q4 - 31

BARTENDERS
It's a great way to focus on customer-driven creativity. Plus, depending on their needs, it puts you on the
spot and makes you sometimes focus on spirits you
wouldn't ordinarily grab for, like brandy.
What's your favorite cocktail, personally and as
a bartender?

Personally it's the Boulevardier. So many different
variants. I love bitter and I know other bartenders do,
too, so I love sitting at someone's bar and asking for
a variant on the Boulevardier. I always get something
delicious. As a bartender, right now it's the Daiquiri-
so versatile. Just rum, lime and sugar, but the possibilities are endless. Amaro? Sure, why not. Bitters, other
citrus, curacao. And the conversations you can have
about rum are very exciting. I feel like so many people
are just discovering this spirit and it's very exciting.

educate himself and hone his craft while also gaining
experience in both catering and management.
Persian joined Ocean Prime in 2008 as a part of
the opening bar team and has been there since. He
loves the guest interaction. He's also excited about
the craft cocktail trend, which has created a more curious guest base and thereby given him the opportunity to share with his clientele what he has learned
over the years.
What makes a top-notch bar?

Hospitality has to be number one. I always make a
point to make a personal connection with our guests.
Most people sit at the bar because they want to interact with the bartender-some more than others,
so it's important to be able to read your guests. [Also
important are] fantastic cocktails and food. The bar
is all about the atmosphere, though.

What makes a top-notch bar?

Be excellent at being what you are. Have an identity
and accomplish that through great service and great
energy. Have some food. Care deeply about every service. Get along with each other. When you put something on the menu, do it for the right reasons. Never
cheat your guests. Never do something because of
trends or hubris. Work from passion and the guest
will see that.

Do you use fresh ingredients?

What's your desert-island drink?

I appreciate the atmosphere. We have done a great job
of creating high-end atmosphere that doesn't feel pretentious. It's very warm and welcoming. We're on a firstname basis with many of our guests, and I feel it's the
way our bar business has grown so much over the years.

Fresh ingredients are extremely important to a great
cocktail. The same reason you would want to use fresh
ingredients in the kitchen is why you would do it in the
bar. You can always tell the difference when a cocktail
has fresh-squeezed juices or house-made syrups.
What do you appreciate most about the bar
where you work?

Desert island spirit: because I'm on a desert island
and I feel like I should be drinking rum, it would have
to be Ron Navazos Palazzi Cask Strength Rum-outstanding vintage rum from Spain, aged for 15 years
in sherry barrels, complex and mind-blowing. I just
tasted this for the first time about a month ago and
it blew my mind. Plus, at cask strength, it would certainly make being stranded a bit easier to swallow.

Doctor Daiquiri
2 ounces Doctor Bird Rum (sourced from Jamaica by
Two James Spirits in Detroit and finished with moscatel,
amazingly earthy and funky stuff)
½ ounce Fernet Branca
¾ ounce lime juice
½ ounce honey syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Shake and serve. Garnish with a lime wheel.

MICHAEL PERSIAN, OCEAN PRIME, TROY
Michael Persian has been bartending for nearly two
decades. He started in local bars around Minneapolis
in his mid 20s. Over the years, he has continued to

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018 31

MSA Pure Spirits 2017 Q4

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MSA Pure Spirits 2017 Q4