SLTN’s Mixologist of the Year Arianne Smith says that managers past and present helped develop her skills
By Dave Hunter
It was a twist on a Vesper Martini that first reassured Arianne Smith that she was pretty good at making cocktails.
SLTN’s reigning Mixologist of the Year, Ari – of The Absent Ear in Glasgow – was already a fairly seasoned bartender when she took part in Suntory’s Dojo advocacy programme.
Participants were each given a classic cocktail and asked to iterate on it without losing the essence of the original.
“It was a blind tasting, and if the judges couldn’t immediately tell what the drink was you were immediately disqualified,” Ari told SLTN.
“I got allocated a Vesper Martini, and there was also a Gin Martini and a Vodka Martini in the mix. So I felt like I had been given the most difficult task in the world.
“The longer I’m in hospitality the more I think I wouldn’t enjoy a ‘proper’ job.
“It was a massive learning experience, because I couldn’t change the flavour profile that much.
“I could add little bits but nothing too drastic. But I could play around with texture, which was the big thing I changed. I shook it with sushi rice so it had a bit of starch to it. I made a homemade yuzu oil for the top of the drink, so instead of a lemon zest it had the oil, which coated your mouth. And I used a pickled camomile-infused vermouth as well.
“So it changed the flavour a little bit but also, because of the vinegar, it did give it quite a silky texture as well. That was the first drink when I was like ‘this is a banger’.”
By that time Ari was already experienced behind the stick, having worked student bar jobs in Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow.
But it wasn’t until she landed at The Absent Ear that Ari decided to pursue hospitality full-time instead of pursuing a career in chemistry.
She said: “I loved the team, I loved the work. I was making decent money and then I started looking at chemistry jobs and I thought, oh, they all look a bit rubbish.
“I don’t think I ever really planned for hospitality to be my full-time thing. I just fell into it. The longer I’m in it the more I think I wouldn’t enjoy a ‘proper’ job. I enjoy the chaos of it.”
Ari credits Absent Ear founding members Dave Ali and Jamie Moran, as well as the bar’s current general manager, Liam Grogan, as big influences on her cocktail-making career.
On Dave and Jamie (SLTN Mixologist of the Year 2017) she said: “They always talked me through things in just a really good, educational way. And if I ever wanted them to try something they would critique it really fairly and give me constructive criticism. There was just such a lack of ego.”
And Liam – who was SLTN Mixologist of the Year in 2022 – continues to have a huge impact.
“We know how the other person works,” said Ari.
“I think he’s got a very different style of working than I do. He kind of throws everything at a drink except the kitchen sink and I tend to stick to fewer ingredients. So we have a good balance of him building it up and me stripping it back. He’s been someone that’s been really good to bounce ideas off.”
A recent example included a drink the pair designed for a takeover they were hosting at another bar – and which ultimately made it on to the list at The Absent Ear.
“We had a takeover coming up and we had just had this product come in. It was a white penja pepper cordial,” recalled Ari.
“Liam said pepper goes really well with strawberry. I said strawberry and fino and manzanilla are really nice. Then he said, with gin? Like a gimlet?
“It was such a back and forth. It was literally one ingredient each until we had a full drink. And it’s been on the menu since.
“Sometimes it’s purely collaborative and other times you just come up with something on your own.”
It isn’t all about creativity, though, when designing new drinks for the bar. As assistant manager, Ari said the role has also brought the cold reality of profit margins to the front of her mind.
She explained: “I think working here has been the time I’ve had to think about [GP] the most.
“I think I’m lucky in that I naturally think like that anyway. I usually only use one or two wildcard products and even then it’s probably only a small amount. It’s something I’ve naturally always had at the back of my head.
“But here I’ve had to do it more and more because, especially in the last couple of years, it’s getting a lot more expensive to run a bar. And certain ingredients are getting a lot more expensive.
“Luckily we do our pricing slightly differently. So instead of every drink having to be, for example, 70% GP, we have some that are down at 60%, some are up at 80%, and it all evens out.
“We’ve got an Old Fashioned on the menu that uses all premium spirits. So the GP on that is terrible. But if we were to cost it to GP it would be like £16. It just means that people don’t get to then try it and enjoy it.
“So we try and balance it out on a wider scale rather than drink for drink.”
Although she’s still a young woman herself, it’s now Ari’s turn to look out for the next generation of bartenders moving through the industry.
And she reckons the scene is well catered for with a talented crop of creative young people already making waves.
“It’s fun seeing younger people being creative and putting themselves out there.”
“I’m enjoying seeing a lot of younger bartenders that are a lot more confident than I was at that time,” she said.
“It’s fun seeing younger people being super creative and seeing them put themselves out there more. There’s Branford Edgar who works at Kelvingrove Café.
“Callum (McGuigan) who works here is doing really creative, cool things. I’m really excited to see what he does in the next few years.
“In Edinburgh I love Carrie Smith. She’s the comp queen, she’s just so good with people and such an amazing personality and her drinks are incredible as well.”
