Angus Winchester and Sam Jeveons

Angus Winchester

Bar Training, Management and Building a Healthy Team

Firm friends and long-time business partners Sam Jeveons and Angus Winchester are legends of the bar world. The two spent many years working together to mentor the next generation of skilled bartenders and managers through their Alconomics Asia programme. Focused on their own ventures now, the pair reunited recently to chat with Drinks World about how they met, their wealth of industry experience and what’s new on their horizons.

Sam Jeveons and Angus Winchester (above)

DRINKS WORLD: First of all, share with us the story of how you first met? And since then, where you have worked together?

ANGUS WINCHESTER: I first met Sam on a Finlandia trip organised for the Match Bar Group when I took over the running of Trailer Happiness in 2004. I was impressed by his charm and charisma and knew that he would be a strong person to work with. That chance came when I was asked to do the beverage program for the refurbishment of the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong a few years later and, luckily, he agreed. SAM JEVEONS: I’d heard of the legend of Angus way before I met him in person. I have very little recollection of the Finlandia trip, but he remembers it so clearly. The fact that he does remember perhaps shows the difference in professionalism at the time we met. He was an industry figurehead; I was an up and comer. I was as keen to learn as he was to teach, and soon we were running parties in Moscow, trainings in Norway and rocking bar shows in Earls Court! Mentorship and friendship led to a partnership in Alconomics Asia, and my life-changing move to Hong Kong where I still call home.

DW: So Angus, you’ve returned to Hong Kong after many years. What brings you back to Hong Kong?

AW: Well I am opening a bar in Brooklyn, New York, and it has been slightly delayed. So I took that chance to come back out to Asia where some of the world’s most ambitious bars are, and where I haven’t had an opportunity to spend much time recently.

DW: You both started Alconomics Asia together, are you looking to reignite this programme since you’re both in Hong Kong again?

AW: I think the world has moved on slightly in regards to what AA used to do (training bartenders). Sam has, obviously, had a lot of success with his new ventures, so what we’re looking at is working more with managers and owners who have both been ignored by brand companies, in favour of bartenders, and are also in greater demand these days. I’m working with Sam to develop some courses to improve culture and profitability in bars, while also creating modules on leadership and management. SJ: What he said! But, I might add, there is something very cool in joining

forces with Angus after so much time. He helps me evolve and grow and stay relevant as a consultant and trainer. The dynamic we offer, as partners, can really resonate with where Hong Kong and Asian markets are at in their life cycle.

DW: If possible, can you share with us details of the programme? For example, who is the programme designed for? What are the benefits?

AW: Details will come as we develop them, but it’s about working on staff engagement and creating meritocratic and successful systems for everything, from scheduling to menu engineering. SJ: A successful bartending career is competitive and, once achieved, is often rewarded with ‘management’ responsibilities and pay grade. But, unlike the multitude of learnings within bartending, managing comes with little instruction, massive expectations and often a sense of personal isolation from the bar team. Our goal is to help managers find their feet, gain confidence in their role and help them turn a profit while developing a healthy team.

DW: How can the programme develop the growth of a venue, in addition to the management operations?

AW: A healthy work culture is the backbone of truly profitable and successful ventures, yet so few managers these days were ever given the education, support and coaching to fully understand its importance and the mechanics behind measuring and achieving it. SJ: What he said!

DW: Sam, will this fall under the Old Street Group banner, once Angus moves back to Brooklyn to operate his new venture The Embassy, New York?

SJ: That’s the plan. Angus is instrumental in getting operators in Asia to take note of this opportunity. His credentials as Bar Mentor of the Year 2016 carries gravitas and helps make this market realise the value in what we offer. I’m here to maintain that offering when Angus goes back to run The Embassy, New York.

DW: Sam, from your knowledge of the Hong Kong market, how do you find the progression from bartender to a management position? Is there a lack of training within the venue? Do you feel role progression is often too quick?

SJ: Definitely. In the past, hospitality managers were selected on common sense and the ability to turn up to work seemingly sober. That’s how I got my start. We’re developing simple, yet effective, systems to help young managers in a way that we weren’t. The meteoric growth in bars and restaurants has put an immense strain on staff and managers, so people are certainly being promoted too fast and too far and that affects the whole operation. Drinks have been elevated while management service and profitability have not.

DW: Angus, tell us about The Embassy? What can one expect when they visit? From décor and service, to the drinks list.

AW: The Embassy will be an embassy for drinks led hospitality and celebrating drinking cultures from around the world. And, of course, The Ambassador will have his own private residence where you can enjoy a more luxurious drinking experience. The bar is located in a historically significant building, an old brewery, and we are in the old lagering cellars. It’s a cool basement with awesome vintage brickwork.

Drinks will be simple but delicious classics, the best drinks that The Ambassador has sampled from bars around the world. There will be a rotating focus on countries with interesting drinking cultures to showcase authentic and obscure drinks, and a carefully curated, not disconcertingly large, selection of spirits, wine and beer.

It will be the sort of bar where, if you know what you’re doing drink wise, you can have fun, but if you are just going to the bar to have fun you can do that too without feeling out of place or ignorant.

DW: You were also in Hong Kong when The Embassy took over Quinary on the 15th-17th May. How did this collaboration come about?

AW: I have known Antonio for many years, and when he suggested a pop up to help celebrate the Quinary’s fifth anniversary, I was flattered. Plus our various associations with Diageo and World Class made support easier.

DW: I think this is the first I’ve heard of a venue doing a bar pop up in a country they aren’t setting up shop in. Was it a good way to test the waters?

AW: Not at all. Hong Kong is very different to Brooklyn, but it was a nice little idea to have some fun. I think doing a pop-up for a bar that isn’t yet open made it even odder!

DW: With the industry constantly progressing, do you both feel the legends of the past still have a place in today’s industry?

SJ: You better not be including me in your phrase, ‘of the past’! But yes, the experienced guys are still invaluable in sharing their knowledge, confidence and interaction. I was taught, and now teach, that hospitality skills are life skills and they are transferrable to any other industry or situation. I don’t see that transferability in a lot of today’s bartenders throughout Asia. So yes, we have a voice and a place in helping today the leaders of tomorrow. AW: I’m not sure if ‘legends’ is the right term or role models, but I think for sure the elders have a place, as long as they stay open minded to change and don’t get too dogmatic. Also, acting as mentors and not just trainers and educators is key as they have such a wealth of life experience that many bartenders need to have to negotiate a very tricky career.

DW: So what’s next for Sam and Angus?

AW: Well, a New York City bar for me and, hopefully, still invitations to visit the world. SJ: I have a hotel project opening in early 2018 and will continue to focus on my Indonesian rum brand, Nusa Caña. As well as that, I’m developing tools to help young managers take the torch.