The Craft of the Cocktail - The Bend Magazine

The Craft of the Cocktail

Some might say mixology is just a fancy word; however, there is meaning behind it. Behind every bar, there is a mastermind who melds art and science to create the perfect craft cocktail.

brbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrBy: Kylie Kinnett  Photos by: Rachel Benavides

This story, like most, starts with curiosity. Regardless ofbrhow one fell into the craft of mixology, each individual origin story begins,brand also kind of ends, with inquisitiveness and the idea that pushingbrboundaries is an endless quest. Some might say mixology is just a fancy word;brhowever, there is meaning behind it. Endless hours of experimentation lead to abrlong trail of successes and failures until the perfect drink, a pleasingbrconcoction appealing to all five senses, is created. Here in the Coastal Bend,bra handful of people stand out when it comes to the local mixology scene. Behindbrevery bar, there is a mastermind who melds art and science to create thebrperfect craft cocktail.brbr

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Ben Lomax, Bar Underbrthe Sun

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Ben Lomax has been in and around the bar business for almostbrhis entire life. Even when he left the bar for a career in the oil industry,brhis love for crafting a good cocktail never left him. He and his wife, LesleybrLomax, decided to take a risk and open up Bar Under the Sun. They hoped to notbronly expand the craft cocktail scene in Corpus Christi, but to also be part ofbrthe growing evolution of the downtown area.

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Putting BUS’ cocktail menu together was one of Lomax’sbrfavorite parts to opening the bar. “Research and development,” he says with abrlaugh. Experimenting in his kitchen with various ingredients and sharing thosebrexperiments with friends and family proved to not only be an excitingbrexperience, but a beneficial one, all contributing to the end products you canbrnow order when visiting the bar.

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In a world where most things are reinventions of what camebrbefore, mixology is much the same. “I pull inspiration from a flavor or abrfeeling I want to experience,” Lomax says in regard to his creative process.br“But, when you look around, almost everything has been done already. So, youbrkind of have to riff off of things and put your own twists on something inbrorder to create something new.” 

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Quality ingredients and learning how to do things the rightbrway are key components to what makes mixology what it is according to Lomax.br“Mixology is really about knowing your craft. It is about knowing wherebrsomething comes from, how it was made, what flavors will affect other flavors –brthere is so much information and knowledge behind it all.”

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Cocktail: The Blood Meridian

It’s no secret people taste with their eyes and Lomax isbrwell aware of this fact. “The aesthetics of a drink is a much bigger deal thanbrpeople might think,” he says. “Really, if something doesn’t look good, it mightbras well also not taste good because the person has already judged it beforebrthey’ve even taken a sip.” It is this very reasoning Lomax has put so much timebrand effort into perfecting each of their signature cocktails.

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Like all seasoned mixologists, Lomax knows trial and errorbris a huge component to mixology. “A lot of the stuff you end up making tastesbrterrible. I mean, for every cocktail on this menu there are 10 other crappybrversions of it.” He knows it only takes that one stroke of genius to create a drinkbrworth sharing with hundreds of other people every Friday night.

brbrIn the simplest of terms, Lomax refers to thebrpersonal, gathering aspect of sharing a cocktail with someone as an experience.br“It just provides an atmosphere for memories to be made, and the cocktail is atbrthe center of it.” 

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Jacob McClain, The Pioneer

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One could say Jacob McClain is the progenitor of the craftbrcocktail scene here in town. He’s had his hand in creating the cocktail menusbrfor places like The Post and The Gold Fish. When the topic of mixology comesbrup, area bartenders mention him, crediting him for their own inspiration andbrpassion. McClain, simply put, has helped pioneer the way for what the currentbrcraft cocktail movement looks like and the future it holds here in the CoastalbrBend.

