With the growing excitement around cocktails—both classic and cutting-edge—we interviewed some of the area's most popular and experienced bartenders to find out what their customers are ordering and what trends they're seeing through the glass. Here's what they had to say.
Lance Baldwin, 39
Bartender, An Poitin Stil, Timonium
Q. How did you get to be a bartender?
A. I became a bartender because it reminded me of all the good parties my parents used to throw at our house as a child when I would play bartender. When I moved to New York to pursue acting, I needed a backup job.
Q. What's the weirdest thing that's happened to you while bartending?
A. Watching a fellow bartender get slapped by a drunken customer.
Q. What's the craziest drink you've ever made?
A. Probably the Bahama Leprechauna (a.k.a. Poitin Lemonade, Irish Moonshine). You don't know whether you're coming or going.
Q. What are people drinking these days?
A. I'm seeing the Manhattan make a resurgence and cocktails made with fresh juices and fresh ingredients.
Michael "Spike" Barker, 40
Bartender, The Capital Grille
Q. How did you get to be a bartender?
A. I was a server and started dating the head hostess, which was a bit of a conflict for some of the other servers (crybabies), so I was moved to the bar. Poor me!
Q. What's the weirdest thing that's happened to you while bartending?
A. The entire women's swim team dancing on the bar during Atlanta's '96 Olympics was pretty wild. The country they came from will remain anonymous.
Q. What are people drinking these days?
A. I'm in a steakhouse, so some things never change, at least not too much. Baltimore's best martini is our "Stoli Doli" (pineapple-infused Stoli vodka). Lots of big red wines. And always luxury vodka and gin martinis.
Olivia Boru, 35
Sommelier, Pazo and Cinghiale
Q. How did you get to be a bartender?
A. I started working for Cindy Wolf and Tony Foreman at Savannah restaurant during my senior year of college. It probably took five or six months to get bitten by the bug. The profession seemed to be a combination of a lot of skills that I enjoyed using. The art of the table is a performance art.
Q. What's the craziest drink you've ever made?
A. I had a customer ask for scotch and milk, heated. It was a little strange. I can't remember what the garnish was, but when you put it all together, it didn't make sense to me.
Q. What are people drinking these days?
A. The market for boutique, small-produced vodkas like Hanger One has seen open-ended growth for the last few years. And flavor-infused vodkas are part of the average person's lexicon.
Brendan Dorr, 29
Beverage director, Ixia
Q. What's the craziest drink you've ever made?
A. I cannot say I have made crazy drinks . . . I am a traditionalist with my cocktails and love wine, but just the other day, I had a guest ask for a glass of red wine, a cabernet, with crushed ice in it. But as I always like to say, drink whatever you want, and if that's how you like it, then that's how you should have it.
Q. What are people drinking these days?
A. People are returning to the classics. Really, they never left, but I love that people are drinking more Manhattans and real martinis (gin and vermouth only). I love coming up with new cocktails, but just because it's in a martini glass, that does not make it a martini.
Erik Brown, 32
Server/bartender, The Oregon Grille
Q. How did you get to be a bartender?
A. I started learning about wine and liquor eight years ago. I have been at The Oregon Grille, splitting my time between serving and bartending for about two years.
Q. What's the weirdest thing that's happened to you while bartending?
A. When I was working in Boston, I had a guy that came in who looked exactly like Larry David. He would do a whole episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. He would just put on the character.
Q. What are people drinking these days?
A. Recently, everyone seems to want bourbon drinks. The big thing I see is small-batch bourbons, like Basil Hayden's. A lot of people are getting into cognac. People are not afraid to spend a little bit of money on a quality drink.
