Green's Finest Meets the Wiz with Duane Fernandez & Pamela Wiznitzer (TCGP S3 E11)

#AI Transcript: TCGP S3_E11

Announcer:
Jonathan Pogash is the cocktail guru, a mixologist and hospitality expert. See, you know big words. Dude, I'm a cocktail guru. Cheers. Jeffrey's his dad, a wine and spirits author, historian and consultant.

Jeffrey:
I do my homework.

Announcer:
With decades of experience, they're always looking for the next big thing. Join this father and son duo for a few laughs as they explore the hottest trends in hospitality with the service industry's leading trailblazers and tastemakers. Welcome to the Cocktail Guru Podcast.

Jonathan:
Well, we're still on a Las Vegas trip, dad, and we have two of two of our good pals and you know them.

Jeffrey:
We're on a Las Vegas high, right? Yes. Yes, we are. Do tell.

Jonathan:
Who are? Well, our Cocktail Guru team member, Pamela Wisnitzer. Oh, wow. Yeah, Pam Wis. And then Dwayne Fernandez, Jr., who is a former Cocktail Guru team member and now works with Uncle Nearest in Las Vegas. They joined me. We recorded it live at the vault at the Bellagio, which is where I did our bar takeover, a little pop up thing. So we've got Pam and Dwayne for a very spirited, fun, lively conversation. Again, we we imagined that you were there, Dad.

Jeffrey:
Well, thank you. I imagined I was there, too, at the vault because it's a beautiful, super exclusive space. I know. I wish I could have joined you.

Jonathan:
We left the door open kind of like you're Elijah.

Jeffrey:
Well, I'm there in spirit.

Jonathan:
Yeah. All right. Here we go. Another very special episode with some guests here. Dad is not here. I'm sorry, Dad. We tried to get you to come to Las Vegas, Nevada, which is where we are. But we are at the beautiful vault at the Bellagio Hotel, and we could not be prouder to have a couple of amazing guests. You've known her for years and years. You love her. You know that she's a member of the Cocktail Guru team. We interviewed her at Tales of the Cocktail a couple of years ago. Pamela Wisnitzer.

Pam:
Hi, Pam. Just call me Jeffrey Pogash today.

Jonathan:
OK, Jeffrey. And this is a reunion of sorts because I have not seen this young man in a few years.

Duane:
Gosh, I mean, I think it's been I think the last time I saw you was in 2016 and maybe 17 at San Antonio.

Jonathan:
Really? Yeah. Well, what happened after 2000? So what's that gap between 2017?

Duane:
You know, I was growing up and I got a baby. Her name is Gretchen. And you got her at San Antonio. She's a Texan. She's a San Antonio. I got it from a vodka brand. I sure did. Wow.

Jonathan:
Wait, you got your dog from a vodka brand?

Duane:
Yeah, there was a closing gala. I wasn't feeling well. And everyone was having a lot of fun. And I was being the boring, cranky old guy. And they were like, why don't you go in the booth? They have dogs there to adopt. And so I hung out with this little white dog named Snow White the entire night. And the next day, I woke up in the morning. And I'm like, I'm going to get a dog. And they gave me a dog. And now she's a seven-year-old and 85 pounds, Miss Gretchen Audrey Fernandez, Lady G for short. She's a lady. The middle? Wait, what? Gretchen Audrey Fernandez, Miss Gretchen Audrey. Gretchen what? Audrey. Audrey. Oh, Audrey. Audrey. OK, I thought you said orgy. Oh, no, Audrey. Oh, OK. All right. But who knows?

Pam:
Maybe she enjoys that as well.

Duane:
No. Whoa. No, no, no. She's still innocent. Oh, is she? The little boys, they try to play.

Jonathan:
I didn't even say your name. You're Dwayne Fernandez Jr.

Duane:
Dwayne Fernandez. Hi guys. Hi. It's so great being here. I miss you both. This is a pleasant surprise. I'm here in Vegas and everyone comes here, but I haven't seen you guys here in the three years that I've been here.

Pam:
I haven't been to Vegas, I think, since 2019. Wow, it's been that long, yeah?

Duane:
And yourself?

Jonathan:
Yeah, same, probably 2019.

Duane:
Well, it's 2024, and now we're here together. Is it? Yes. Is it 2024? It is it?

Jonathan:
Wow, yeah, it is.

