THE BLENDS OF THE WORLD JOE SCHOFIELD

THE HIGHLY AWARDED AND EXPERIENCED JOE SCHOFIELD RECENTLY VISITED AUSTRALIA IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BLENDS OF THE WORLD. COLLABORATING WITH THE DUKE OF CLARENCE AND THE BARBER SHOP OWNER - MIKEY ENRIGHT, JOE HOSTED A HANDFUL OF SEMINARS EXPLORING ‘MULTI-SENSORY BARTENDING’ AND ‘CLASSIC VS CONTEMPORARY COCKTAILS’ WITH A FEW POP-UP EVENTS ALONG THE WAY. HE TRAVELLED FROM SYDNEY TO MELBOURNE AND TASMANIA SHARING HIS INSIGHTS AND SOME OF HIS VERY OWN COCKTAIL CREATIONS TO SAMPLE.

TO SAY JOE HAS ACCOMPLISHED MUCH IN THE INDUSTRY WOULD BE AN UNDERSTATEMENT OF PROFOUND DEPTH. LIVING AND BARTENDING IN COUNTRIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD HE HAS NOT LEFT A STONE UNTURNED IN HIS ADVENTURES. HE HAS DEFINITELY BEEN NOTICED AND SIGNIFICANTLY AWARDED FOR IT AS WELL.

RECEIVING TWO OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS AWARDS AN INDIVIDUAL CAN RECEIVE IN THE INDUSTRY, IN ONE YEAR. AWARDED ‘INTERNATIONAL BARTENDER OF THE YEAR’ AT TALES OF THE COCKTAIL SPIRITED AWARDS 2018 AND ‘BARTENDER’S BARTENDER’ AT THE WORLDS 50 BEST BARS IN LONDON 2018. IN FACT, HE’S THE ONLY PERSON IN HISTORY TO HAVE WON BOTH AWARDS.

SCHOFIELD IS CURRENTLY WORKING IN BOTH MANCHESTER AND ASIA ON TWO DIFFERENT PROJECTS. ‘SCHOFIELD’S’ (OPENING SOON) IS A CLASSIC COCKTAIL BAR OWNED BY BOTH JOE AND BROTHER DANIEL (ALSO AN AWARDED BARTENDER). WHEREAS SENSORIUM IS A CONSULTANCY AND RESTAURANT/BAR.

MIKEY, YOU’VE HAD SOME PRETTY BIG NAMES FROM OUR INDUSTRY IN YOUR VENUE THAT YOU’VE PARTNERED WITH – WHY JOE SCHOFIELD?

Mikey: Joe is an old friend of mine, and I’ve been watching his progression and successes in the industry. I couldn’t have been happier partnering with Joe for a tour, he’s not only extremely talented but also one of the nicest guys in the industry. Collaborations are an excellent way to obviously promote your venue but also bring a taste from a different bar to Sydney. It’s also really good fun.

JOE AND MIKEY, HOW DID THIS COLLABORATION BEGIN?

Joe: Many years ago, I saw a retweet from a mutual friend of ours looking for staff at the Palmer & Co in Sydney, from there I reached out to Mikey and jumped at the chance of being part of the team. A little before that, I had spent time travelling around Australia for a month and it was then that I fell in love with this country. Since the days of Palmer & Co. Mikey and I have kept in touch and have always made an effort to see each other when we are in the same city. I’ve learnt a lot from my time working alongside Mikey and the team at Palmer & Co. The experience really elevated me as a professional bartender.

Mikey: We had been chatting for a while about Joe coming over to Australia and then we finally got the dates locked in, courtesy of our brand partner Beam Suntory and their leader Hayley. I really think it was an awesome tour, he’s a creative genius. So, I’m looking forward to spending time with him again. The Duke of Clarence and The Barber Shop team were also very excited to spend some time with him as well. It gave them the opportunity to learn some new techniques, processes and thoughts behind drink development. I’m sure they were very inspired.

THE DUKE OF CLARENCE HOSTED A ONE NIGHT ONLY EVENT – CAN YOU GIVE US A LITTLE INSIGHT INTO WHAT THE ATTENDEES EXPERIENCED?

to it. Sometimes you feel like you’re in Manchester (apart from the rain outside) when you sit at the bar, and it was obviously designed to have that look and feel. However, I wanted it to offer an experimental bygone times drink offering. Not what you find in the corner boozer, back in the mother country. I felt it was the perfect fit for Joe to take over the bar for one night only. Guests experienced a night of exceptional cocktails with a touch of Northern humor.

YOU HOSTED SEMINARS IN SYDNEY, MELBOURNE AND HOBART, WHAT WERE THE AUDIENCE EXPOSED TO DURING THE SESSIONS?

Joe: We looked into a number of aspects of ‘the bar experience’. One of the focus points of the session was the importance of cocktail menus to your venue. This can be impactful in a number of ways such as increasing profits, creating engagement and pushing boundaries. These were just a few points we explored. Another interesting topic we delved into was, the benefits and demerits of ‘Classic vs Contemporary Cocktails’. But, don’t just take my word for it, I had reached out to industry leaders all over the globe. Sharing their thoughts and insights on the subject was exciting. I also shared my own thought processes on how to create cocktails and concepts, served alongside some unique cocktails curated for the event.

WHY MANCHESTER FOR YOUR NEW VENUE?

Joe: Manchester was the first and only choice for my brother and I to open a bar. It’s our closest city to home, and we were born on the outskirts of it. It is one of our favourite cities in the whole world.

