On this latest episode, Sandra Walker, joined us for an in-person interview. Cass is currently working as a bartender at La La Social House in Waterloo. With our interview with Cass, we talk about her accidental start in bartending and the valuable training she eventually received at 21 Fur Whiskey Bar. We discuss the challenges of management roles in the industry, and Cass's transition to more corporate environment at La La Social House.
We talk about the importance of bartender involvement in menu creation, the impact of corporate influence and need for continuous learning in the craft cocktail world. Also, Cass shares an amusing story about how she landed her latest job at La La Social House, plus we cover a wide range of other topics in our terrific conversation with Cass. We want to thank Cass once again for a stop-and-buying person for the interview. Enjoy the show.
For back with another episode of the industry podcast, my name is Kit, this is Dan. What's going on? Not too much. Just another start to work weeks, are the usual complaints and first-world problems for yourself?
Yeah, nothing to complain about. October 5 is finally over, so that's good for business. Yeah. Hopefully they got all that out of their system.
Nice. Nice. How's the fall been so far the last couple of weeks? The problem is it picks up well in September and early October, and then October 5 hits, and then we all get fucked.
Yeah. And it's slowly on that track, double on this channel, because people are staying in for couples, because of Halloween? Yeah, and it kicks into Halloween, yeah. So in November, Christmas parties.
Mm-hmm. Nice, nice. These were almost Christmas parties, season, so that's good. Yeah.
And if you're in town, I want to check out these bars, because they'll be satin only for at least another weekend. It's Babylon Sisters Bar, up down Waterloo, at Babylon Sisters Bar on Instagram, or Sugar Run, downtown, Kitchen, or at Sugar Run Bar on Instagram, to find out all the things that are going on at those two places. Also, you should email me kyppatbablonsisters.ca If you're interested in any of the fine offerings from Terroir Wine and Ports, dealing with consignment, Portuguese and Spanish wine, we have some Argentinian stuff, and Malabar from Niagara on the lake. Well, you can also reach me there for finding out all the good stuff from the Malabar winery in Niagara, and as well, Alora to Stilling Co.
So anything, any of the above, email me there to find out what we're selling, and I'm your guy. And if you like what we're doing here on the show, then you want to follow, subscribe, rate, review for telefrantas. That makes the sense. That's the easiest thing to do.
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Anything else you want to crowd along about? No, I got a list of complaints, but I'm sure no one wants to hear them. I don't think it'll hold show. I'm going to have a webist here.
I'm going to have a two-parter. We have a list of those. Okay, so let's bring a guest. This is Cass Walker.
How are you? I'm going to be able to spell my wine. Excited. Excited.
You have two-person guests. That would have been only the 54th class of Red Wine spilled on your tablecloth since we started doing the black list. I'll try my best not to. I've got a pad underneath.
I'll prepare. We both done at least one. Yeah. Get it out.
Get it out. Okay, so thanks for doing the show. Thanks for coming over. This all worked out because I actually ran into your work on Lala.
What is that place? Lala social house. Downstairs is the Mebar, but I think the whole establishment Lala social house. Downstairs is the Mebar.
Okay. Can you work at either level? Yes. Generally I'm upstairs, but on the weekends occasionally I feel like downstairs.
Okay, so we can talk about that. I feel like working at that's why. I love it so far. Yeah, really nice place.
I feel like more people need to know about it in a way. It's a great place for Waterloo. But yeah, I know I'm loving it so far. Yeah, the location is a little weird for that, right?
So we're talking about this before we start recording. It's started as a private members club. And then they've now dropped that system. But kind of a good location for a private members club.
Definitely with all those condos nearby. Yeah. And kind of off the beaten path a little bit. For those who don't know, the KAW region is sort of the main strip in uptown Waterloo.
Yeah. And then Lala has a few blocks down from that. Yeah, it's almost like midtown. Right.
Yeah. And so it's like you and Bower Kitchen are kind of the... Essentially, yeah. So that's great if you're selling this private membership thing, but that's a great for walk-by traffic.
