Zac is the co-owner of Crackerjack in Singapore. He makes two cocktails for us, one with Rum and Mandarin and the second with Absinthe and Blood Peach.
Zac introduce yourself
I’m Zac de Git and I’m originally from a small country town in Queensland, Australia. I studied IT and worked in a pub part-time, but soon realised IT was not for me and moved down to Brisbane where a really vibrant cocktail scene was starting to evolve. After some time, I moved to Melbourne which is the cocktail capital of Australia and for the last six years I have been in Singapore. Initially I ran the bar program at Tippling Club, then I moved into a brand role working with Monkey Shoulder and two years ago Joe, Spencer, Peter and myself got together to create Crackerjack.
The classic you want to show us
Chinese New Year Daiquiri
30ml of Rum Diplomatico
30ml of Mandarin Juice
22.5ml of Lime Juice
15ml of Simple Syrup
The bar you dream of
There’s nothing I would change about Crackerjack. I love this space, it’s light and airy, you can come for breakfast, lunch and dinner and enjoy quality coffee and cocktails at reasonable prices. It has a great neighbourhood vibe, in fact I just live across the road and my gym is literally around the corner. It’s perfect.
What do you do in your time off
I actually really enjoy board sports. I grew up skateboarding, then moved onto snowboarding and now I’m in Asia and with this climate I go wakeboarding. I go to the gym daily and we encourage the whole team at Crackerjack to juice and exercise regularly. I’m all about bartender health, so instead of having a drink after work every day, I’ve started meditating to relax.
The spirit you like the most
I love the challenge of working with Irish or Scotch whisky. It’s especially fun to work with Islay whiskies in a cocktail. I’d say my favourite brands to use are Glenlivet, Glenkinchie and Auchentoshan.
What makes a good cocktail
It’s everything… from your initial greeting, the way the drink is mixed, the use of fresh ingredients to the way the drink is served. All these elements go into making a good cocktail.
What ingredient do you enjoy using in cocktails
Fortified wines have always been a favourite of mine. There are so many different types, with such a diverse range of flavours and the category is growing day by day.
The signature cocktail you want to show us
Absinthe Swizzle
20ml of St. George’s Absinthe
20ml of Mancino Secco Vermouth
20ml of Blood Peach Puree
20ml of Sugar Syrup
10ml of lemon Juice
8 Mint Leaves
Where do you think we need to go to interview another bartender
You need to head over to the Philippines and meet a gentleman called Poch who works at The Curator. In Indonesia check out Kiki Moka at Union in Jakarta who runs their beverage program. In Melbourne go and see Chris Hysted-Adams at Black Pearl and in Edinburgh visit the amazing Kyle at Devils Advocate.
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