Totally Stockholm 1
cocktails and then making it work flavour-wise. T
he important thing is of course that it tastes good, but if the drink happens to come with a story, that’s something I love and that won’t go away. But honestly, sometimes you come up with such an amazing combination that a story doesn’t even make a difference. Of all the cocktails you have created, is there one that you, more than the others, want to be remembered by coming generations? I really don’t know but I guess I just hope that some of the creations I have come up with have either helped make progress in the business or elevated someone’s home mixing. My next book will be about that so hopefully the books I have made can live on for the benefit of future generations. Speaking of books, you have a new one coming out here soon – Jakten på en perfekt dry martini (The Quest For The Perfect Dry Martini) – together with Hans-Olov Öberg. Why did you want to write a book on the dry martini and are you saying it’s really difficult to make a good one? Hans-Olov wrote the book Jakten på en perfekt gin & tonic (The Quest For The Perfect Gin & Tonic) and this time he wanted to add a professional’s perspective to it, and that’s where I came in. The book is made up of a lot of recipes. So no, it’s not that hard to make a good dry martini, but it can be difficult to find a version that you like. People are really divided here, you either like it or you don’t. Here we have created a lot of recipes to inspire people, perhaps help them learn to like the dry martini. What do you prefer personally, the classic I presume? Hans-Olov has never liked it, but I have always loved it. Six centilitres of gin, a bit of dry vermouth and two dashes of orange bitter and you’re good to go. Just stir it real cold, so cold that you cannot hold the glass and then it’s ready. Plus a good olive on top. What about Hans-Olov, did you find a recipe for him? No, haha. Well he might have learned to like the original by now. He has been drinking it non-stop for four months now, so he’s gone through a learning process. What are the three things you cannot live without in your bar? Liquor, ice and my shaker. What kind of upcoming trends do you see in the bar and cocktail industry and are there any of the prevailing trends that you sometimes get really tired of? Even more locally-produced ingredients I hope. We have everything from rye whisky to aperitivos in Sweden now so to say that some bars will eliminate ingredients that require long-distant transport is not at all strange. But those people in the industry who work and sit down with their guests, to the point where it’s hard to tell if they’re part of the staff or of the group of guests, should probably have a rethink. If you have so much time that you can sit down and talk about your life with 12 people, you should probably change clothes and clock off. Finally, if you are free and your Cadier Gar is offlimits, where do you go and what do you drink? I would go to Schmaltz to have a dry martini, or stay at Telefonplan where I live and have brunch at A.B. Café. They’ve got the best cappuccino in Stockholm. But my late nights always wrap up with a beer or a negroni at Tjoget. 15