9 minute read
BARTENDER’S OR BARISTA’S CHOICE
Story By Randy Gross
rgross@harrisburgmagazine.com Photos Submitted
When she was young, Lauren Hench didn’t dream about becoming a bartender. In fact, by the time she was debating what college to attend, her sights were set on working as an Air Traffic Controller. “I thought that was the most wonderful, fascinating path,” she says, “that was my dream.” However, once she realized “how much schooling that took, and how few universities actually had a program for something like that,” it seemed a little bit out of reach.
Hench also didn’t dream about becoming a mad scientist. Which is how her co-workers at Old Trail Tavern in Liverpool sometimes refer to her. “They all laugh at me when they say, ‘mad scientist Lauren came to work today,’” she muses, “because they see me standing behind the bar when they arrive for their shift, and I’m there with bottles everywhere, and mixers everywhere, and there are like all these different versions of a drink that I’m trying to come up with.”
But there’s nothing ‘mad’ about the genius behind the plethora of potent potables that Hench regularly “gives life” to as the eatery’s General Manager and “all things bar” drink scientist. Which is why the cocktails at Old Trail, which range from the popular S’mores Old Fashioned to an Almond Whiskey Sour (set to debut in mid-August), are even bigger sellers than beer. And it’s also why we have selected Hench to be this month’s featured bartender.
While owner (and live-in romantic partner) Devon Lawrence handles “everything back-ofhouse, including menu creation,” it falls upon Hench to handle everything front-of-house, which includes the training of the service staff. “I love the partnership [with Lawrence], and the team, and family atmosphere,” she says. “I love that we’re constantly growing, constantly getting better. And I love getting to watch people figure out that they want to be a bartender, too.”
Because Hench loves her job – and especially the creative control she has over drink creation - Old Trail has become a place frequented by locals and travelers alike. “Our cocktail list is very, very popular,” she says with pride.
And, if Hench could recommend one food item on Old Trail’s menu of dishes, all prepared from scratch with fresh, locally sourced ingredients, what would it be?
“It’s very hard to choose just one,” she says, “but when I’m in the mood to have a really big, nice dinner, I always go for the Prime Rib. And I usually make it a Surf & Turf.” 7
Lauren’s Dossier
Words of advice to home mixologists: Skip the pre-mixed cocktail mixers and recreate cocktails from your favorite bars instead. Most bartenders will tell you exactly what goes into their cocktails. Swing by your local restaurant supply store and pick up things like bitters, Amarena cherries, flavored syrups/ purees, and basic bar tools. Having a few fun ingredients on hand can lend to some pretty impressive cocktails that can easily be made at home. Don’t skip the garnishes!
Inspirations: I really love to take inspiration from fresh, seasonal fruits. Additionally, I like to add my own twist to classic/prohibition era cocktails. I also sometimes take inspiration from cocktails I’ve tried at other nice restaurants or on vacation. When I’m taking inspiration from other people’s cocktails, I like to think about how I can make it taste better of course, but I also love to think about how I could make it with a totally different flavor profile or with local spirits. Keeping my ingredients as local as possible is something that means a lot to me.
Favorite spirit straight: I’m not usually one to sip on straight spirits. My favorite spirit to shoot is Blue Eyed Six Whiskey from Hidden Still Spirits. It’s a 46% ABV but goes down so smoothly and tastes delicious.
Recommendations of two or three spirits to try: I think the Liquid Lightning flavored whiskeys from Dead Lightning Distillery are the best, most versatile, flavored whiskeys I’ve ever tried. They currently come in Peach, Birch Beer, Cinnamon, Almond, Peanut Butter, and Marshmallow. At Old Trail Tavern, we love to shoot Dead Lightning’s “Fluffer Nutter” shots, which is a 50/50 mixture of their peanut butter and marshmallow whiskeys, or any of the flavors straight. We also use their Almond whiskey in our Almond Whiskey Sour, which is a fun play on a Whiskey sour combined with the flavors of a traditional Amaretto sour.
Bartender Lauren Hench - Old Trail Tavern
Favorite spirit to mix: My current favorite spirit to mix is the white rum from Dead Lightning Distillery. It’s a high-quality rum and lends itself very well to a wide variety of cocktails while remaining at an affordable price point. No matter what time of year we’re in, I will always have at least one fun, vacation style, rum drink on my cocktail menu.
Most commonly ordered drinks at your bar: Our number one selling cocktail and Tavern staple is called the “Perry County Queen”. A lot of people assume that the name derives from the Perry County Fair beauty pageant, where a queen is indeed crowned, but the true origin of the name is a silly nickname my
DRINK OF THE MONTH Almond Whiskey Sour
2 oz Dead Lightning Liquid Lightning Almond Whiskey 1/2 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice 1oz house made simple syrup A few dashes cherry bitters A few dashes Fee Brother’s Fee Foam (egg white substitute frothing agent) Dry shake all ingredients. Garnish with Amarena cherries.
