Bartender Masterclass: On Mastery featuring Master Bartender Julian Cox (Part 2)

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Training for Mastery takes years of work and dedication, and after a certain point there is no road map in any industry that helps the novice graduate to the journeyman, and the journeyman transform into the master.

Before we start, an ask for you. If you would like to leave a virtual tip for the bar staff who helped produce this podcast, you can go to Venmo and contribute to TheCottonmouthClub-Staff. All proceeds go to the staff for food & essentials until we all have some clarity as to how this will all play out.

In our first Bartending Masterclass Series, host & Master Bartender Michael J. Neff, discussed the different phases of mastery. In this second installment, we’re focusing on Mastery of the Head with special guest Mr. Julian Cox.
In this episode, we discuss:
- The Tao of Training: “The whole idea of training is that you’re giving of yourself, and you want somebody else to know (the information) so they can take it to the next level.”
- The unfortunate history of Tiki Lore
- Julian’s worst shift of his career, and the night he met Sasha Petrarske
- Bartender’s Choice vs. Bespoke Cocktails
- How Ms. Cleo the Telepath connects to the cocktail community: “Getting the guest out of their comfort zone and asking them a question that will deflect any prejudgment of an idea is just the best way to get to the heart of what the interaction is supposed to be about...”
- The bartender’s palate
- Michael and Julian plan a shift
- Julian picks a cocktail to serve Jimi Hendrix

Julian Cox is widely viewed as one of the great culinary talents of Los Angeles and San Francisco. His work behind the bar earned him 3 consecutive James Beard nominations (2012-2014) for outstanding bar program for his trendsetting work at John Sedlar’s restaurant Rivera.

As Executive Director of Beverage for Sprout LA, Julian oversaw one of the largest restaurant expansions in LA history. Julian has worked with brightest culinary minds in the industry. He’s opened restaurants with Octavio Becerra, Nancy Silverton, Tim Hollingsworth, Ori Menache, Walter Manzke, Chris Bianco, David Myer, John Sedlar, Chad Robertson, Elizabeth Prueitt, and Doug Psaltis among many others. His restaurant experience covers opening over 50 restaurant and bar concepts in 10 different cities across the US.

In 2017, he was named one of the 10 most influential bartenders of the past decade by Food and Wine magazine. He spent two years in Chicago at Lettuce Entertain You, studying under legendary restauranteur Rich Melman.

Julian used his experience and business savvy to directly impact 144 million dollars of liquor sales across 9 properties for the restaurant group. At Three Dots and a Dash, Julian took a small craft cocktail tiki bar past 6 million in revenue and earned a nomination for America’s Best High Volume bar at Tales of the Cocktail in 2016.

In 2017, he moved to San Francisco to help Chad Robertson and Liz Prueitt attain their liquor license at Tartine Manufactory SF. He was tasked to open their San Francisco and SFO airport locations as well as project manage their openings in Korea and their upcoming location at The Row in Los Angeles. He recently oversaw the opening of Banc Of California stadium LAFC at The Fields in downtown Los Angeles.

Weird-tempo Banjo Tune: That’s Where My Money Goes

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1. Bartender Masterclass: On Mastery featuring Master Bartender Julian Cox (Part 2) (00:00:00)

2. What is Mastery of the Head? (00:01:35)

3. The night Julian met his hero (Part 1) (00:06:36)

4. The night Julian met his hero (Part 2) (00:09:53)

5. Bartender’s Choice vs. Bespoke Cocktails (00:15:10)

6. Wrapping up the conversation (00:27:11)

7. Five Questions for Julian Cox (00:28:21)