Bartender’s Choice
Babe’s bartender creates sensory experiences By Deborah Lynch dlynch@harrisburgmagazine.com
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n this issue, we introduce you to a new column that will feature area bartenders pouring advice on their favorite cocktails and how to prepare them at home. An informed drinker can order a better cocktail. My family lovingly jokes about my fatherin-law who always orders a whiskey sour when he goes out. When asked what whiskey he wants, he proudly replies, “Bartender’s choice” because he doesn’t really know (or maybe even like) whiskey and maybe really just likes the sour mix. The drink he will be served probably will not compare in quality to the one ordered by someone who knows what they are ordering. Our bartenders might offer you tips on whiskeys (or other spirits) to try and the nuances between them. They will share a drink recipe for you to try at home, too. Each issue will feature a different bartender. If you’d like to nominate someone you know who mixes memorable drinks, please send your nominations with contact information and a brief paragraph explaining why you think this bartender is the best to Harrisburg Magazine at dlynch@harrisburgmagazine.com. Here’s our first guest columnist. Thanks for sipping.
The Silver Fox Manhattan
Adam Dillon
Bartender Adam Dillon 8 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE APRIL 2021
Our first guest bartender is Adam Dillon, a bourbon aficionado who keeps bar at Babe’s at 312 E. Main St. in Palmyra on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 4 p.m. until close. Although tending bar is his avocation — by day he is an executive recruiter for The Carlisle Group — Dillon has 20 years of experience behind the bar at bars, restaurants, joints, and country clubs in Baltimore and Central PA. Today, he only continues to tend bar because he has the opportunity to work alongside Dave and Kylie Deimler at Babe’s in Palymra. Dillon says he could see himself continuing to tend bar when he retires. He enjoys spirits, learning more about them, and creating his own drinks. He takes his own advice to home mixologists, “Have fun! It’s not your job!” Still, Dillion acknowledges that creating great drinks is both an art and a science, and does require some background or research. He suggests watching established bartenders on YouTube channels like “The Educated BarFly” or “Truffles on the Rocks.” He also advises home mixologists to get the proper bar equipment: julep strainer; Hawthorne strainer; fine mesh strainer; 28 oz. and 18 oz. tins; double jiggers of 1 oz. and 2 oz., and .5 oz. and .25 oz.; muddler; bar spoon; mixing glass. These supplies are relatively inexpensive and can be found easily on Amazon. “Don’t be afraid to try different things … sometimes the things that don’t sound like they would pair well together do,” he said. Other tips: pay attention to details; express an orange for the oils; don’t overstir a drink to avoid diluting it; make precise pours (no showy free pours); and add ice after the drink is constructed.
