Mixologist Jon Cissoko met us at the Bootlegger, one of our favourite boozers in the ENTERTAINER. Located in the City, The Bootlegger is a modern day speakeasy, and every aspect of the customer experience ensures you’ll get your dose of live music, 1920s nostalgia and some of the most perfect cocktails you’ll have in London.
Jon’s craft (and style) shines with a particularly bright light, despite the many other equally capable and just as smartly-dressed barmen at The Bootlegger. While filming with them I had the chance to enjoy a couple of his concoctions, and so I was really set on having a one to one with the man behind the shaker:
Hi Jon! How long have you been working in the City?
I started with The Bootlegger last June, so it’s going to be nearly 5 months now. Before that I worked in a venue called AKA, I also joined Gilgamesh when they opened… As a mixologist I’ve been in several different venues, for over 12 years in London.
Do you think the Mixology world has just started to properly take off? You didn’t use to hear so much about it a couple of years ago, and now it’s all over the radar.
Well, it depends, it is certainly more widespread now, but there was always people interested in it. We had a really big crowd coming for cocktails already 12 years ago, and even before that it was already quite a big fad. The fact that lots of classic cocktails were invented in London forty or fifty years ago is proof enough that there’s always been a scene for Mixology in this city. But yeah, it’s a bit more visible now.
It seems to have gone to a broader audience. City lads have gone from Corona to Old Fashioned. Probably because they’ve realised not all cocktails come with mini umbrellas and glace cherries.
That’s where Mixology comes into place, because being a mixologist mean to be able to please people everywhere, and so we’ve adapted ourselves to these audiences. In this example we have a cocktail that is not complicated to drink, but that requires a certain expertise when mixing the ingredients. In some other cases we have the opposite, and we have to cater to that as well, cocktails with loads of crushed ice, syrups and prosecco or wine inside…
Those are sometimes the most dangerous, but also the most fun to drink.
Haha, they are fun indeed.
And on that subject, what would you say it’s a cocktail for an easy palate, and what would you call an acquired taste?
Well, Negroni, Old Fashioned, Sazerac, all those classic, big-name cocktails are for a discerning palate. Those are cocktails that you build around the base alcohol in them, so that the focus is there. Then you have other kinds of cocktails, like Pina Coladas, or Mojitos, and in those you try to disguise the base alcohol with syrups, fruit purees and the rest. Those are very easy to drink.
Taste aside, what’s your favourite and your least favourite cocktail to make?
I’m a big fan of Martinis. I really like Martinis because the measurements and the way you mix them is really going to determine the outcome of the cocktail. Those are crisp drinks, and if you nail them properly you get an excellent flavour.
And which ones are a faff to make?
That would be Mojitos, even thought I don’t think they are bad, taste-wise. However, your average Mojito to me is too much preparation for a such a short drinking experience. It’s very watery, the lime disguises everything, so I wouldn’t say I’m a fan.
Excellent, and to wrap it up, if you weren’t a mixologist, what would you like to be?
I think, working in the City has made me very curious about Sales. I think I could have a lot of fun in a Sales job.
Visit Jon at The Bootlegger, from Monday to Friday, right behind Leadenhall Market! And don’t forget to bring your ENTERTAINER app to get that sweet Buy One Get One Free on your favourite cocktails (we won’t judge you if you go for a Mojito, don’t worry).
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