Duane:
It is. Oh my gosh, is it? Reunion time.

Jonathan:
Reunion time. Well, so yeah, I loved our time going to San Antonio Cocktail Conference. That was always a lot of fun. Yeah. They don't do it anymore, or there's some version of it.

Duane:
I when I left Texas, I left Texas. It was a great time. And now I'm here in Las Vegas, Nevada, enjoying this moment here. Nevada. Yeah. Nevada.

Jonathan:
San Antonio was fun, right?

Pam:
It was really fun. Yeah. I think my favorite part about you, Dwayne, I mean, I met you in New York City.

Announcer:
Oh, yeah. Pogac also met you in New York City. Yeah.

Pam:
And you work with the cocktail guru. And there's a lot of ways that we started to bond. But I think what I love about the trajectory of your career is that you have you've kind of seen yourself and when you get comfortable in a space you're like, I can do more, I can grow, I can be more and you purposely take yourself to spaces. to show everybody how great you can be within that space. And that is what I've noticed about you. You did it in Texas, and then you were there, and you were like, you know what? I'm ready for something different. And you came to Las Vegas.

Duane:
I mean, yeah, I don't see myself in that. For me, it's like going on an adventure. And I remember talking to you going to Montauk one time, and I was like, I want to do this road trip traveling across America just to see how the drinking community is different from the East Coast, West Coast, and the South. You know, when COVID hit, there was nothing else for me to do, but either stay in Texas, which I had never experienced, or go back home to New York, which I wasn't ready to do, or just drive west. And so I started driving west. I had no idea that Las Vegas would be the place, but I spent a week, right before I came here, at Joshua Tree. And I meditated and I just... Me and Gretchen was just in the wilderness, just like not doing anything, but just like trying to understand where we were going. And we came here.

Pam:
You were with your friend Kerry, weren't you? Yeah, Kerry Keegan. Yes. Yeah. A big whiskey drinker, a big supporter of the industry.

Duane:
Yeah. We were taking baths in these like tubs outside and underneath this glass. It was like crazy. I mean, like there were like these desert rats running all over the place. It was beautiful. It was just like that moment was a part of my and the evolution of who I was, right? Because I was leaving Texas as this guy that was working for this big, powerful brand and learning so much from that experience, you know, about rodeo and just the South culture, the Southern culture. You know, when I get to Joshua Tree, I was just like, well, what's next? And I didn't know. I thought it was going to be L.A., actually. And when I got to L.A., they started rioting. And so I just like wound up leaving and came to Vegas for five days and wound up staying three and a half years.

Jonathan:
And you were just telling me before that you love this city. You've fallen in love.

Duane:
I have. This was a city that I never even thought about living. The only times I've come here was with you.

Jonathan:
Yeah, we all went to Vegas, didn't we, one year? So I brought you out here to work with Blue Chair Bay. And then did we also work with Channing Tatum?

Pam:
Yes, I think so.

Jonathan:
I didn't do a Channing Tatum, no. Our PA John is laughing about Channing Tatum.

Duane:
I came here once before, but you were the second person. Just so you guys know, Jonathan, oh gosh, oh gosh. He's done so much for us. He doesn't even realize it, but he's always been that guy that just guided me the right way without even knowing. You were always welcoming. No, seriously. When I talk about mentors, I consider you one of them. And I don't know if I've ever told you that. That's very sweet of you. No, it is. Thank you. I'll never forget the first day I met you. Really? Yeah. It's a long story.

Jonathan:
Well, Pam says that a lot, too. She remembers the first day she met you.

Duane:
Yeah. This is quite a thing.

Jonathan:
Well, what was the first day? I mean, when?

Duane:
What was the first time? We were at Jacob Javits Center. I don't know what conference it was. Oh, the bar show. Was it, really? Yeah. I know that I had just joined the USPG, and I was volunteering for everything. Yes. I had did this program and you and Hal was like, are you that guy from, you know, this program that I did the night before? And I was just like, yeah, that's me. And you're like, oh, well, welcome. And then you put the USPG and why we did this of Philadelphia, Boston, New York, like takeover. That was the first time I met all the great people that I know now that have become friends and family, actually. And Pam came around, what, a year later, maybe two years later? She came into our lives, and Pam just came out of nowhere. It was just like, I am Pam.

