Adal Marquez: Boadas Cocktails (Barcelona)

Adal Marquez is the head Bartender of Boadas Cocktails, Barcelona. He makes two cocktails for us, one with Gin and Vermouth and the second with Rum and Curaçao.

Adal introduce yourself
My name is Adal Marquez and I come from the Canaria Islands where I studied hospitality in a Palace, the Botanico. It’s where the Spanish King goes when he comes to Tenerife. A good way to study hospitality and all its dimensions. I focused on cocktails and because I’ve been the major of my promotion the government gave me a scholarship to travel. So I moved to New Orleans, then Miami, Brazil, Madrid, Ibiza then Barcelona where I became the brand ambassador for Bacardi-Martini in Spain. Eight years ago the owner of Boadas proposed me to join Boadas. It was a Friday, I said yes and quit my job to join the Cathedral, the nickname of Boadas, on Monday. I think Boadas is my last stop and I’ll retire here, in the oldest Bar of Spain. Being here is like working in a museum: our clients were Hemingway, Salvador Dali, Picasso, Miro, Federico Garcia Lorca, and the new ones are… The writer Manuel Vázquez Montalbán described Boadas as the most delicate den in the world. The first time I came to Boadas as a customer, twenty years ago, I fell in love with the place. I was just in Barcelona for a tattoo, I was working in Amsterdam at this time, and the tattoo artist told me how can I be a bartender and never been in the best bar in the world, and he took me in. He was right.

The classic you want to show us
Dry Martini
Rince Ice with Dry Vermouth
60ml of Tanqueray Gin
Spray with Sandalwood and Bergamot

The bar you dream of
The bar of my dream would be this one, just a little bit bigger. 40 people can fit in, I would go for sixty or seventy. With two bigger bathrooms, as our is the size of a plane toilet. I love gold, so I would change the wood of the venue, the same one but just newer with gold lines between the planks. And it would be in New York because we are an American bar and New York is the cradle of American bars.

What do you do in your time off
I wake up every morning at 7.30 am then I go to the beach till 9 am. Then I do kickboxing for an hour, and I come to the bar. That’s it.

The spirit you like the most
I hate gin but I love a dry martini. So gin, as it’s my obsession. So obviously a London dry gin with an exception, Monkey 47, which is perfect for a dry martini.

What makes a good cocktail
The smile you give to the customer when you ask how he is and what he would like to drink. When you understand what he wants, then you make the cocktail with your heart. Don’t focus on a brand or on ingredients, focus on the person in front of you.

What ingredient do you enjoy using in cocktails
Rosemary, I put rosemary everywhere. My grandmother came from Andalusia and was surrounded by it. So I grew up with this smell at home. She put rosemary behind the door, to be protected from the spirits. Look at the door here in Boadas, I did the same. I love this smell, all my happy memories are related to this fragrance.

The signature cocktail you want to show us
Boadas
20ml of Cuban Rum
20ml of Dubonnet
20 ml of Curaçao

Where do you think we need to go to interview another bartender
You have to go to Origin in Singapore and Lobster bar in Hong Kong. Then go to London too and visit Tayer Elementary and Kwant.

One Comment

  1. Pingback: Simone Mina: CH 1887 (Rome) – Le Cocktail Connoisseur

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