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20 years ago, at a family-owned bar in Houston, McClainbrdecided to try his hand in what would soon become one of his biggest passions.brFrom barback to bar manager, he worked in several different spots around townbrbefore eventually moving to the Coastal Bend in order to put his degree inbrMarine Biology to use. Instead, thankfully, the bar industry pulled him backbrin. After hearing that a bar specializing in craft cocktails was on the vergebrof opening, he knew he had to put all of his knowledge and fervency forbrmixology to good use. He took his talents to The Post and helped pave the waybrfor the craft cocktail in Corpus Christi.

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Cocktail: The Tempest

“People started coming in and being shocked that we couldbrmake a good, and correct, Old Fashioned,” he says about the early days of ThebrPost. For McClain, efficiency and precision are key. He’s a methodical man andbrbelieves each craft cocktail has a base formula and, once becoming morebrexperienced and knowledgeable about the craft, can be tweaked in order tobrcreate innovative spins on the classics. 

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When it comes to the perfect marriage of science and art inbrorder to create a drink, McClain takes it seriously. “I’ve done the researchbrand I am constantly learning new things, I’ll never be done learning.” he says,br“There is a lot that goes into this; the way you muddle something, the waybralcohol gets broken up when certain components are added, the type of ice youbrneed in order to create the right amount of surface area – these are all thingsbrthat matter.”

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In a word, he describes mixology as a dance. One, thatbrovertime, can be perfected to a T. If you watch while he’s looking at a bar andbrall of its contents, you’ll see his mind begin to race. He is thinking of allbrthe combinations he can make with the various liquors available. He isbrsurveying his options in a way that will allow him to create a drink perfectlybrsuited for the person ordering it. Although he describes his craft as a dance,brMcClain’s creative process resembles that of a painter the beginning a newbrmasterpiece — meticulously choosing each ingredient, for he knows each elementbrwill have a very specific effect on one another. His commitment and enthusiasmbrto the craft of the craft cocktail is uncanny, and quite honestly, unmatched.

Michael Green, The Post

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I learned about Michael Green’s “mad scientist” reputationbrbefore I even met him. Needless to say, the reputation exceeds him. Like a lotbrof people behind the bar, he started in the kitchen, and when asked to getbrbehind the bar, his go-to mentality of learning how to do something as fast andbras good as possible kicked in. He poured himself into his research and found hebrloved the idea of being able to get creative behind the bar.

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When describing mixology in his own words, you can see thebrwheels in his brain begin to turn. The passion he has for crafting a cocktailbris uncanny. A light in his eyes turns on and you are compelled to sit back andbrlisten. His answer? “The art of combining flavors in a palpable way and havingbra design aesthetic in mind, to where you take every sense into account. It isbrreally understanding all of that and then going from there.” 

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It’s often difficult to know how well different flavors willbrblend together until you try. Green describes this guess as the combination ofbrfaith and art. “I’ll come up with something at home, and I don’t have the samebrselection of ingredients at home obviously as I do here at The Post, and so Ibrwill think I have a great epiphany of a new drink and won’t really know itbruntil I get here and make it,” he says. 

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Only eight years into his career as a mixologist, Greenbrreally is just getting started. He studies both herbology and has even pickedbrup gardening. His homegrown herbs become ingredients in the drinks he makes atbrThe Post. He is continuously learning and soaking up new information allbrcontributing to the final product a patron ends up sipping. “Just like anybrartist, someone looks your craft and judges and dissects it and that’s scary,”brhe says. “But it just comes with it, and you have to roll the dice to createbrsomething new.”

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For Green, education really is key for both the mixologistbrand bar patrons. Having conversations with people sitting at the bar about howbrthe drink they have ordered is made or the flavor and texture components of itbris one of his favorite things. “It really creates a full experience for someonebrand then they get to leave here knowing something they didn’t before, and maybebreven have a broadened concept of the craft cocktail,” he says.

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He jokes about how shocked he is that more people in thisbrtown aren’t drinking out of tiki glasses and how “more umbrellas in drinks” isbran issue we should all be caring about. However, he ends on a more seriousbrnote. “These drinks elicit feelings from each person and you then get to sharebrthose feelings with others and it becomes one shared experience, and that isbrsomething pretty special.”

