Nick Barton, Bar Manager at Osteria Lupo got his taste for hospitality in high school, working at a Tulane student favorite, The Palms. “My brother bartended there,” he said, “so I started working the door.” Barton headed to Washington D.C. for college, earning his bartending chops along the east coast. He returned home in 2016 and joined Osteria Lupo in their early days. His bartending background, a mix of classic cocktail bars and music clubs, prepared him for busy nights at Osteria. Barton jokes that he is “still serving Tulane kids…. They love this joint.” Barton’s time away has given him perspective on different regional attitudes to bartending. “In D.C., if you tell people you’re a bartender, they assume that’s your second job, that you’re working on something else…but I make good money doing it, and I take a lot of pride in it. In New Orleans, I just feel like the general profession of being a bartender is more respected.” And well it should be.
1
servingsIngredients
- Sibiana Sour
1 oz Cimarron blanco tequila
1 oz Pimms #1
1 oz cucumber coriander shrub (see recipe)
1 bar spoon fresh lime juice
8 dashes Fee Foam (egg white substitute) or 1 egg white
- Coriander Cucumber Shrub
9 kg cucumber
6 L white vinegar
4 kg sugar
300 g coriander powder (ideally freshly ground)
40 g f salt
20 g fresh ground black peppercorn
Directions
- Sibiana Sour
- Add all ingredients to the shaker except Fee Foam/egg white.
- Add ice. Give them a quick shake to chill.
- Strain out the liquid. Throw out the used ice but save two small ice cubes.
- Add the liquid back to the shaker with the small ice cubes.
- Add Fee Foam/egg white and shake. The small ice cubes will agitate the egg white.
- When you feel the ice cubes begin to slow down, your emulsion is thickening. Once they have broken down and you can’t hear them anymore, strain into a chilled coupe glass.
- Garnish with a cucumber slice.
- Coriander Cucumber Shrub
- Puree all ingredients in a blender to make a green liquid.
- Put in the fridge and steep for at least six days, then strain.
- The shrub will keep 4-6 weeks in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Barton says to save the “green stuff” after you have strained out the shrub. It makes a great relish for sandwiches!
- If you want to batch this for a party, add all ingredients except the egg white to a pitcher and chill. You will need to shake each drink individually with the egg white as you make them.
- Barton thinks home bartenders can take a page from restaurants when planning a party. “You need everything within arm’s reach: your shaker, the glass you’re pouring in, your juice, your spirits, your jigger, your strainer. I highly recommend everyone use a jigger for at least the first 100 times you make a drink. After that it’s a judgment call.”
Listen to Elizabeth’s podcast “Drink & Learn;” visit elizabeth-pearce.com
