David Steenkamp

Kinsley I did not take it that personally. As I said; Friday and December. You have to understand that I am challenging a notion that was the complete opposite of how I was trained. If I switch over to jigging now I would feel that I wasted all that time years ago to perfect my pour which was the sign of "a good cocktail bartender” in the past. ( but so was frozen drinks and blue Curacao). Truth be told I am, jigging at the moment. I recently came back to London after working a bit in the states and switching back over to thinking in ml took a while to get used to. Further more, whenever I start a new job, I Jig the house drinks so I can get used to the menu and learn the recipes quicker. I also know a lot of my "role models" the ppl I look up to in the industry are these days encouraging the use of jiggers. Simon Difford said his dream is to see all bartenders measure their pours. Jamie Boudreaux never does anything without precise measurements either .Gary Regan the rebel still claims he doesn’t know how to use one but looking at the greater part of the cocktail movement it is becoming the norm as you say. Because of this reason I have been contemplating for a while now to stick to jigging and also training my staff to do the same. BUT I have this empty feeling when I make these drinks that it lacks a personal touch whenever I serve it. When they ask me too make them the best drink I can, I don’t get a “WOW!” anymore, its more like a “good drink recipe” response.

Mr. Kinsey, I am going to keep this (relatively)short. Its Friday night, its December and I am tired. So sorry if I sound rude it is all still meant in the spirit of the banter. Firstly I don’t know when we started conversing on Flairing. I don’t go to the circus to order a drink; I don’t go to the bar to see a clown. I don’t know when we started talking about chefs and sauce either but since it is brought up; Line cooking and bartending are two completely different things. The fact that you refer to my pouring as error based offends me. You have never tasted my drinks nor have you done a pour test on me or any of my staff members that I train. Do you think I just chuck in two fingers and some for luck? Not filling up a jigger defies the point completely and makes this conversation null and void. Just because “Audrey” does it doesn’t make it right. Same goes for Dale, Gary, David, Jamie, Jeffrey or Robert. If they ALL agree then it obviously is, but I am nowhere near experienced enough to argue with them. And finally in what bar do you work that allows you to just go through bottles of bourbon and rye and applejack etc. etc... so you can "develop" instead of "tasting consistently in execution"? And please don’t say Audrey does it…

Ok Kinsey point taken on my friend pouring 4 ml and me pouring 6 ml. I do also realise that when we speak in terms of a group in general, the vast majority of bartenders’ "free pouring" is a joke. But getting back to our hypothetical machine, we have agreed that it would not replace a bartender because of the human element. If a perfect machine can not replace us, (touch wood god forbid) what is it that makes it a better drink? Would we go out to a bar that has the ingredients for a widows kiss, premixed in a bottle and perfectly balanced measured to a 0.0001 ml per drink. If all the bartender does is pour it in your glass, I guess not. If this is the norm we could just as well say that every bartender should have a book in front of him when he is busy lest he forget an ingredient from the recipe, which I can virtually guarantee could happen under pressure in real world conditions. Lets face it more than half the argument for jigging is the showmanship, it looks (when done properly) fantastic in the right establishment for the right drinks. The same can be said about “free pouring morons”. My customers like it when I free pour, They can see I put my heart and soul in the effort, they can see I have a passion for my job and I try to make Every drink the best one I have ever made, I’m not saying they don’t see it when I jig but THAT is the human element and it is my style. Just as free pouring has its place behind the bar so does jigging, neither is a sign of a better bartender nor experience nor results in the significantly better drink. IMHO PS: One night 3 years ago I did a temp shift in Peppermint Dubai. They had this drinks machine that made 50 “cocktails”incl cosmos martinis manhattans etc, while not perfect it was a scary thought. Secondly I found jigging more challenging than free pouring especially this side of the pond with those stupidly shaped goverment approved jiggers; after a long time I can do it cleanly, accurately and quickly. I still look like a buffoon when using it though.

Ok, So lets say jigging is faster, its more accurate and it makes for a more consistant drink.Let us also assume that the years that I trained, practiced and perfected my 5 ml, 15 ml, 25 ml and 50 ml pours(Oz came later with american clientelle) , cleaned my cut to not spill a drop before I was allowed to free pour, were a waste of time... Why do we not go the full Monty and use a machine, with perfectly pre measured ingredients, freshly squeezed juice, finely cut garnish, no spillage, stock shortages or customer complaints? This IS the best for ticket times isn't it?