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Zak Kaszynski, GreenbrLight Coffee

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For Zak Kaszynski, the scents, aromas, and execution behindbrcoffee, wine, and cocktails, and the experiences they provided him with at hisbrprevious jobs, all meshed together in order for his love for mixology to arise.

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When it came time for Green Light Coffee’s newest locationbrto fashion their cocktail menu (a path they had yet to travel down), they knewbrKaszynski was the perfect man for the job. “We had always wanted to start doingbrcocktails,” he says in reference to the origin story of the newest addition tobrtheir menu. “While we treat all of our coffee drinks and food with the specialsbrwe do, we wanted to also show people cool twists on something they may havebralready seen and kind of upset the norm. We wanted to show everyone cool, newbrflavors and experiences for people looking to get a craft cocktail.” 

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Being able to taste each element in a cocktail, in all ofbrits layers and complexity, enthuses Kaszynski. He describes each component ofbrthe drink as helping the others out, allowing the drink to be one cohesivebrproduct that will allow someone else to experience it in awe. “That experiencebrreally is what drives me to do this,” he says. “Being able to combine things inbrdifferent ways and feel that shift on your palette — that’s something else.”

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Cocktail: The Espresso Martini

“Mixology really is alchemy and in that, you are trying tobrappeal to each of the senses,” he says. He talks about the combining ofbringredients in a way that makes it sound like a math equation. There arebrmultiple ways to solve it, but finally reaching the answer provides a gloriousbraha moment. “You are trying to take all of these weird things — grains thatbrhave been fermented and distilled and weird fruits all thrown in together andbrfiltered out — all of these different processes that go through a thousandbrhands before it’s bottled and brought to you, and then you’re combing them in abrway to basically make gold.” This concept energizes him.

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When creating the cocktail menu for Greenlight, Kaszynski —bralong with Sarah Hans, the owner — had two goals in mind. They wanted a nicebrvariety of items to where someone from any walk of life would find somethingbrthey would be interested in. They also wanted to feature a lot of the work theybrhad done to discover the cool beverage flavors with which they were alreadybrworking. The result? Eight signature cocktails, each with an interesting storybrof their own.

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Kaszynski describes his favorite kind of art form as onebrthat is experienced and then gone. That is exactly what a craft cocktail is — abrmoment of pure artistic experimentation that is enjoyed by the observer andbrthen becomes just a memory. Simple, yet impactful.

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Cocktail: The Negroni

Sky Shook, The Top Sider Lounge

Inside the Omni Hotel on the second floor, a cozy bar, ThebrTop Sider Lounge, welcomes visitors with smiling faces and the freshest ofbrcocktails. Behind the bar, you’ll find Sky Shook, a friendly and fun-lovingbrmixologist, whipping up some of the best craft concoctions in town.

However, Shook hasn’t always been behind the bar. She once spentbrher shifts rolling up sushi until one of the bartenders suggested she step outbrof the kitchen and bring her talents to the forefront. From there, the rest isbrhistory. Her engaging personality allowed her to come into her own behind thebrbar. “Especially working in a hotel bar, you get to meet so many people frombrall over the world,” she says. “It’s so crazy to have conversations with thesebrpeople as they sit at my bar.”

Creating a mood or a feeling with a drink for someone isbrwhat mixology is all about for Shook. She will never tire of being able tobrserve a total stranger something that could lift their whole day. “You reallybrcan paint a picture with a drink,” she says. “Then you are able to pair it withbra nice meal and you create an entire mood for someone.” 

Taking classics and tweaking them slightly is really howbrShook begins her creative process when coming up with new drink ideas. “Abrsimple twist on a classic can create a whole new drink no one has ever had,”brshe says.

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When it comes to sharing a drink with others, Shook believesbryour sense of urgency evaporates and you’re able to sit, relax, and enjoy thebrpeople around you. In a world where we are constantly on the go, it might bebrsmart to take a page out of her book.

