Wil Andruschak
‘I paid for my entire education by slinging drinks. I’m really proud of that’
Tell me about the Calgary Bartender Association.
Essentially what we’ve done is take an elite set of Calgary bartenders who have been communicating working together and competing against each other and create a space where we could find more people and draw in more individuals to a higher level of bartending with the interest and passion that we all have. The intention to try to educate and create a really comfortable place for everybody to meet on a monthly basis with education and fun testing involved. We’ll have one every month for the next eight months and then next year we’ll rinse and repeat.
Why was now a good time to start the association?
It was basically a matter of timing with all the parties involved. We’ve been talking about it for about a year but I can tell you that the bartenders’ schedule is always a little bit behind. We drug our heels for little bit but we’ve got it going now.
How strong is the bartending scene in Calgary?
I’ve lived in 11 markets throughout my hospitality career and these are the strongest bartenders that I’ve seen anywhere. I’ve competed in a lot of the places that I’ve travelled to and I can truly say that the competition is as good if not better here because of the way that we’re striving in a very small group to push each other. It has the exact calibre that the larger market of New York has. There’s larger markets here such as Vancouver — which is really well known for its creative scene — and I think that Calgary absolutely matches that. I would say that so far we seem to be pitting ourselves against each other. We’re building a Calgary versus Vancouver competition.
And who’s winning?
I’m always going to be biased — I’m not from Calgary but I’ve lived here and I love it here — but I’m going to say that it’s certainty us.
Something that seems to be a stereotype of bartenders is that they’re really good at dealing with drunks. Do you think that the skill of preparing drinks will find more recognition with this kind of association?
Absolutely. That’s certainly one of the main goals of the association. We’re also striving to work with the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission to help work on some of the infusion laws that they have in place. We’re trying to prove that we can start to infuse our own alcohols. We’re trying to show that there’s a passion behind it. We’ve all been under the mindset that if we lead and if we show the passion then people will follow and join.
I pride myself on my ability to talk a couple of drunks down in a really rough situation and I have to say that that is still a skill set that we will progress in this Calgary Bartender Association. We’re about to launch the website which creates a bartender forum where we can have conversations about stuff like that. But I truly believe that the art behind this industry is a mixture of accountability and creativity and that’s where bartending is going right now with the cocktail scene. We’re really interested in measuring everything because that’s really important to the final product.
And that translates really well to ownership. We’re getting a lot of better communication from the ownership where we’re saying “Listen this isn’t just some fluffy cocktail scene. This is about creating a high level of accuracy and creating passion behind what we do as drink-makers.”
I’ve had a bit of experience in the coffee scene and when I tell people that I’m really into coffee they get kind of patronizing. Have you found much of that same response to bartending?
Definitely. There’s always a lot of that. But the truth is that in the current market everybody is interested in trying new things and getting value for their money. The beer scene has exploded over the last few years and has become like the wine scene with a lot of flavour profiles. There was a very short period where people were cynical about it but although my primary business is no longer bartending every day it’s the skill that I use more than any other. It translates to so many places. It’s hospitality and it’s that place where everybody wants to get to. It’s such an easy place to have a conversation just like we’re having here. There’s no place more comfortable than sitting in a bar for a bartender.
How many members does the association have so far?
The initial membership count after our first event was about 60 members. We haven’t even launched the full-scale membership service where people can buy into it as we’ve just looked during the first phase of things to get an RSVP list of bar staff and bartenders. We need to get a level of interest because we do have quite a few suppliers who are working as distributors who are helping financially with the association. They wanted to know that we’re getting a certain number of individuals before they will commit to us.
Is there a number of members that the association is shooting for?
We’re looking for 200 members in the first year. We’re targeting exactly 150 of them to be within the Calgary market and then about 25 to 30 straggling from Edmonton and the surrounding area.
You’ve mentioned that Calgary is on the higher end of bartending quality. Do you think that Calgary could begin to be a global leader like New York?
Absolutely. I’ve worked in the New York scene and I believe that it’s just a matter of pushing within the community of people. In New York there’s a lot of people driving that community and here — up until this year — there’s really been no forum for that community to start speaking up. I think that this is what is necessary. In New York these associations have been part of the bar scene for decades. We’re really just babies in that but the quality that we see here is at a higher quality than some of the market in New York.
Are there specific bars or bartenders that stick out as real leaders among the Calgarian group?
