Think you have what it takes to be a great mixologist but don’t know where to begin? Try your hand at the Liquid Lab, a hands-on, all day session where Liquid Chef Junior Merino and his staff teach their students everything they need to know about the wide world of bartending.
The 12-hour day is busy, starting at 10:30 am and going well into the evening. Before even touching a spirit, Junior guides his guests through nearly 2 hours of tasting fresh herbs and spices. A favorite of the day is always the mouth-numbing Szechuan Button, a rare, small yet overpowering ingredient.
From there, its spirits, spirits spirits! Each student blind tastes 10 spirits per category, which totals a whopping 70 spirits, followed by two rounds of “creative cocktail mixing.” The last few classes have focused on Brown Spirits, including on Pisco, Cognac, Armagnac, Brandy, Rum, Cachaca, Tequila, Mezcal, Sotol, Rye, Scotch, Whiskey, Rum Agricole, Grappa, Bacanora, Charanda, Pulque, and more.
And at the point where the tummy is growling and alcohol is about to take over, Junior’s wife Heidi, trained as a chef, lets her culinary skills loose. A feast is prepared, with each dish having a spirit component to keep up with the day. Previous menus have included sliders with armagnac and a sake and sesame sauce, crab cakes with lemongrass-infused Hudson Valley Whiskey, tuna and watermelon lollypops with pine peppercorn-infused Dewars 12, cinnamon-braised short ribs with a guava and spiced rum barbecue sauce, Domaine de Canton injected cantaloupe balls wrapped with Prosciutto di Parma, corn on the cob with Scorpion Mezcal aioli, sweet pototo soup with Remy Martin VSOP, Alaskan King Salmon Ceviche with habanero-infused Siembra Azul and a Coconut and Passion Fruit Scallop Ceviche with Combier, to name a few items!
“The reason that The Liquid Lab sessions truly came to be was because Junior wanted to give bartenders an opportunity to come together to share and learn about mixology,” said Heidi. “He wanted to give the bartending community a place to express themselves, free of judgment and major rules, where the only tests was in the imagination of the bartender when asked to create cocktails using the ingredients provided, and of course the stamina of the individuals for the cocktail marathon.”
The Liquid Chef allows only 8 guests at a time to create an intimate day. This hands-on session comes with an endless array of bottles, every culinary ingredient one can think of, tools and equipment. An all day session comes at the price of $2,500, but is currently free to qualified, invited bartenders, bar managers, restaurant owners and chefs due to the support of the sponsors. Usually participants are recommended by past guests and sponsors, or the team will send invites to special people in the industry. If you would like to speak with the Liquid Chef or want to recommend your favorite bartender for a spot at the Lab, contact Heidi at heidi@theliquidchefinc.com or call 646.667.2866.
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