It's too far. So we pass that people aren't really walking by it at night unless you're going to like, burger breeze or something. Right. That's why all of us said fucks are getting gouged with rents where my bar's located in the middle of that fucking street.
Yeah. So, yeah. Okay. So you started working there.
How long ago? I won't say months now. Yeah. Just after September 5th I think.
Before that, you worked for me briefly at Sugar Run. Yes I did. So for a small perspective before that at Grand Trunk. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah, Grand Trunk. Yeah, to them was there for a while. And then it's 21 for before that.
What was your first industry job? Well, technically I was a hostess at a Turtle Jacks when I was like. Turtle Jacks. Yeah, when I was 16 probably.
Is this place to sell around? There's one towards wealth. I think the one in Musoka, the original location is probably the busy one. If you look at Port Carling and that was the original one.
And then after that I went to 11 which is the fine dining restaurant for analysts at the U.K. In Big Blue Square. Right, yeah, yeah. So I was a hostess there for that.
I'd like that place. I loved it. I mean that's where I got my start and fine dining. Kind of like learned a lot of the basics for like good service and all of that.
Yeah, it was nice and cool. And how old were you when you were doing that? 1718. Right.
So you were from KW? Oh, not in Toronto. Oh, you're from Toronto. Okay, so why do you move here?
I'm sorry. Yeah. And then while I was at school my parents were in Ottawa and I didn't want to graduate. I graduated here.
Oh, that's fair. And what did you go to school for? Political Science. Oh, that's too.
Yeah, probably the same class. That's why I was in the street. So we're all scientists. So that's good to know.
Yeah. We're all bartenders now. Yeah. You were briefly.
Off and on. You were actually in a part time over the years. Yeah. Well, should we just turn us into a political discussion for the rest of the hour?
It's always good for us. Yeah. Okay, so you're 16, 17, you started hosting a thing and then you, and you're going to school. You end up going to school.
Yeah. And so when you moved here, did you, was your first job at Twenty-One for it? It was actually at the works, the one of town. Oh, okay.
Yeah. And that was kind of how I became an accidental bartender in a way. I applied to be a hostess there. And I guess the manager who hired me got fired in between hiring me in that first day.
No, that's okay. And I walked in from my first day and they were like, well, we don't know who you are. And I was like, oh, I was hired to be a hostess. Like I sat on my info over and I like, well, we feel bad because you got a job, but the only thing that I had was a lot of people was bartender there.
So I kind of skipped the whole serving thing and just became a bartender there. And I went next to work to, I was one of her. So lunch and I did us, but the works are all kind of drinks that you served at the works. Caesars and like crazy milkshake combos, like, you know, people who are like peppermint banana milkshake and you're kind of watching it.
Could you get booze? Yeah, you could. Yeah. Yeah.
You could get Princey's body. So when it's mixed with fucking bananas and definitely doesn't matter. That was the Reva. Well, yeah.
So many Caesars. Like the days we ran out of Clamato were my favorite chips. So I was so stoked until you succeed. I thought you brought that up because I worked at ESSELS for many years and we made, the Caesar was like the most complicated drink we made.
It's also one of the most annoying cocktails I've ever had to make. It's such as his or his haters to the side. Yeah. It's just like unnecessarily, so we're looking for time consuming.
Yeah, it's incredibly tedious for a reason. Yeah, for basically tomato juice drink. Yeah, like the most ridiculous garnish you've ever heard. Yeah.
And it just kept expanding to more ridiculous garnishes. Yeah, it was crazy how it was just a Caesar cadet. Yeah. They make entire bars based around it.
It's just like a lobster tail. Yeah. It's crazy. But actually we're getting one of those here.
Oh, are we? Or is Revite is now? Is going to be one of those, there was a, there's like a specialty Caesar spot in Blue Mountain? Yeah, 1858.
I was just going to say there's that Caesar bar and their entire model is based around this and people love it. Yeah, that's what's coming to Revite now. Yeah. Okay.
Yeah. He's a fat bar. Oh, no way. Yeah.
So, but, so once I, like, stop where you're at the end and then I opened my first bar with a cocktail bar. I didn't really know what I was doing yet. So I was like, oh, I was going to make cocktails. Yeah.
