Cape Town - He’s not too big on the sugar and spice. Bartender Rusty Cerven is, however, about all drinks nice.
Last week, the Slovakian-now-in-the-UK whizzed into South Africa to show off some neat cocktail bar skills to local bartenders. Cerven was picked as the Bols Around the World champion in May last year.
The award proved life-changing for Cerven, whose day job is as a barman at London’s Connaught Hotel. Along with the accolades came the chance to travel the world as an ambassador of mixology, passing on skills and learning about new ingredients.
And there’s something new to try out every day. In South Africa, for example, he says he has been experimenting with infusing butter into KWV 10-year-old brandy – a process known as butter-washing.
“London is a cocktail capital,” Cerven says. “It’s very cosmopolitan and competitive. The bar industry there is moving fast. Our bar has the art deco look of the 1920s.”
Cerven won the Bols contest in Amsterdam with a concoction called William’s Punch – which, despite its name, has as ingredients an international range of alcohols, including Bols Genever (an upmarket Dutch cousin of gin) and Parfait Amour, as well as Champagne mixed with rhubarb juice and home-made lemon sherbet. On the Connaughts’ cocktail menu it comes in at £12 (R217).
“We had to create cocktails from where we were from. I named this drink after William of Orange who became King of England through marriage,” says Cerven.
“He introduced genever and the gin culture to England. That’s why gin is drunk around the world. All these ingredients tell a story. Rhubarb is part of English cuisine. Sherbet is seen in their cooking books from the 18th century. Another factor is my presentation. I serve it in a big silver punch bowl.”
His retro approach is in line with his beliefs about trends in mixology.
“Everyone sees the trend of the speak-easy style of bars.”
I looked around me. And yes… the masterclass was held at the House of Machines in Shortmarket Street, an establishment that opened last year and sticks so closely to the Prohibition theme it serves cocktails in jam jars.
“2013 was the year of the garnish. It was about great expression on the glass. Now we’re going back to simplicity with good ingredients. It’s important not to overdo it. It’s about simple drinks that are beautiful.”
Gastronomy trends were a big thing in 2012. The winner of the local round of the World Class Mixologist competition, Brent Perremore, added a bacon-infused foam to his drink. Is this kind of drink manipulation going to continue?.
“The most important thing is how a drink is executed. My imagination has no borders. For example, I butter-infused a brandy for a velvety texture.”
This was part of the Old Colonel, a drink he created to pay homage to South Africa. He describes it as a digestive. It also features Cape gooseberry syrup and dry orange liqueur. To prepare the brandy, Cerven explains, he melts unsalted butter and adds a bottle of brandy. This is then frozen and strained to remove the fat.
Another speciality is a secret recipe of bitters and black Lapsang Souchang Dilmah tea.
By and large, Cerven’s approach to cocktails is detailed and elegant, though done with drama and panache, whether it is the dried fruit he uses as a signature garnish or the brick of bubble-wrapped ice he crushes with a mallet on the counter.
His drinks are not just drinks; they come with style and a story. - Weekend Argus