"Bar Month" at OnMilwaukee.com is back for another round! The whole month of February, we're serving up intoxicatingly fun articles on bars and clubs -- including guides, the latest trends, rapid bar reviews and more. Grab a designated driver and dive in!
Professional Mixologist Bobby "G" Gleason broke the Guinness Book of World Records record for most drinks made in one hour. But he didn’t just throw together 253 cocktails in 60 minutes. He iced his own glasses, used three ingredients per cocktail and shook and stirred every single one (finishing each one before starting the next!).
Born and raised in Delavan, Gleason started out as a valet, then a bar back and is now master mixologist for Beam Global Spirits and Wine. Not only that, but he's the national ambassador for the Bartenders Guild, hosting trainings all over the world, including here in Milwaukee.
Now living in Las Vegas, Gleason helped start bars at the Mirage, Treasure Island and Bellagio. In honor of "Bar Month" here at OnMilwaukee.com, I chatted with the master himself to find out what he’s mixing and what we should be drinking.
OnMilwaukee.com: On a daily basis, can we find you behind the bar?
Bobby Gleason: On a day to day basis, I‘m doing bartender training, creating drink menus, spirit consulting and menu consulting. Mostly it‘s about training; training bartenders and creating concepts for our new product launches.
OMC: How did you become interested or involved in a Guinness Book of World Records event?
BG: Our company was looking for someone who wanted to do it, and I said, I could do that. We took cocktails from our database and cocktails listed or had been listed on a menu somewhere in the country. We put them on a list in order.
It’s a matter of using a method; using both hands and multi-tasking all the time. It’s nothing that any bartender doesn’t do every day. I just had the chance to do it for the record. It’s been broken two times since but with different approaches and rules. I don’t say I’m a current record holder, I just say I did set a new record in 2008.
OMC: What do you see as the current trends in drinking?
BG: People are drinking better. People are demanding better cocktails. We’re looking at great ingredients, fresh ingredients and Americans are getting away from the sweet and going for more a savory profile. My training is all about the classics; classic recipes using classic bar techniques. I let the technique lead to the recipe and the recipes lead to our brands. What’s great about classic cocktails is they all have a history and they all have a story behind them. For bartenders, it’s a lot about being able to tell that story to people at your bar.
OMC: Do you think there’s anything special to drinking in the Midwest?
BG: In the Midwest, especially Wisconsin and Minnesota, they like a lot of brown spirits. They’re big on bourbons and whiskey but also, they’re one of the largest markets for brandy.
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Maureen Post grew up in Wauwatosa. A lover of international and urban culture, Maureen received a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
After living on the east side of Madison for several years, Maureen returned to Milwaukee in 2006.
After a brief stint of travel, Maureen joined OnMilwaukee.com as the city’s oldest intern and has been hooked ever since. Combining her three key infatuations, Milwaukee’s great music, incredible food and inspiring art (and yes, in that order), Maureen’s job just about fits her perfectly.
Residing in Bay View, Maureen vehemently believes the city can become fresh and new with a simple move across town.