So I started pretty, like, basic plays on classics or like what the fuck I was doing. And then as you get more into it, you get more creative and expansive and what you're doing. And then I realized what was I fucking complaining about Caesar's work? I've literally made my own list of way more time consuming and difficult things.
I was doing it that way. Yeah, that's totally fair. Even though like with Craft Talk Talk bar hitting sometimes they can get like really complicated, or really complicated, but the Caesar is still just one of those ones that I just sanded. Well, batching really saved everybody in the Craft Talk Talk to a word too, right?
Because it made things way easier. That was one thing I loved about Sugar Run is that it's like batching all the way through. You always want batches. Well, yeah.
And if you're a high volume, I don't see how you avoid it. Right. Sugar Run is definitely one of the most like high volume only bar. Yeah.
People aren't really coming there for food. It's like bar bar bar bar. I would love to get rid of the kitchen all together. We were like, I'm just there.
I was there. There wasn't a kitchen for having a house. No, yeah. Well, we had food cast.
We were in the agency always listening. Yeah. Yeah. It was kind of like a guest bottle at the time.
Yeah. Oh yeah. Pop-ups. We did a lot of pop-ups.
Yeah. I am also kind of an advocate for just moving into like, let's just fucking put some chips in there. Yeah. I don't think it's a bad thing having that kind of like rotating food situation.
Yeah. They were sturled, opened up. They were just bags of chips on the clips. Yeah.
That's what they offered to get around that food thing. That's right. They had frozen dinners. Oh yeah.
Yeah. It was kind of a vibe. I respect that. Yeah.
I wouldn't like have a keyboard order in one of them. That's because we've got it around 145. Yeah. It's been sitting in that freezer for four years minimum.
Okay. So yeah, you're at the works and then, so you skip the whole serving part. I've never done a sense. I mean, I serve here and there when it needed.
Yeah. You will serve if they have to, but you've never been at the whole serving. Yeah. My job title has never been served.
It's been bartender. Yeah. So we're at the works. They don't want to train you at all either.
They just give you like a book and say, figure it out. Yeah. Yeah. The manager that hired me to have been fired.
They were just kind of like, this is your job now. So it's a service bar only. So there's like the bars covered by walls of steel and there's just a little window. Oh really?
So I didn't actually serve customers directly. Oh. It's crushed it. Put them through the window and that was it.
Oh. That's what I get there. I got to get my head around that because it's got a really weird way to learn how to bartend. Because it's kind of like a factory worker.
That is essentially what it was. And I was technically part of the kitchen because it was like this L-shape attached to the kitchen. Something made me wear like a kitchen uniform where I was wearing these really big like black scrubs. Some days I was probably fine though.
Yeah. I think after like eight months they were like all right you can wear a super uniform because you look ridiculous. That's funny. I didn't realize that that was the case.
That still I guess I probably still is. I'm not in there. No, not that still. But what a weird way to learn how to bartend because you're eliminating like what I would consider is actually 80% of the job.
Which is the interaction with your guests right? Yeah. Yeah. Which I mean I left for 21 for I think I was probably other works for like a year-ish maybe.
Not totally sure. And then I was 21 for and that's where I learned it was such a like different world though. Like that like behind the sea wall to like serious bartending with you and that's where I learned all my bartending skills. Right.
And like all of a sudden you have to combine it with talking to people. Yeah exactly. Yeah. Because I have worked with several people who would have loved that steel wall situation.
Oh like now that's my dream job. But now that's like this is weird. And now I'm like that's the best bartending job you can have. When you just crush it.
No I'm not talking about it. Yeah. But you at least have the experience of like talking to guests because the hostess is like the first face and that I wouldn't see is their talk to them. It's very minimal right?
It's like how many people are where we going? Yeah. I mean at 11 hosting is like very very professional. So I wouldn't say there's like a lot of that like chat you report with guests.
Just like let me see your table. Can I take your coat type thing? And at 11 you know we've got a lot of like the Raptors celebrities type thing. Like they like train you very specifically to be very professional.