Pam:
People call me Poppin' Pam. It was a poppin' Pam. Yeah, I like pop into places.

Jonathan:
Pam was a... That was a nickname some people gave me. Wow, okay. Yeah.

Duane:
Popping Pam.

Jonathan:
I haven't heard that before. It's a new one for you. OK, I'm going to start using it.

Duane:
Absolutely. I love that. She popped in today.

Pam:
She popped in today. She did pop in today. I did. I popped in. I landed, got changed, and I popped into the vault.

Duane:
When she pops, she pops really well. She's a big pop.

Pam:
If you're going to be a jack in the box, make it worth it. Wow.

Jonathan:
Hey everyone, Jonathan here. If you're into swag as much as we are, then look no further than our Cocktail Guru Shop. The items in our store have been personally chosen, hand-picked with care by me, I'm Jonathan, and my team of cocktail gurus. A water bottle with a stainless steel straw? Yep. T-shirts? Mm-hmm. Hoodies? Yes. Snapback hats? Signed copies of Mr. Boston Bartender's Guide? Cocktail box kits, bar tools, and more. You betcha. We've even managed to create a onesie for that mocktail lover in your family. So head on over to shop.thecocktailguru.com and use code GURU23 for 10% off your first order. It's a great deal. That's shop.thecocktailguru.com, 10% off with code GURU23. Cheers. Can you pour a little bit of your whiskey?

Pam:
OK, so you get to Nevada. Yeah. OK, first, I think people may not also know your trajectory of being a bartender. First off, you were an incredible bartender and beverage director, creating iconic programs in New York when people weren't there. You were at Acme and so many insanely iconic bars, especially in the mid-2000s, early 2010s. You helped to launch Purity, which was a really high-end vodka. You were like, Purity!

Duane:
Yeah, yeah, the taste of vodka, which was a great... I remember, I was just telling Pogos this, I had been studying American whiskey for some time prior to Purity, and they reached out to me and I said, I was here in Las Vegas with you, Pogosh. We were upstairs in the hotel room and I was laying across the bed and you're like, what's going on? What are you doing? I'm like, I'm thinking about working for Purity Vodka. And you're like, no, don't do that. And the next day I actually went home.

Jonathan:
Why would I say don't do that? I think because... Did you have another opportunity at the same time?

Pam:
I think I remember why.

Jonathan:
Is it for off camera? No.

Pam:
Oh, why? Go for it. I think because at the time, vodka was still popular, but not as popular. And you were like, should I do a vodka brand? Is it oversaturated market? And you said, do I connect to vodka? It was this big conversation of, can I be influential, and can I be impactful in the role of a vodka ambassador? And that was what we were all talking about with you. And then you said, you don't see a lot of people like me in a vodka role, and I want to challenge that. I think that was the most brilliant part of your decision.

Duane:
And this was also before vodka pays the bills. Right?

Pam:
Yeah.

Duane:
Yeah. Because I remember, you know, saying I didn't want to be involved because I wanted to be part of, like, the thing that was happening now, but not realizing that Vodka was making a comeback. And, you know, I hate to say this, but I was part of that catalyst. You know, it was like Purity and all, you know, you had Absolute Elix that was coming up. Of course, you had Rekka and all these beautiful... Elite. Elite was there. Elite. But you had Tito's coming up the ranks. And so it was just... For two years, we were rocking Purity Vodka from Sweden, from Malmö, Sweden. Purity! Yeah, we went to Sweden a couple of times. We did. Must be nice. I made cocktails in a hot air balloon over Sweden for 30 of the most influential bartenders. It was dope. Across the world, actually. Yeah, that was one of the highlights of my career.

Pam:
And the hot air balloon went an hour longer than it should have because the winds were so bad. So we're all kind of, and it's about like 8 a.m. in the morning, we're drinking cocktails just as contacts.

Duane:
Yeah, beautiful. What a life. You know, I never thought about being in this world. Like, I was waiting tables. I wanted to be a hotel concierge. I went to school for hotel restaurant management. I bumped into, you know, bartending. And it was at a time where, like, classic cocktails or cocktails were making a thing. And I just drove on a, you know, was riding that wave and then USB-G. Well, I mean, Once again, thanks to Borgage for having me join the USPG, which got me here today. This is the reason why I'm here in Las Vegas with you guys, working for one of the most new, iconic brands ever in the market.