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AJ Juarez, The GoldbrFish 

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When recalling how mixology became a part of his life, AJbrJuarez says, “I fell into it by, well, not a total accident.” He had beenbrworking as a chef for a while and when struggling to go back to school, hebrrealized he needed to make more money, but work couldn’t interfere with hisbrclass schedule. So, he started as a barback and worked his way up. 

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Now, as the lead bartender at The Gold Fish, he has reallybrbeen able to embrace his role and creatively come into his own. He looks at hisbrcraft as a way to challenge himself every day and with every drink he makes.br“Not all the time, but every now and then, you’ll strike gold,” he says. “Youbrmight have 100 attempts and 99 of them all fail, but it only takes that onebrsuccessful attempt to change everything.” 

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He explains how the quality of ingredients determines thebrway a cocktail will taste. “You know, even something as simple as a vodka sodabrcan be altered with the freshest of ingredients. It’s all about providing thebrcustomer with a drink, regardless of how complicated or not the order might be,brthat they will enjoy.”

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Cocktail: The Vintage White Wall

Collaboration and understanding that everyone has differentbrpalettes is how Juarez begins his creative process of creating a new drink. Saybra customer comes to the bar and says they don’t know exactly what they want,brbut they know they want something salty and with pineapple. It is instancesbrlike these were he finds his inspiration. “It might not be something I wouldbrdrink, but I am interpreting what they are they say they want and then creatingbrit for them to enjoy.” He compares it to being commissioned for an art piece. Thebrconsumer describes their vision, and it is then up to the artist to interpretbrthose ideas in a way to please the consumer.

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Juarez refers to the craft cocktail as something you’vebrnever done before. “I’m going to not only push the boundaries of mixology, butbrpush my own boundaries,” he says. “It can start with one component, but whenbryou start layering all your other ingredients – I mean, you are craftingbrsomething special.”

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When it’s all said and done, he says one should expect thebrunexpected when it comes to a craft cocktail. Juarez’s end goal for each drinkbris to make the person who ordered it not just happy with the outcome, butbrexcited about it, and for them to leave with the intentions of returning.

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Mary Peppers, LATITUDE 28º20′

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One could say Mary Peppers was born to be a mixologist. Herbrover 40 years of experience in the bar industry has stretched cross-country. Shebrspent 10 years in Los Angeles, 22 years in Chicago, 4 years in North Carolina,brand lastly, she brought herself and her craft to Rockport. The staff atbrLatitude jokes that rather than them offering the job to Mary, Mary offered herbrskills to them. And thank God she did, because no one can make a martini quitebrlike Mrs. Peppers. 

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Peppers, having lived all over the country, has curatedbrLatitude’s entire martini menu with drinks she says you can’t find anywherebrelse. “All I ever wanted to do was be a bartender,” she says in reference tobrhow she got started. “You can point at anything behind that bar and I will tellbryou everything you would ever want to know about it.”

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In her own words, she describes mixology as nothing butbrcooking with liquids. Attempting to create something unique and brand-new keepsbrthings interesting. There are no limits. The bar business is constantly changing,brand Peppers knows her creativity has to keep up with the innovation. “Thebrbeauty of creating a new drink is that everyone sits here and drinks. And webrdrink…and drink…and drink…and then you’ve got it.” 

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The Peppermint Martini

Trial and error come into play every time Peppers concocts abrnew drink for the menu. “When you get that final product,” she says, “somethingbryou’ve totally created, and you see someone else’s reaction, it’s awesome.” 

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Peppers knows her craft like the back of her hand. Hearing herbrtalk about how certain liquors taste with other ingredients is memorizing. Youbrcan’t help but listen in awe when she speaks about the craft.

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When asked what people should know about getting a cocktailbrfrom Latitude, her response is simple, having spent only thirty minutes withbrher, I couldn’t agree more. “This is a place you will remember, and you’ll surebras hell remember me.”