Pine Whiskey with Mixologist Hemstone Onsare
Pineapple cocktails are among the fruitiest drinks you can mix up. While the piña colada is the best-known of them, this tropical fruit can be used in many equally delicious drink recipes. An essential mixer for a well-stocked bar, pineapple juice is the easiest way to add the fruit to cocktails.
This weeks cocktail is a delicate drink using this Tropical Fruit combined with classic flavours for the perfect year-round cocktail.
INGREDIENTS;
- 2oz of Vodka
- ¼oz of Triple Sec
- ½ oz of Lime Juice top up Pineapple Juice
METHOD.
Add all ingredients to a Boston Shaker except pineapple juice then shake as hard as you can. Add all of the mixture from the shaker and fill in a pineapple shell with cubed ice finally top up with pineapple juice.
GARNISH.
With a Lime Slice, Anemone Flower, and Pineapple Leaves with Two Straws.
Hemstone Onsare
I am a mixologist by profession. From a very young age I loved fruit juices which were being blended by my dad who is a hotelier. I used to tell my dad that one day I will be a Barman but he convinced me to be a Chef instead.
Although my passion never lied in the Kitchen, I completed a course in Food Production at Kenya Utalii College in 2019. I later discovered that there are Barmen, Bartenders, and Mixologists and of the three, my calling and passion was to become a Mixologist. I took up a course in mixology at the Nairobi Bar School 2020.
I have since interned and worked at several hotels and cocktail lounges in Kenya. These include Milan Kenya, Maryland Hotel and MAK5 RESORT in Sagana.
A mixologist is a person who mixes various types of alcoholic beverages and other ingredients to make cocktails and mixed drinks. A mixologist is another term for a bartender who makes and serves cocktails. However, some people distinguish between a bartender and a mixologist as they believe that a bartender just tends to a bar, and on the other hand mixologist is the one who is involved in creating new cocktails. Some of the major tasks of a mixologist are mixing drinks, cleaning and organizing the bar, educating and entertaining customers, coming up with new drink suggestions, and designing new menus for beverages. A good mixologist should be a good listener and friendly.
Mixologists are hired by clubs, taverns, breweries, bars, and distilleries. Some of the companies hire a mixologist to perform presentations at food and beverage shows as well as other marketing events. A career as a mixologist is a good choice for candidates who are interested in working at a bar or club. Candidates can also look at it as a part-time work option. This profile provides flexibility as far as the working hours are concerned because it is not like a routine 9 to 5 job. I, later on, came to combine myself as a Mixologist Chef (food and beverage production)
I love being a mixologist because:
- I educate myself on the basics and keep up with the trends.
- I find time working in the kitchen as well as behind the bar.
- Practice mise en place or “putting in place.
- Make my own syrups.
- Use a spotting pourer instead of a jigger.
- Learns more to free pour.
- Use a plate for rimming glassware.
- Normally use and source local ingredients to garnish my cocktails
For those who want to be mixologists is that most mixologists start their careers as bar backs, then climb the ranks to the bartender, before they get the honorary title of mixologist – the inventor of crazy drinks. The best way to get into this field is to take a bartending course and become a certified bartender.
Hemstone Onsare
Mixologist