YOU TRAVEL A LOT, WHAT EXCITED YOU ABOUT COMING BACK TO AUSTRALIA AND EXECUTING THIS TOUR?

Joe: When Mikey expressed his interest in the activation, I was thrilled to be able to work alongside Hayley and the Beam Suntory and Exchange team. Australia is a market with incredible concepts and operators behind them. Something I looked forward to as well was creating the food pairing menu alongside the team at MONA in Tasmania. I had heard nothing but great things about the Museum and Tasmania itself in in the past.

YOU HOLD AN INTERNATIONAL CV, TAKE US ON A JOURNEY OF HOW YOU STARTED AND WHERE YOU’VE WORKED?

Joe: It all started when I was 16 years old, where I was pulling pints at the local pub, a stone’s throw from my parents house. From there, I went to Leeds to study Contemporary Art and started working full time in the city’s leading cocktail bar Jakes. I later moved to Manchester to work at a Tiki Dive Bar called the Liars Club. After that I moved to Australia to work at Merivale then I had a short stint for the Rockpool group in Melbourne. When I arrived back in the UK, I had my sights set on London where I worked at the Zetter Townhouse, The American Bar and Beaufort Bar at The Savoy for a number of years. Most recently I was working as the Head Bartender and Group Bar Manager at Tippling Club alongside my business partner Ryan Clift.

WHAT WAS THE PIVOTAL MOMENT THAT YOU KNEW, THIS WAS YOUR CAREER PATH AND YOU TOOK IT TO THE ‘NEXT LEVEL’?

Joe: Looking back I think it was during my time in Australia, I really started to see the industry in a different light with plenty of opportunities that came with it.

YOUR COCKTAILS ARE INCREDIBLY UNIQUE AND ARE GLOBALLY RECOGNISED – EVEN WINNING YOU AWARDS – WHAT DRIVES THIS DIVERSE TRAIN OF THOUGHT, AND WHO OR WHAT DO YOU LOOK TO FOR INSPIRATION?

Joe: Working alongside Ryan was a great insight into the mind of a chef. Working together helped us create the Sensorium cocktails for which we were recognised. The drinks themselves were always very simple to look at, with an edible garnish that you would expect to come out of a pastry kitchen (which were made by the bar team and I) and most importantly, the flavour came first. The flavour was more important to us than using any equipment or techniques.

YOU WON BARTENDER’S BARTENDER AT WB50 AND WORLD’S BEST BARTENDER AT TALES –DESCRIBE TO US WHAT THIS MEANS TO BE RECOGNISED BY THE INDUSTRY FOR TWO BRILLIANT PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS?

Joe: Thank you very much. To be honest, it was very humbling for me, recognition from your peers is such an honour to receive. Some of the previous winners have been a massive inspiration to me during my career.

WHAT OR WHO HAS IMPRESSED YOU RECENTLY WITHIN OUR INDUSTRY?

Joe: One of the best things I have seen of late is that brands and bartenders are focusing on wellness. This can be a very challenging industry, both physically and mentally to work in, so it is great to see that level of encouragement. I hope this is not a trend and something which will become long term.

ON THE FLIP SIDE, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT ‘GRINDS YOUR GEARS’ WHEN YOU WALK INTO BARS, OR HEAR ABOUT THE DIRECTION OF THAT INDUSTRY - THAT YOU WISH DIDN’T OCCUR?

Joe: For me the most important thing about a bar experience is hospitality. That should always be the number one focus for any bartender. Some of my favourite bars in the world are not cocktail bars, but somewhere you can go and get great service.

WHAT’S YOUR PERSONAL FAVOURITE FLAVOUR OR DRINK CREATION (TAKE US ON A JOURNEY FROM IDEA / CONCEPT CREATION TO LIQUID FORM)?

Joe: My favourite drink that I created at Tippling Club was the Rain cocktail. It was from the Memory Triggering Aroma menu that we created, the smell of Rain has always resonated with me being from Manchester and it is the natural distillation of soil. We made a rain spirit in the rotovap extracting the geosmin compound from Beetroots, which is very present in Petrichor (the smell of Rain). We married this with a stone spirit using an edible clay found in the plains of West Africa. It was balanced with lemon, sugar and soda and served with an edible rain cloud.

WILLIAM WALLACE

GLASSWARE: Martini glass GARNISH: Orange coin

INGREDIENTS:

50ml Auchentoshan American Oak 10ml Pedro Ximenez 10ml Cocchi Torino 2.5ml Orange bitters METHOD: Stir and strain

DIGESTIVO

GLASSWARE: Rocks GARNISH: Mint sprig

INGREDIENTS:

25ml Laphroaig Select 25ml Galliano Ristretto Liqueur 25ml Fernet Branca METHOD: Stir down over ice

Cocktails by Joe Schofield

HIGH FLYER

GLASSWARE: Coupette GARNISH: Crème Brulee

INGREDIENTS:

50ml Butter Fat Washed Jim Beam Black Label 20ml Salted vanilla salted caramel syrup 25ml Fresh lemon juice 25ml Egg white METHOD: Dry shake, wet shake and strain

VP&T

GLASSWARE: Highball GARNISH: Grapefruit slice

INGREDIENTS:

15ml Vine Leaf Infused Sipsmith London Dry Gin 30ml Pommeau de Normandie 2.5ml Sugar Syrup 2:1 Top with Cascade Tonic Water METHOD: Build and stir