Pam:
It's one of the fastest growing brands.

Duane:
We are the fastest growing independent American whiskey. We are female owned and led, African-American female owned and led. And we have some exceptional whiskey.

Pam:
Hand blended and like everything is going on by women.

Duane:
I mean, I can talk hours about Uncle No's Whiskey, but what I really want to do is share the single barrel with you guys that we just won double gold with here at the Proof of Wars in Las Vegas.

Pam:
This is really special because not a lot of people get to taste this.

Duane:
No, and this is a barrel 61. And barrel 61 is the barrel that really got all of the accolades. Now this is at 121 proof. Oh my gosh, but it's the best single barrel. And I'm not just saying this because I work for the brand, but this is by far one of the best single barrel expressions I've ever had in my entire life. And for this, I see this as where our future is going to be with our 1856. The 100 Proof in 1884, which is the small batch. What she's doing, Victoria E. Butler, is something really, her palette is something extremely special.

Pam:
She's won a lot of awards in her position for being one of the best master blenders that we have right now.

Duane:
She's the first African-American woman master blender winner. She's the first person to ever win back-to-back master blender awards. She's won four in a row. Victoria E. Butler, it's insane.

Pam:
Please, this is a shareable, I mean, you know, one would like to be selfish, but... I also, Dwayne, I remember when you told me that you were going to start working for Uncle Nearest, and to me it was so iconic on lots of levels, mostly because you've always been a whiskey person.

Duane:
I've always been a whiskey person. So here's a funny story, right? I, you know, I got furloughed from, you know, the previous brand due to COVID. And I was like, what do I want to do next? I want to go into events. And then I was talking to my sister and I was like, there's this brand out there. It's like, oh, you know, it's getting all this, you know, awards. We're going to share it anyway. You know? And, and I was like, I would love to have a conversation with them. And I put on Facebook that I was no longer with the brand. The next day, Kitty. Yes. She's like, I saw that you're no longer with this brand. Uncle Nearest Risky is hiring in Texas. And I thought, holy cow, I was just talking about this brand to my sister yesterday. Of course I want to have the conversation with them. Fast forward, I didn't think that I would do it justice in Texas. And I was also trying to get them to relocate me because I wanted to leave. But not that Texas was bad. I wanted to try something new. But they said, if you ever make your way to New Mexico, Colorado, or Nevada, Give us a call and we'll see if there's opportunity available.

Pam:
So this is this is what we call like some high roller whiskey.

Duane:
Oh, well, this is yes, this is the vault. If not the vault, like this is what this is, what exceptional is. This is more than whiskey. This is extraordinary. This is this is what Las Vegas is about. Like this right here. Yeah. And this I'm carrying this experience.

Jonathan:
Thank you. All right, we're gonna have a little taste.

Pam:
Oh! That's great. It's also really chewy.

Duane:
Super chewy.

Jonathan:
My lips are very, very chapped.

Pam:
And truly, like, if you're gonna have a whiskey of this caliber, you taste it, but then you open up with a little bit of water, right? Of course, you want to. Unless you're just, like, down for the cause and you just start drinking it as is.

Duane:
But right now, the whiskey enthusiasts, all they're looking for is that overproof whiskey. And I think that person, that woman, that man, They want to enjoy these flavors just naturally, right? Of course, when you add a little water, it opens it up. But this in itself doesn't even drink like a 121 proof, right? This is one of the finest single barrel, and I keep saying this, I'm so proud to represent this brand and just be able to share the spirit with all the people that I love and the people that I'm going to meet soon, right? This is what this is all about, being in these celebratory moments, having these opportunities to just create memories that last forever.

Pam:
Yes. Amen. Cheers to memories.

Duane:
Cheers to you, Dwayne. Cheers to us.

Pam:
You, Pam. Memories in the making.

Jonathan:
Yes. You're going to join me behind the bar. We're going to make a quick cocktail in the next segment. Tipple time. You ready?

Pam:
You still got it?

Jonathan:
I don't know. I don't know. I heard that it's a challenge. Is that right?

Duane:
Yes. Well, we have launched the HBCU Old Fashioned Challenge. So I'm going to challenge you to make a variation of an old fashioned.

Jonathan:
I accept your challenge.

Duane:
Yes, please do. Because every old fashioned that you make with Uncle Nevis Whiskey, we donate a dollar to the HBCU fund.