Right. Yeah. Like if you were to acknowledge that you know any of them you would have fired. Oh really?
So you just got to recognize a celebrity. Yeah. That's stuff to do with your face. Yeah.
Yeah. Because learning stone face the whole time. But it's method I think. Yeah essentially yeah.
They're just like a regular depends on what famous they are I guess like the really famous ones you would take through the kitchen straight to the back of the area. But you still just like even though you're taking them through the kitchen you can't acknowledge that they're like famous. Yeah. Yeah.
So this is totally normal. Yeah. Oh you're a great notebook like fire. Yeah.
So you ever see any of the athletes you know with their families one week and then the girlfriends another week or they do it at a different location. The host is at 11 no far more than anyone. Yeah. Who is the most famous person that you sat?
Rachel Adams. Yeah. That's what you mentioned. That was someone who's going to be Ryan Coslin.
No. She is lovely by the way. She's a great actress. She's one of the lovelies people over my head.
Yeah. Yeah. It's Canadian. Alex Trebek as well actually.
Like I said it's an incredible guy. Yeah. So yeah you at least had that but again it's not anything close to like the conversational style you have to have with guests out of bars. Was that a bit of an eye opener for you when you first started working at 21 for?
Or you just found it natural. I feel like yeah I probably found it a little bit natural. Like I remember my first day. You always like go serve that table.
And I was like kind of bartend around like my seat walls. I like grabbed like a notebook and you always like no leave the notebook. Yeah. So he kind of threw me into it and I think it just kind of came naturally from there.
Yeah. Yeah. Well I mean you're a social person so that part of that part is easy. Yeah.
Yeah. And I can't have a jail. Yeah. And then trying to re-insert yourself into society.
Yeah. I'm definitely going to have that for sure. Yeah. So 21 for is when you first started doing like some real serious craft talk.
Yeah. Yeah. And that's and is that when you started to develop to realize that that's something you kind of like doing? Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So it was a really great place like they did a lot of cocktail training too which I think I think some bars should do more with the servers.
You don't always like the bartenders are very knowledgeable in a lot of bars but the servers don't necessarily know what they're serving the same way the bartenders do. 21 for did a great job of like sitting us down talking to us about like all the liquors we had and all that. So I did appreciate that. Yeah.
Yeah. It makes sense. A huge difference but it's also like coming from the other side of it you need a staff that's open to learning because there's a lot of I try to do that almost every place I've owned and it's just some of them are just there to make money and go home. Oh.
Yeah. And I was like what was it just just people to come in for training or like learn about spirits and why they give a fuck. Yeah. Yeah.
So I was like there was one server 21 for who like she had this party of 16 intersection and she didn't tear the table down and it was like oh like are you going to reset it she's like no because no one can sit there now and I was thinking oh god. Yeah. Wow. Yeah.
So there's definitely those people who are just there to make their hourly and yeah. Yeah. I was I was glad that a lot of people were totally into it but I would get like so much pushback from some people you can just tell these. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They're just like really don't come.
So then were you working there all the way to when 21 first shut down. I was. Yeah. both ended up going to country.
So yeah, so Madison and I ended up managing it together after you left Open the Relic. Right. And then when they closed, Madison was a great term before me actually. I took a little bit of a break.
And then Madison told me that she was working at Grinchrunk and it was during COVID, right? So I was kind of like, not down to get back into the industry immediately. Cause like it's a point and it's like open closed. And then sort of towards the end of the pandemic, I sat down with Daryl and that's when I started working there probably a couple months after her.
And then were you hired as a manager or you just became a manager later? I was hired as a manager. Okay, yeah. And that would have been your first management job then.
I guess technically 21 very was? Grinchrunk was definitely a much bigger management job. And how did you like that transition? I mean, I hadn't worked for a while.
So I definitely liked it. It wasn't great in the sense that I feel like a lot of the staff weren't happy about it when I was hired. Cause maybe they thought they were going to get promoted? Yeah, that type of thing.
Or they're kind of like, who is this? But I think I'd like to think I warmed up quickly to them. They warmed up quickly to me. So it ended up being a great job.
