Alberto Fernandez, is a bartender at Bar Americano Hotel Alfonso XIII The Luxury Collection in Seville. He makes two cocktails for us, one with Gin and Champagne, and the second with Vodka and Grand Marnier.
Alberto introduce yourself
I’m Alberto Fernandez and I am a bartender at Bar Americano Hotel Alfonso XIII The Luxury Collection in Seville. My parents own a tapas bar so at an early age I decided I wanted to study hospitality, which I did in my home town of Calix. That’s where I discovered cocktail culture, even though at the time I was working with a Michelin star chef in the kitchen. Later I moved to Madrid where I became a bartender and worked there for 7 years. Then, three years ago I moved to Seville and began here, at the Bar Americano. This bar is open to both tiki and classic cocktails, which helped us to win the Spanish Mixing Star Challenge in 2013. I really like to be able to perfect my cocktails and thanks to the hotel environment and culture here I have become well versed in great customer service too.
The classic you want to show us
The Last Cocktail (French 75 twist)
50ml of Gin Mare
30ml of Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Barspoon of Rosemary Infusion
35ml of Pear Juice
Top with Champagne
The bar or party you dream of
I’d like to open my own bar on the Seville riverside and serve tiki cocktails on a terrace as I think with the weather here it’s the perfect business. I would like to have live jazz music, like they do here in Bar Americano. As you know, I come from a family who own a tapas bar, so I would also like to have a small tapas menu, with a section of the menu dedicated to food pairing.
When I go out to drink here in Seville, I go to The Bitter’sBar. They make their own bitters and I love to drink classics there. Otherwise, my other favourite place for a drink is the Dona Maria Hotel where my friends work and they have an incredible roof terrace.
The spirit you like the most
I am a whisky lover, but right now it’s very hot in Seville, so I prefer to work with mezcal. I really like the smokiness of it. My favourite is Danzantes and I generally take classic gin based cocktails and twist them with the mezcal. At this moment in Seville mezcal is becoming more and more chic and two new mezcalerias have just opened.
What makes a good cocktail and which product do you want to highlight at this moment
A cocktail is about the balance between, alcohol, sweetness and acidity, after that if the balance is correct you don’t need anything else.
I love to work with fresh healthy products, especially when it’s hot in summer… like now. For instance, I just created a cocktail using gin with fresh carrot juice and lovely fresh basil.
The signature cocktail you want to show us
El viajero
45ml of Ciroc Vodka
12.5ml of Grand Marnier Liqueur
45ml of Lemon Verbena
25ml of Lemon Juice
10ml of Cardamon Syrup
Where do you think we need to go to interview another bartender?
You need to go to El Nino Perdido, a speakeasy bar in Valladolid and the Hemingway Bar in Prague.