Pam:
And how can people showcase that they're making their old fashions?

Duane:
Oh, well, you just upload your, you know, upload your old fashion to the old fashion cocktail challenge dot com and just submit your photo and we donate just we you can also donate if you like, if you want to, you know, donate extra. But it's all about your photo. Every photo made or every old fashioned made with an old fashioned expression, 1884, 1856, a rye or our single barrel. We will donate one dollar to the HBCU Fund.

Pam:
Tipple Time is brought to you in part by Uncle Nearest Whiskey and the perfect puree of Napa Valley.

Jonathan:
All right, we are here, another segment of Tipple Time. And this one is a very extra special Tipple Time because Dwayne and I just chatted earlier in the earlier interview, and we're now gonna make a cocktail.

Duane:
Yes, so we were talking about the HBCU Old Fashioned Challenge. Yeah. And so I wanna challenge you, Mr. Pogac. No, no, no, don't do this to me. Please, I have to. Let's see what he's really like, right? On the cuff, I need you to make me a variation of an old fashioned. using this perfect puree, orange zest.

Jonathan:
Wow. And Uncle Nearest, of course. And of course, Uncle Nearest, 1856, 100 proof. Okay. Oh my gosh. I can't believe you're doing this to me, like literally off the cuff.

Duane:
This is what we do in this industry. We make concepts for our guests off the cuffs. Most times, you know, we have to cater to them. And now I want you to cater to me.

Jonathan:
Okay, so this has to be a variation on old-fashioned. A variation. Okay, using the orange zest. So the orange zest is kind of, it's a bit thick. Right. So I wouldn't do a stirred cocktail. Normally an old-fashioned is a stirred cocktail. Right. But can we do something shaken? Of course we can. But with the old-fashioned as the inspiration. Absolutely. Okay. Yeah, so what's an old-fashioned? So an old-fashioned is whiskey, sugar, water, bitters. That's it. Three ingredients. One, two, three. Easy to make at home. So I'm going to add, let's do two ounces.

Duane:
I think two ounces will work.

Jonathan:
Yes, he thinks so. And of course, the perfect puree orange zest. Smell it. Smell it. Smells amazing. It's winter. It smells like winter. I'm just going to see how thick that is. It's a pretty thick puree. I'm going to do a spoonful. Yeah.

Duane:
OK. Yeah. We'll just give it an essence. That's like an orange zest in old fashioned. Yeah. Yeah.

Jonathan:
I think that'll work. Let's see. So we've got some interesting ingredients here. Oh. Can you grab me that hibiscus syrup?

Duane:
I love hibiscus. I really do. Yeah. I really do.

Jonathan:
Me too. OK, let's see. Yeah, I think that could work. It's got that like kind of sweet, tart, savory. Right, yeah. And that color is beautiful. Beautiful color.

Duane:
And that orange is really going to blend well. And it's just about half gone. Oh, it's going to be interesting, right? With the orange. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, OK.

Jonathan:
See, it'll be like kind of maybe like a dragon fruit kind of color. Oh, yeah. Right? I'm excited. Are you excited? Yeah. Can you tell? I'm going to add some bitters. We're going to do a couple of dashes of a couple of different bitters. OK. How about that? This looks like aromatic. I'm not entirely sure, but we're going to go with aromatic. All right. We're going to do two dash or three dashes. All right. And then that looks like Peychaud's bitters. That looks like orange bitters. We're going to do orange bitters, two dashes. Perfect. Yeah. And I think I'm going to shake. I think you should shake. OK. Yeah. Here we go. This is going to be really interesting. Do you want to shake?

Duane:
Oh my gosh, I haven't shaken in years. Of course I'll shake. My shaker face. You're out of practice. Yeah, let's take a look at your shaker face. Oh wait, let me take off my glasses.

Jonathan:
Oh my gosh, he's taking his glasses off for this. You don't want to stain your glasses. Look at that shaker face.

Duane:
That should be enough, you think? Yeah, that's good. Oh my gosh. Oh wow, look at that. Beautiful color, isn't it?

Jonathan:
Okay. And we'll get one of these really beautiful, um, old fashioned glasses. How about something like that? I'm down with it. Yeah. And a big cube. Yeah. Yeah, man. I love the setup here.

Duane:
I mean, look, this is heaven right here. Oh, wait. Oh, but there's a rose inside.