And honestly, it would have stayed there. It was just that like Sam and Astrid bought in and my job became obsolete. Right. Yeah.
We were talking about that the other night. Actually, it was just like many levels of management for a place that doesn't have any employees. Right. So it was just like, we sit down with the manager meeting and there's like six of us.
And I feel like, yeah, it was just like time for me to kind of like bow out peacefully. Six of me and there's one person that's in my room. That's all you have to bar. Yeah.
Yeah, it's funny. I mean, I guess it's a little different in a place like that when there's so many men. It's like, how do you find that? Like, to me, I'm like, who, how do you ever know who's in charge?
I don't even know if there's that many people who are in quote-unquote management. I guess it was kind of like for the more trivial issues at that point, they would kind of come to me. But Sam and Astrid were also great hands on it. But Sam was also like behind the bar a lot.
So if you're like bar related stuff, you would go to him. And then it would kind of like go to me in that I'd escalate test day type thing. But it was definitely like too much management. Like none of that was necessary.
You could just go on straight test day. And that was kind of like, when I realized that, I was like, I'm gonna bow out here. And that's when I hit the ship run. Oh, okay, right.
Yeah. We've talked to many people on the show about this before. One of the worst jobs in the service industry is sort of that middle management role. Because you get kind of shit on from both ends.
Yeah, you get paid anywhere. You're automating less than the people who are working for. Right. They're going home with like $300 in tips and I was like going home with a 60 hour work week.
Yeah, they're going home with the niggas. Yeah, the niggas and the one with the $300 tips and not thinking about that place again. Right, exactly. Yeah, exactly.
So yeah, like how would you find that otherwise like dealing with that whole situation of like, did you find a frustrating or? Well, I mean, I'm just a bartender now. So, yeah. I know what I mean.
Yeah. Yeah, when I went back to playing those service industry jobs, I was like, I'm just gonna be a regular employee. And I don't want any of this to my problem ever again. It's kind of hard though, right?
Because anywhere you apply, they kind of like, oh, they could say something. Like you over qualified. And then immediately start pushing you towards that management role, right? Because I was always looking for managers because it's shipped up.
Yeah, I mean, I think the thing about applying at Lullo is that like it's corporate and there's like a very high ladder of management. So for someone like me who was G.M. like a smaller restaurant, I didn't look over qualified. And the bartender kind of seems right.
Because like I've got probably like eight bosses. I don't know. I'm not sure. It's a big company.
Like it's a big party party party party party party party party. What are the restaurants that they are? They also have like a laundry room, hotels, Aberdeen Tavern. There's go, I can't name them all.
Yeah, I'll just try to get a sense of what I would have known. I should do that. Yeah, but lots of places. Yeah.
So yeah, it's a totally different situation than that. I've got a G.M. and then I'm awesome with him and I've met them. I think a couple of people above that.
But I don't like there's a lot of owners there like that. So it's nice to just kind of be like a regular card in the machine. But you were telling me at the night that you were also like perhaps getting back into like cocktail creation. Oh yeah, definitely.
I'm definitely working on the menu and all of that. So you're still like doing that? Yeah, no, I love doing that. And I do think that's something that the bartender should be doing like when you know like management stuff gets involved in making menu sometimes they can get a bit like not great.
Oh fuck. Well, the time of the show I thought down all the time, I literally could not do it anymore. Like because you have to it's like playing tennis or learning a language. It's like you have to keep doing it or you lose it.
Yeah. It's the thing that you got to keep practicing all the time. Yeah. Because you got to train your palate and you got to be in the weeds like okay this worked when I was making fucking around with the drink this time but then this really didn't work.
Yeah. And then you shake gears off doing it and then try and do it again. Yeah. I'm like I couldn't do it at all.
Yeah. Yeah. I think before like I was like I think a lot of the menu before is like made by like I have like D'Ogio reps elbow. Yeah.
Yeah. But so I think it's good to have the bartenders like on the ground making them. Yeah. Well because even those reps are like maybe former bartenders but they also haven't been doing it for a while.
Exactly. Like they lose their palate as well and also I mean they haven't adjusted a push. Yeah. A little bit.
