Jason Crawley Interview

1. What is the first cocktail you ever made?

Harvey Wallbanger – messed it right up too!

2. What are your 3 favourite drinks plus recipes; old, new and your own?
Old:
White Lady, equal parts Plymouth Gin, Lemon, Cointreau & tear sized egg white, dribbled in and shaken.

New:
Wayne’s ‘Lady Marmalade’, same recipe but with a teaspoon of Grapefruit marmalade.

Own:
‘Platypus Martini’ – 60ml Level Vodka, 1 x childs tear size droplet of Pernod and 1 x childs tear sized Ardbeg 10yr, stirred, served with an Onion.

3.Tell us about a new flavour you have discovered recently?

New flavour? I have made a great Roast Chestnut and Burnt Orange Bitters, lovely.

4. If you could pass just one thing, on to an apprentice bartender what would it be?

Be nice, and very tidy.

5. What does the future hold for yourself and what do you see happening in the future in the industry? I am currently writing a (humorous) book, which I hope will entertain anyone who has experienced being faced with the general public. I just hope it sells! In the meantime I am very happy continuing to help to raise standards in the industry and to some extent, inspire a new generation of bartenders who attend my MIXXIT training sessions and read my articles. The future of the industry will be decided by the application and attitude of the next generations of bartenders. Hopefully they will aspire to help serve the general public in meaningful ways (and probably with waxed moustaches) with coherent quality products.

6. What has been your biggest satisfaction from working behind the bar?

Gaining perspective of the World around me, but as an experience, getting a couple engaged with an old bar trick and a ring.

7. If you were to have a conversation with a cocktail, (and presuming it could talk back to you and tell you its past). Which cocktail would it be and why?
Great question, as I have never considered this! I guess it would have to be the ‘original’ Martini in its infancy. Only so, we can put its history to bed, but then again maybe that is why we love it so much, in the same way ‘JAWS’ was a great film, as it did not show us the full Shark till near the end!

8. What influences your drinks from outside the industry? Art, definitely. More recently, may I say ‘mainstream’ (?) artist D Hurst’ with his jewelled skull, took me down a new road, which I have not yet finished travelling. However, from a flavour perspective it has always been ‘semantics’.

9. If you where to break a bartending golden rule what would it be?
Wearing carpet slippers instead of ‘black polish-able shoes’

10. Outside of flavour and the craft of the cocktail what in your opinion effects the appreciation of cocktails the most? Presentation and theatre.

11. If you where to champion a cocktail which would it be? I do like the Harvard Cocktail.