After failed paperboy and babysitting careers, Drexler’s bartender Dustin Olson landed his first restaurant gig in the eleventh grade as a dishwasher at a Calgary pizza joint. Eighteen years of hospitality experience later, the Canadian decided there was significance to his maintained interest in the industry. After stints at Ward III and Holiday Cocktail Lounge, he’s stepped behind the stick at Drexler’s, an East Village neighborhood spot from the folks behind Boulton & Watt and Forrest Point. Here, Olson shares with us the last time he drank really well, his take on tiki, and why, at his bar, you can count on your drink arriving fast.
BoozeMenus: How do you put your stamp on a cocktail?
Dustin Olson: If I ever come up with a cocktail that isn't a variation on someone else's, I'll let you know.
BM: What did you consider most when creating the drinks list at Drexler's?
DO: When the space was tarps, ladders, and dust, I was left with the surrounding neighborhood, which I had come to know quite well having lived in the area for the better part of five years. The closest intersection of import was and is a big party hub on weekends and the crowd was a younger one. I knew that from 10pm to 2am, on Friday and Saturday, the bar would be mayhem and speed would be the only thing that mattered. The program had to be conducive to the realities of those eight hours. The challenge became more difficult when construction ended. The designers had really outdone themselves. So the drinks, then, had to meet the aesthetic of the space and be presented in a timely fashion. Ego was out the door.
BM: Which cocktail on the menu has most surprised you?
DO: The two least adventurous cocktails on the menu have turned out to be the lowest sellers. It's possible that the first wave of customers is naturally inclined to exploration — otherwise they wouldn't likely be part of said wave — and that has skewed the numbers, but I've been pleasantly surprised to see folks look beyond the traditional crowd-pleasing variations.
BM: Which cocktail are people loving in particular, and why do you think that is?
DO: Our agave cocktails are flying. Certainly a product of an August opening, but it's hard to imagine the trend ebbing too much in the fall. I think it's because Mezcal is goddamn delicious.
BM: When someone asks for "dealer's choice," what's your process for creating their perfect drink?
DO: I ask two questions. One: Boozy and stirred or shaken and fresh? Two: Which spirit would you like to play with? From there it can go many exciting directions. Ideally, I can avoid "Just make me something good." If not, enjoy your French 76.
BM: What's your take on tiki — fad, or here to stay?
DO: I think there is a reason the tiki movement has mostly been relegated to one-night affairs at decidedly non-tiki establishments early in the week. I also think that it has nothing to do with the quality of the drinks. Tiki is just hard to pull off properly, with consistency, night in and night out. It's also a very specific experience. I'm not sure I'd call it a fad, nor would I hazard a guess as to what happens next. But tiki culture has bled into most good menus out there, in some way or another, and that's a great thing.
BM: When's the last time you went somewhere strictly for its cocktails?
DO: I stumbled upon a small cocktail bar in Milan recently. The bartenders were very impressed with themselves, leading me to believe there weren't too many other bars like it in town. Following my own process, I asked for a boozy and stirred whiskey cocktail and a shaken and fresh agave cocktail for my lady. This didn't seem to go over well. I received an old fashioned and a tequila gimlet. I'm sure they tasted fine. I'm sure I didn't really care. I only hoped the other six people in the bar had a better experience.
This past weekend I was in Quebec City for a wedding. I stopped into the Chateau Frontenac for a drink on my last night there. My bartender was Louis. He was rocking a mutant dialect that only an Australian who'd been deeply immersed in Quebecois could produce. Within the rigid confines of a fancy-pants corporate hotel, he provided a wonderfully personal experience. I think I drank rum. It didn't matter. We had a great time.
BM: If you were tasked with creating a drink inspired by your role model, what would it be and who would it be for?
DO: I'd open a bottle of wine for my old man. Probably because he asked me to.
BM: How long does it take you to create a drink?
DO: 37 minutes.
BM: What time do you wake up in the morning, and what's for breakfast?
DO: I wake up when my girlfriend does. When I actually GET up is a different story entirely. Breakfast is a rotating selection of cereal, depending on which part of my childhood I'd like to revisit.
By Nicole Schnitzler
(Photos from left: Downstairs Bar; Employee Of The Month cocktail; Dustin Olson - Photo by Liz Clayman)