There’s a tremendous amount of them. Christina Mah from Charcut. Darren Fabian down at Alloy. The guys over at Olives — Franz and Jimmy — are both real front-runners in all of this. There’s standouts at District where we sit including their new Aussie hire who has come with a whole infusion of ideas from Australia — another huge market.
When did the association officially begin?
Formally after our first event which happened on March 26. Our next event is coming up on June 27 with Corzo Tequila which is the next stepping stone. We’re opening the entire event to the public and we’re going to be showcasing the differences in ages of tequila. We’re going to be bringing live agave to show people about the process. We’re going to have a cold draft ice machine which is the latest and greatest in green and efficient ice machines as well as producing perfectly clear cubes.
We’re going to be doing all of this in an effort to open people’s eyes to the education that’s involved in things like tequila and its aging process and ice. Most people don’t consider ice to be a huge money hitter or a big difference maker but you make the most beautiful Picasso of a cocktail and put shitty ice in it and turn it into garbage. It’s something that’s becoming a real part of this passionate industry and we’re going to try our best to get a whole bunch of bartenders to go back to their bars and wonder if their ice is good enough.
Is this focus towards quality something that’s just happening in Calgary or is it more on the national or global scale?
It’s truly a national thing in the sense that for a long time quantity ruled. Now people are focusing on quality with smaller portioning and things that are more artistically done executed in a non-pretentious environment. That’s what bartenders have been screaming for forever. We love the opportunity to be able to sling drinks across the bar. Finally the bar is becoming a table again where people are excited to sit at it and see some of that theatre.
That is a global movement but in Calgary and in Canada especially because of the freshness movement. People are more focused on fresh easy and executable dishes and cocktails. Behind the bar we do everything in a minute or less. Traditionally we’re trying to execute even the most artistic cocktails in less than two minutes. We’re still really pushing the boundaries and keeping the flow of the room so that the kitchen can execute and take a little longer to make those pork chops that are that much better as a result. It’s really helped the overall system and the movement is driven behind the idea that people are more focused on that smaller portion quality. It’s really become my favourite part of hospitality.
How long have you been bartending?
I’ve been doing it for just under 11 years. I started in a very small nightclub in Quebec and then went to university in Ontario where I spent a lot of time in nightclubs. Then I moved my way across the world and exclusively bartended. I paid for my entire education by slinging drinks. I’m really proud of that.
I still introduce myself as a bartender even though I operate two other businesses. I feel that bartending represents the most endearing and positive qualities about everything I do. It really breathes hospitality.
Do you think that there will come a time where bartenders can solely devote their efforts towards perfecting the craft?
I truly believe that that exists right now. Some of the support systems aren’t in place but in London for instance I was running on a $75000-a-year contract where I had health benefits. There’s truly been positions like that in that market forever. In Australia it’s the very same thing with a $55000 contract plus tips health benefits and so on. The support systems are getting better and better.
Alberta is one the few markets — because of Blue Cross and so on — that service and hospitality staff can actually have health benefits. Otherwise it’s a bit of a plagued industry where you get sick can’t work don’t earn money and it’s a downward turning spiral.
I’ve been here in Calgary full time for three years and I’ve seen it already happening. There are career bartenders that have been in this industry in this city that exist all over the place. Teatro has a couple of legends that have been around for a decade. They’re doing things in a classic fashion and a new fashion so I think it’s there already. But if we see it and it’s going to be more apparent we’ve got to step up and support it in a few ways with things like insurance policies and right down to being able to work as a creative bar chef. That position by design has to be made by one of the venues.
What will the yearly competition look like?
The Calgary Cocktail Competition has been hosted for the past three years. We’re hosting it in the bar we sit in now in the second week of September. We host an event for a 30-day period where bartenders present cocktails in their own venue. Then there’s a final gala night where we pit everyone against each other.
After a decade of bartending have you figured out what your favourite drink is?
Simplicity rules. I’m a massive rum and tequila fan. I’m a big fan of a real classic fantastic margarita with great tequila. And then the cocktail that I made and showcased at the first event which was a daiquiri with three ingredients: rum simple syrup and lime. It’s very simple but if balanced correctly it’s a beautiful cocktail. But imbalanced — too sour too sweet too much ice — and you make a debauchery of a cocktail. It’s one of those things that takes fine hands to execute it.