Note: we serve ours over ice in an old fashioned glass, but it could also be enjoyed straight up in a coupe glass.
Old Fashioned
Old Trail Tavern, continued from Page 7 now boyfriend, Devon, had for me as a teenager. The drink itself is the first cocktail I ever created. It’s a very loose play on a cross between a Hurricane and a rum punch that I came up with while working at a bar called Brewsky’s in Lincoln, Nebraska. Like most bars, we each got a shift drink after work and most of us were super young and broke at the time so we would try to get the strongest drink we could for our shift. The Brewsky’s version of the Queen, originally called the “Lauricane,” was served in a pint glass and contained a full shot each of white rum, dark rum, coconut rum, and peach schnapps, along with the juices I had to work with in a sports bar atmosphere. Basically, it was really strong and tasted like juice, the perfect shift drink for price conscious 21-yearolds. Now, the Queen has matured a bit. It is now served in a Hurricane glass, garnished properly, and the peach schnapps and coconut rum have since been replaced with peach puree and cream of coconut respectively. With an appropriate liquor content and more high-end ingredients, the Perry County Queen has never been better.
We also sell a lot of our S’mores Old Fashioned. It’s a sweet cocktail featuring Hidden Still’s David E. Yellow label 3-year bourbon, Dead Lightning’s Liquid Lightning Marshmallow whiskey, chocolate bitters, and garnished with a chocolate/graham cracker crumb rim and a freshly toasted marshmallow. This cocktail was meant to pay homage to the local camping culture while highlighting two of my favorite distilleries. Our local Liverpool area is home to many campgrounds, which brings a lot of new faces to the area each summer. This drink was something that I truly didn’t expect to be as popular as it is. I thought it would be a very niche cocktail, but it has appealed to a wide variety of guests. The popularity of this cocktail along with our traditional old fashioned is the reason I am actively looking to start offering smoked cocktails to our guests. Philosophy on drinks: Creating drinks that my guests will enjoy is my biggest goal. A lot of trial and error goes into every drink recipe. I also try my best to serve each drink in the perfect glassware, with the perfect garnish. Making other people happy with what I have to offer is the reason I’ve chosen to stay in this industry for life. I love having the opportunity each day to create and present my creations to our guests. Behind every new cocktail menu we put out, there are hours and hours of creation, tweaking, “mad scientist” moments, back to the drawing board moments, taste tests, etc. In short, my philosophy on drinks is that care goes a long way, practice makes perfect, there is always room for improvement, and drinks can really bring people together.
Thoughts about your cocktails: I think my cocktails right now are a million times better than my cocktails two years ago when we opened, and those cocktails were a million times better than what I was creating two years before that. I’m constantly learning and so humbled that my drinks have become as popular with our guests as they are. I truly put so much care and effort into what I do and it’s the most amazing feeling to serve drinks that people actually like and want to order again. I’m really excited to continue to learn and evolve and to see where I am in two more years.
Your day job: My job title is General Manager of Old Trail Tavern, so I perform a wide variety of duties, but as far as what relates to the bar aspect of my job, I am responsible for cocktail development, cost analysis, and research, ordering and inventory of sprits, wine, beer, garnishes, mixers, glassware, etc., training and development of our team, meeting with sales reps, etc.
What days/times do you typically work at the bar: I live on property, so I can be found at the Tavern 7 days a week. I can usually be found expediting in the kitchen or in the dining area during dinner services. Wednesday nights, once the kitchen closes, I can be found behind the bar bartending from 9 to close.
Favorite drink to mix: I love making old fashioneds. They are my favorite cocktails to drink and one of the first cocktails I taught myself to make. I really wanted to learn how to make a delicious old fashioned because of the amount of variation that exists recipe wise in the bartending world. In my experience, bartenders tend to have very strong opinions about the “right way” to make an old fashioned and insist that their way is the best way. I’m absolutely included in that, but I love that there’s no real right or wrong answer. For mine, we use homemade simple syrup, bourbon or rye, and aromatic bitters. We serve them in a traditional old fashioned glass with a large whiskey rock ice cube and garnish with wild Italian Amarena cherries and an orange peel. One of my favorite things to do is sample other bars’ old fashioneds. I love seeing what variations are out there and finding new ways to enjoy my favorite drink. 7
Editor’s note: because coffee has become as – if not more - popular than alcoholic beverages, Harrisburg Magazine decided several months ago to accept nominations for both worthy bartenders and baristas.
NOMINATE A BARTENDER OR BARISTA! harrisburgmagazine.com/submissions