If they're selling emperors they're like you put emperors in it which is actually a great spirit so but I mean if they're selling like southern comfort they're like it's a comfort in it. Right. Which is fine if you're making a drink based around like you can make a drink based around any spirit almost that you can make taste good if you get creative. Right.
And that's fine but it's like that combination of being ever in the game for a while and then also the fucking drink menu is that we always got offered but like perhaps we're just so basic. Oh, I remember when I was at Sri Lanka we had a lot of reps come in and be like oh like you should combine the spear with lukeers out. Not like a cocktail. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I remember we would get like printed out menus that they had that they had that they had it to all the bars and I'm like you try to get insulted but like we think we're a pretty good cocktail bar here and you're hitting me a menu that you've had like that's laminated.
You can't do obviously several other bars all over the world or whatever. Yeah. Which is the most basic fucking cocktails on. Why don't you use this for your cocktail menu and you're like fuck yourself.
Yeah, I know exactly. I love the energy but I'm not putting your long island icy riffs. Exactly. They're just doing their jobs not the reps fault but it's just like know your environment.
Yeah. Like a nice cocktail bar with that agenda. Yeah. Just going to be like what do you think you could do with Empress dude.
Yeah. Yeah. And I definitely do understand in some sense like bars who like you know like wine wraps are great at the end for the wine. That's their whole job so almost it could seem like a like a wrap from Diadio would be like a good way to do the cocktail menu.
Kind of seems like a parallel there for like super corporate restaurants with a lot of like a huge ladder. Right. But at the end of the day it's just not the same thing. I think yeah like the bartenders there and like they know what they're doing.
Yeah. Ideally. In the city it can be hard to find like a good craft cocktail bartender. Like there's not that many of us.
Yeah. We're talking about it. Like my theory for the reason why that's because there's not enough bars. Right.
Like there were more good craft cocktail bars in town. Us like people would come here to work there. Yeah. Yeah.
And I think like I don't know when there's a lot of like losing all that many craft cocktail bar hunters like some of them can be like a little bit like keep you over the bar with like servers that work there. So like that next generation of bartenders isn't always being like bred the way the truck. Oh interesting. Yeah.
Right. Exactly. I think just like I don't know. Yeah.
People definitely get a bit like defensive over the bar. Like you could possibly do what I do. It's like well they could have each other. I've had that happen at a couple bars.
I've owned with like bar managers where they just and they don't want to teach the young covers properly. They have they want to have control over the whole menu. It's like let this person get a drink on the menu. Yeah.
It will mean nothing to you. You have nine drinks on the menu. Give them one. Right.
It will be a huge deal to them. Exactly. They're encouraging. It's so excited.
And that's what gets people like passionate about our tenning. Which is what we fucking need. Yeah. Right.
And that's what was done for Amy and Sugar Run. What's her now? She's one of our times in the city so passionate about the whole thing. Yeah.
Like one of the places she is. Yeah. Yeah. One of the things that Sugar Run is that Amy didn't need me.
Right. Yeah. Like she is incredible. She really wants to do it.
So that's good. Right. That's a good sugar run. Yeah.
Yeah. And she took it. Like that's the thing. Yeah.
Exactly. I mean there's definitely a lot of bars out there where someone like Amy who would be like, oh I want to do this. No. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Also not being open to other people's ideas on these cycles creativity Among everybody. Right.
Exactly. And I think yeah there's definitely a number like some ideas where it's like that's stupid. But maybe you could just be like love the passion here. But even if you're about like subbear with Lucilla herself.
That's stupid. Yeah. Get it out of my face. But yeah you know sometimes I have like a good cocktail idea pitch and like but let's put pop rocks on the random.
What if we didn't do the pop rocks? But the rest of it is cool. Right. Well in my mind like something like a really good bar manager or or whatever level the Interview has in charge of theespecially.
Right, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, and that's cool too. I mean, I'm maybe not saying dumb, but... Yeah, I totally would say it's dumb. We can get a little bit put it on the menu and sign his name on the bottom, but I respect it for it.
