I spoke to recent UW-Madison graduate and current Brickhouse BBQ bartender Clayton Adams to gain some insight into Brickhouse's preparation of drinks.
How did you get into bartending?
I have been learning about microbrews and craft brews for quite a few years, I was given a job at Brickhouse BBQ by a fellow beer lover who was involved in the conception of the restaurant. I also work as a coffee barista, so it was an easy transition.
Did you take any bartending classes before starting work at Brickhouse BBQ?
I didn't have any formal classes, or training. Just after years of trying different brewers, I've become accustomed to the different brewers and interpretations of beers.
I've done reading on beer brewing and tasted enough beers by going to beer tastings and talking to people who have tasted beers. I guess you could say I have a ""personal education.""
What is your favorite drink?
Brickhouse Smokehouse Flower: Uses smoked mezcal, which is tequila distilled using smoked agave. A good analogy for this type of tequila is jalapenos versus chipotles: chipotles are jalapenos that are dried out. This drink goes really well with anything barbeque, bringing out the smokey flavor.
Most common cocktail prepared?
That would be off of our signature drink menu: the Brickhouse Old Fashioned. [For those of you who are unfamiliar with the drink, the cocktail consists of whiskey, sometimes substituted with brandy, sugar, orange bitters, soda water, garnished with an orange and a maraschino cherry]
What's unique about Brickhouse's take on this drink is the preparation and the ingredients used in it.
Some bartenders just smash all the fruit together, but that's not an essential component. What you're trying to do is to extract the oils from the orange rinds by muddling it—the smashing of a maraschino cherry, I think, clouds the drink and makes it ugly.
The beauty of this drink is not only in its use of muddle fruits, but [also] in the infusion of flavors. The use of Brickhouse's own whiskey, NoCo, involves a preparation of cloves, a cinnamon stick, chunks of fruit, vanilla bean and dried cherries. These mulled spices and fruits are what's behind the Old Fashioned.
Our NoCo is a take on Southern Comfort, but without the sweetness. There's no peach syrup involved—that's the ingredient used for sweetness—Noco has the spices but no sweetness, which makes it a nice mixer.
I think that the Old Fashioned is an entire regional idiosyncrasy. Old Fashioneds can be created however one wants with whatever one wants. I've known people to use brandy instead of whiskey and ask for mushrooms—it's strange how different regions have different garnishes.
Speaking of garnishes, I've seen you have a particular knack for creating them and that bartending has a certain art form to it.
At Brickhouse, generally a garnish emphasizes an ingredient used in the drink. For example, a drink that has lime juice in it, say a Cosmopolitan, then you garnish it with the lime. As far as the twist goes, I've researched it and picked up tips from other bartenders. Things like little touches of spreading the oils on top of the cocktail makes a huge difference in the taste of the cocktail. That's another thing that goes into preparing the drink. Something like Brickhouse's Smokehouse Flower has fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, thus, the garnish is a twist of grapefruit because that's a component in the drink.
Would you say you're a mixologist?
That's a funny question. It's a matter of experience. If I could claim that title I would say that I am, but I'm not as good as a lot of other people. I'm an aspiring mixologist for sure.
Brickhouse BBQ is located at 408 W. Gorham Street in downtown Madison. For their entire menu and drink list, visit thebrickhousebbq.com.