Jonathan:
You see that? Fancy schmancy. Super fancy schmancy. Oh my gosh. We're going to just add that. Yeah. Yes. Strain it out. Yep.

Duane:
Look at this color guys. Whoa. And I thought with the brown of the spirit, the brown spirit and the orange would be a little funky, but that came out pretty darn well.

Jonathan:
I mean, look at how that rose looks. Oh, my gosh. You guys can see that maybe. In any case, this is the drink.

Duane:
Yes. Well, should I do the honor or you should do the honor? Well, you have to taste your cocktail first before you serve it to a guest, right? Because we never want to serve a guest, you know, incomplete cocktail.

Jonathan:
That's right. That did happen to me once early on. I was making a mojito and they sent it back. As it turns out, it didn't have the rum in it. Oh, I forgot it. Yeah, I forgot. OK. Hmm. Oh, I get that. Yeah, the delicious kind of oak, vanilla, cinnamony, whiskey flavor. Oh, not bad. It's interesting. It's really interesting because it has that kind of umami savory old fashioned thing going on. And then the citrusy tartness is on the back end. So the umami is like front whereas usually it's in the back. Anyway, that's exciting.

Duane:
It's very exciting. Well, I mean, look, this is what cocktail is all about, right? Challenging the palate, wanting you to explore and experience something different. So we're going to try this. Please try it. This challenge.

Jonathan:
Also, we haven't seen each other in many years. So this is a reunion of sorts.

Duane:
This is fantastic. Is it good? OK, so I love my old fashions. Most times I just I love going to a bar, just asking for a classic cocktail like a daiquiri or a margarita. Yeah, this is right in my alleyway. Like this is a mixture of both. Right. I mean, the Hibiscus is wonderful. Yeah. That 100 proof whiskey, Uncle Neris is really standing out. Yeah. Well done. Well, thank you. The challenge was accepted and he surpassed the old fashioned challenge.

Jonathan:
Wow. You too can enter the old fashioned challenge. Is that correct? Where can people, where should people go if they want to get information on that?

Duane:
Yes. If you have a old fashioned cocktail made with Uncle Neris whiskey, you can take a picture and upload it to oldfashionedcocktailchallenge.com and For every photo, we donate $1 to the HBCU College Fund. That's awesome. Yeah. No, it's all for a good cause. Yeah.

Jonathan:
Great. I love Uncle Nearest.

Duane:
Love you. Thank you.

Jonathan:
You're like a brother. We're family. We're family. I'm also a cocktail guru. That's right. Yes. No, no, no, no. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Scratch that. But I am. You are. You are. I still have my. You still have the apron.

Duane:
That's right. That's where the apron is. I have the chef's coat. I have two of them.

Jonathan:
Oh, that's old school. We used to wear chef's coats before this. That was like super old school.

Duane:
He's a he's a good guy. He's one of the important guys in my life. And so I thank him for everything it says. Good to see you, buddy. Yeah. Oh, this is so special. OK. No, seriously, this is really special.

Jonathan:
Well, we're going to we're going to go party the night away. Yes.

Duane:
Well, well, OK. OK.

Jonathan:
My ways have changed. Oh, his ways have changed. Well, so have so have mine. Party by party. I mean, like dinner and then go to sleep. Yes, exactly. Yeah. Cheers, everyone. Cheers. Till next time. Cheers.

Jeffrey:
Tipple Time is brought to you in part by Uncle Nearest Whiskey and the perfect puree of Napa Valley.

Announcer:
Today's Cocktail Commentary with Jeffrey Pogash is brought to you by Lustau Vermouth Dry. Filled with brininess, umami, and manzanilla de sanlucar, this new expression arrives to complete the collection, Lustau Dry Vermouth.

