For Mulberry Project head bartender Aaron Polsky, timing was everything. The New Jersey native stepped into the hospitality scene just as the craft cocktail movement was burgeoning, getting his feet wet as a host at Sasha Petraske’s Lower East Side libation hideaway Milk & Honey. From there, he followed Petraske to White Star, where he trained behind the bar until he was ready to go it alone. “Once I was working solo shifts, Sasha was always sitting at the end of the bar, constructively critiquing my technique,” Polsky says. “It was both intimidating and truly motivating.” After more bartending stints at Eleven Madison Park and Amor y Amargo, he landed at Mulberry Project and Greenwich Project, where he rounds out the beverage programs with kitchen-inspired drams, such as the Crawl Away, with chili and chipotle-infused tequila, and the Flood, with gin, mezcal, Thai chili and cilantro. That selection will only expand now through March 19, when Mulberry Project will be hosting an array of the city’s top bartenders — including Wallflower’s Xavier Herit and Nitecap’s Jeremy Oertel — for its “An Evening With…” collaboration series. Here, we chat with Polsky about the South American ingredient he’s digging lately, how hosting guest bartenders is comparable to creating music, and why gin and strawberries is never really just gin and strawberries.
BoozeMenus: How do you put your stamp on a cocktail?
Aaron Polsky: I really like to layer flavors to make a balanced cocktail. My cocktails are bold, strong, and well balanced. I like to deliver stimulating, memorable, powerful cocktails with strong flavors.
BM: How important are the kitchen and culinary ingredients to your cocktail offerings?
AP: It varies. Sometimes I use ingredients like Amaro and bitters, and then add flavor and character. Bars today have gone so far that we use heat and cold frequently. You used to have to have a kitchen for that. Bars also now have fresh ingredients. I’m inspired by ingredients that are traditionally found in a kitchen, but that now exist behind the bar. We’re always looking for new ways to bring people great flavor. Whatever inspires us is what we’ll do.
BM: When do you know you've gotten a bespoke cocktail just right for the patron?
AP: The easiest indicator is when they order a second the exact same way. When the guest tells us what they want it’s usually pretty easy for us to define it. It’s about taking it on the simplicity of their request – taking what they’ve asked for and making it incredible. Say someone asks for gin and strawberries. Rather than just giving them a strawberry gimlet, we might throw in yellow Chartreuse, absinthe, black pepper, rosemary, and basil. It’s about taking what they’ve asked for and then delivering more.
BM: What's the last flavor profile you've developed in a cocktail that has really surprised you?
AP: The coffee flavor from a technique I’m using called ethanol vapor aromatization, which is where I infuse a spirit with a tangible version of a botanical. It’s been really surprising in how well that’s worked out. It’s the most effective adoption of coffee flavor into a cocktail that I’ve seen so far. We’ve used it as the main ingredient, an accent. It’s coming through as true coffee, mimicking the complexity of really high-end roasted coffees.
BM: When's the last time you were deeply inspired by a meal, drink, sight, or smell?
AP: Tonka beans are a flavor that I’ve been familiar with since 2009, but haven’t been applying full force in cocktails until recently. They’re incredible – they make people react instantly. People really like the flavors they get. As for cocktails, Thomas at Dirty French makes an amazing drink called the Belmondo– it’s awesome and provides a shaken cocktail with a lot of character and structure.
BM: You guys are kicking off your guest bartender series this week. What led to the selection of bartenders who will be gracing your stage there?
AP: The guests we’re hosting are my picks for the best bartenders in New York City. They have great integrity, great work ethic on their own, and make the best cocktails in the city. In my eyes, they’re the best.
BM: What's the relevance of hosting bartenders from other venues, near or far? What are you most looking forward to at the events?
AP: It’s really fun to have all of our mutual friends come in for all of these. More so, what I find most enjoyable is working and developing the cocktails with these people. It’s a lot like music in a way where you can get together to put on a show with people from different bands. We each get to know each other’s style, how they bartend, their level of hospitality, creative method, palate, and so on. It’s fun to see different talents on the same side of the bar, collaborating on the menu.
BM: What do you prefer more for these events: being the host or the guest?
AP: I quite enjoy being the host. I enjoy guesting as well, but it can be intimidating to be in a new place with new guests. I like to host people and have a good time. It’s sort of its own subset of hospitality – hosting guest bartenders. You want their experience to be great.
BM: What are the biggest differences in terms of your creative liberties/approach between Mulberry Project and Greenwich Project?
AP: At Mulberry Project it’s very off-the-cuff. Since it’s a bar, people come there to see the bar. Since Greenwich Project is a restaurant, the focus is to give people something really nice and inspirational to start their meal. We want the cocktails to complement the food, so we keep in mind people’s palates and the fact that they’re going to be eating in addition to drinking.
BM: What's your go to cocktail on any given day?
AP: To drink, I would say a negroni. It’s less boozy than a Manhattan so you can drink it more easily. I also love Manhattans. Both cocktails satisfy all of those little neurons that you want satisfied when you taste – bitter, sweet, complex, heat from the booze. They’re just delicious.
BM: What's the ideal number of bartenders to have behind a bar?
AP: For Mulberry Project, we can accommodate 2 behind the bar. But it really depends on the night and the size of the bar. If you’ve got a bar with six wells, you can have a more killer party!
By Nicole Schnitzler
(Photos from left: Cocktail ~ Photo by Emmanuel Cayere; Mulberry Project Interior ~ Photo by Emmanuel Cayere; Aaron Polsky ~ Photo by Curt Goldman)