Where did you grow up? Raised in Surrey, and grew up once I got out of it.
What did you do before you were a bartender? Heavy Civil Construction – Project Management. Before that I taught English abroad.
How long have you been in the industry? Coming up on a year and a half, but I've stocked a prohibition-era bar and mixed classic cocktails at home for friends ever since I moved back to Canada.
What was your first bar tending gig? The Diamond offered me my first job and Josh Pape is my earliest mentor, but my first full-time gig was at Pourhouse.
What is your bartending pet peeve? What might happen at work that really grinds your gears? Texting, I can't stand it when I have people sitting at the bar 'together' and they spend more time on their phones then in reality.
Do you have a go-to cocktail or beverage for at home? Tell us a bit about your favorite personal recipe. Bulliet and Cynar 1-1 with an twist if I have a fresh orange kicking around, stirred and served neat in one of my vintage cocktail glasses. It may not win any cocktail competitions, but for me it is the perfect compromise between a glass of bourbon and a cocktail when I want a simple drink at home.
What do you drink when you go out? What's your usual order?
Most Bars: Bulliet – Neat
Good Bar: Boulevardier
A Couple Select Bars: Whatever the bartender is excited about.
We keep hearing that Gastown is such a great place to be a bartender right now. Why is that? Gastown is a destination neighborhood for people who appreciate craftsmanship – in all its forms. As a bartender that means my customers want to drink beer from my favorite brewers, dine on the food that the kitchen puts so much work into, and are excited about the cocktails that excite me.
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you read the following: "BCLDB"? The BC Liquor Distribution Board and the BC Liquor Control and Licensing Branch together are the primary, if not the only reason, that Vancouver is known as a 'No Fun City.'
What are some of the most unlikely ingredients you have used in making a cocktail? I make simple cocktails, and l generally leave the more exotic raw ingredients to the master distillers that craft my favorite backbar bottles such as Chartreuse, Fernet Branca, and Strega.
If we pressed play on your iPod right now, what would we hear? William Elliott Whitmore's 'Hell or High Water'
And if we opened up your web browser history, what page would we be on? Boxing. Between, Patrick, Brian and my coach there are a lot of fights I still 'need to watch.'
Do you have a favorite beer or wine? Tell us about that. My liquor fridge is always stocked with Red Racer's IPA, but lately we've had some great limited release bottles come through the shop such as Hopworks' Espresso Stout, Upright's Gose and Driftwood's Sartori IPA.
What is a must-have on your food menu? Liver Pate. In general neither pate or liver really excite me when I see them on a menu, but trust me – it'll convert you.
If you could pick anyone to be your bartender wingman/woman for one night, dead or alive, who would it be? Chuck McIntosh, but only for ONE night.
What would you be doing if you weren't bartending? Still in construction - I do miss the excitement of new projects, challenges, and life size Tonka trucks.
Name something every great bartender should own? A shaker that doesn't have the name of a liquor brand on the side of it, they're $4 at any restaurant supplier. To me a professional should at least appear to be objective when it comes to choosing the brand of whiskey they pour.
Favorite bar to sit at in Gastown besides your own? I probably spend as much time at Alibi Room or Boneta, but my favorite bar to sit at besides Pourhouse is The Diamond.