Jeffrey:
Hello, my friends, and welcome back to Cocktail Commentary. Perhaps the most serene and sophisticated of all L.A. bars is the one tucked away within the lush, 12-acre bucolic setting of the Hotel Bel Air, located in Stone Canyon, just a mile west of Beverly Hills and a half a mile off of Sunset Boulevard. The stone bridge that crosses the pond known as Swan Lake is the required path for entry into this world of intimacy, luxury, and pure self-indulgence. It took me a few years to discover this oasis in the middle of the hustle and bustle of LA, but finally, and fortunately, I did. The Hotel Bel Air was a refuge. In fact, it was my salvation. And I ended up staying there often enough that I became friendly with the managers of the hotel and with the bartenders and even with certain regulars, like the handsome, permanently tanned actor George Hamilton, who seemed to be at the hotel every time I was there and was always nattily dressed. He was impeccable. But Mr. Hamilton isn't the only actor to hang out here. Since 1946, the Bel Air has played host to some of Hollywood's greatest stars, like Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant, along with notables from the world of politics, such as President John F. Kennedy, Princess Grace of Monaco, and of course, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, who were regulars, as they live just up the street from the hotel. I was fortunate to have met Mrs. Reagan during one of my stays there. Well, that's the backdrop. And as you can see, this is a story about nostalgia, a yearning to return to the piano bars of the past, especially the most seductive and relaxing of them all, the champagne bar at the Hotel Bel Air, where maestro pianist Antonio Castilla de la Gala worked his magic night after night from 1998 until 2009, when the hotel closed down for a two-year-long renovation. Antonio made his living as a concert pianist in Mexico and the U.S. before his gig at the Bel Air. But after an exhausting day working in L.A., organizing wine tastings and lunches for journalists, the Champagne Bar and Lounge was an oasis where I could relax with a drink in hand and listen to the soothing sounds of Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, among many other composers. As Time Goes By, Someone to Watch Over Me, and Bésame Mucho, composed by Mexican singer Consuelo Velázquez with American Sonny Schuyler as a co-writer, were great favorites of mine. Loved those pieces. Antonio could play any tune from almost any Broadway show from the 1920s and beyond. Don't Cry for Me Argentina from Evita and Sunrise Sunset from Fiddler on the Roof were real crowd-pleasers. His repertoire numbered 2,000 pieces of music, including the great classics from Beethoven, Chopin, and Bach. With a Manhattan in hand, I was transported to another world. The wood-burning fireplace was lit on many a cold night, even during the summer, adding greater warmth and coziness to an already warm, friendly, and gracious atmosphere. This was not what I imagined L.A. to be like before discovering the Bel Air, but it quickly became the norm for me. This was the L.A. of yesterday year, the L.A. of Garbo, of Chaplin, of Olivier. I was hobnobbing with Hollywood disembodied spirits. Just a short walk from the bar is the small lake that houses the majestic swans, whose portraits served as the leitmotif of the hotel. Swans were emblazoned on everything related to the hotel and were actually sculpted onto the soap placed on the sink and shower of every room. But the rest of the story is not about music and swans. It's about the bar, naturally. Having stayed in the hotel many times, I became somewhat friendly with Gus, the lead bartender, who spent many years as a devoted employee. During my leisure time, I would sit at the bar just steps away from the piano and chat with Gus. His name was Gus Tassopoulos. I would discuss things with Gus like life, life at the Bel Air, and various celebrities that he encountered. It was during one of my chats with Gus that I learned that our friend and mentor, everybody's mentor in this business, the master mixologist Dale DeGroff, got his start bartending at the Bel Air. I must admit that in 1977, when I began frequenting the hotel, I was not a cocktail sort of guy, and Dale DeGroff had not yet made his mark in the world of cocktails and spirits, since he was pounding the pavement, going from one audition to another, pursuing his chosen field of acting. So how does Dale DeGroff, the actor, morph into the most influential bartender mixologist since Professor Jeremiah Thomas, better known as Jerry Thomas, author of the book from 1862, Bartender's Guide or the Bon Vivant's Companion. It's also known as How to Mix Drinks and the Bon Vivant's Companion. Behind the bar, Dale demanded fresh ingredients, no sweet and sour mix for him. Only freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice would be allowed in the drinks. Measuring ingredients properly and the technique of both stirring and shaking cocktails were crucial. It's not simply about making cocktails. It's about crafting or fashioning a cocktail. The craft of the cocktail is about technique, for sure, but it's also about the artistry behind it. And there is no better fashioner of cocktails, no better crafter of cocktails, than the godfather of cocktails himself, Mr. Dale DeGroff. And to think that it all started at that serene piano bar and lounge at the Hotel Bel Air. I'm convinced that the ambiance of the place, the bar, the hotel in general, helped to convince Dale that pursuing the bartender's life and crafting cocktails was his destiny. And now you know the rest of the story.

Jonathan:
That does it for today's show.

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