That's too much like a Caesar. Yeah. The showing you why. Yeah, exactly.
That was natural in like teaching me how to partake. Right, because you don't know when you're starting. You're just fucking smashing ideas together. Right, I was just like 22.
I was still just like drinking salsa or whatever to fun before. Like I'd manually and you actually taught me like a bit like... What's very good? Yeah, like, from spirits and all that, yeah, definitely yeah.
And then when you took the W-SAC courses, did you find that that helped your cocktail creation as well? I like to say that's what I also feel like it was just kind of $500 for a certificate. Yeah, that's it. You probably get to learn the other job.
Most of it was just like about like the distillation process, which like, you know, once a year someone comes in and asks me a niche question that I'm like, I'm like, oh, I know the answer. Right, like I'm thinking this person as well and like you do have to answer those on the test or whatever. Yeah, like for me it's more than why not as a spirits and I was the spirits and I was the spirit and I was the part of that was very small. Yeah, so I did the spirit specifically.
I mean, I was the two in spirit, it's not wine. Oh, I see. So I was wine, but they also talked about spirits. Right, specifically.
I mean, I'm going to be such a spirits and nothing else. Oh, so much about fucking distilling. It's a lot more about socket than you think. It's something that nobody really wants.
Right, so I don't remember as much of it as I'd like to. So a lot of it is still like, but that classic question of like, what's it in most Calentacula? No, I can answer that for $500. Yeah, sure.
So it's a game show where they gave you the $500. Yeah, it was all online too or is that in person? Yeah, I did a drink of it, so it was all online too. That's tough for two online, because I did mine pre-COVID obviously and like in class training is much better.
Like in class you have to go with the wine because you're tasting the wine. Right, oh yes, they give a little thing. You're supposed to drink it like this and I'm with water, but as you do with online courses, I just forgot about it for three months and then the day before the exam read the entire book they made it. Yeah, I'm going to pass it like 95% so I got like a thing that says like pass with merit and I was like, do I just read for the merit?
If they say it's you, I never knew that. Yeah, I thought it was hell and good. Okay, so that's a different course than I took, but I was thinking about how it might apply to cocktails just because like appreciation of what, like how does it affect your palate in a certain way? Right, yeah.
And then so that opened up your palate so like what flavors make sense to go together type thing? Yeah, yeah. I do think that when I was going into it actually like I definitely did know a lot of that time. And actually when COVID happened and 21 first shut down, you only would make us like every Thursday.
We'd have to do this like zoom call with all the staff. We'd like we'd buy a spirit and we'd like give a tasting thing. At the time I'd definitely hate it for it. But now I'm thanking it.
It's just right. Yeah, so we had to do that. We'd like try the spirit and never had to guess what it was. Right.
And I did the same right just brought the song every week. They could figure it out. It was that again. Yeah, I did a lot of blind tastings from my WSA and I've done some kind of blind tasting sort of events.
And it's those fuckers who bring us like they pour you like three straight reasons. I mean, like what reasons for example, maybe like a first-minute which is like not always easy to recognize. They do three in a row just to fuck with you. It's like come on.
No, that was me every week. It was mikters. Is it the mikters again? That's a good list.
Yeah, and I try to look at different flavor profile every time. Oh yeah. And you know what's always going to be like I know what's mikters. I was like give me a song.
That's funny. I can see why yeah of course because anything you're obligated to do is you're going to eventually present. Right because it's still not working but like I had to get on the Zoom calls. I actually know like we ended up doing wine after the spirits and I know like so much about wine out because of that.
Like you actually did teach me so much during that. But at the time yeah, definitely. I was like yeah, I was like testing my boyfriend. I was like you pull the fire alarm in the house.
Go. Yeah. Yeah. But then you do end up appreciating it then.
Yeah. Yeah. And so this menu that you'll be working on for Lala, this will be a first one. I'll be a first one.
Yeah. So and the first one in a what? Yeah. No yeah.
Yeah. And took around with how long ago now I don't even remember. July or yeah then July 2023 was when I was sugar. Right.
Yeah. So yeah, I guess that's long. It just over a year. Yeah.