An Independent Tool for Managing Cocktail Menus
The proper method can make or break the experience because everyone approaches it differently—usually, the more complex, the better. There is no graceful way to do it, and if you could see the face you’re making, you probably wouldn’t do it ever again.
William Elliott, bar director at New York’s Maison Premiere, Sauvage, and The Golden Hour, argues that a bartender only has one technique to shake a drink, which is similar to saying that a chef only has “one trademark way to deal with fire.” In addition, a shake is occasionally created to safeguard a bartender from harm. Several drink producers have purposefully changed their signatures throughout time due to this.
Your age shapes the flowing, elliptical motion of the current shake. The one thing that hasn’t changed is refreshment, from the smashes and slingflips of the eighteenth century to modern mocktails. The Art of Shaking was introduced by the bartender mascot Luca Missaglia and Simone Caporale, owners of Sips, one of the world’s 50 Best Bars in Barcelona. The new platform is the first stand-alone web application specialized in cocktail menu creation and upkeep techniques.
Luca Missaglia and Simone Caporale, two prominent personalities in the international drinks sector, founded The Art of Shaking (TAOS), an independent global platform. The premium platform, which is now available, will provide a variety of cutting-edge digital courses aimed at improving professional bartender abilities and encouraging users to “think outside the bar” in their own time, wherever in the world.
People believe that it’s about establishing a cool rhythm or appearance. But more often than not, a bartender shakes with a speed, trajectory, and rhythm specifically engineered to create a better cocktail. It’s a skill frequently acquired over weeks, months, or even years and involves both utility and individual style.
Luca and Simone, committed to expressing bartenders’ creativity and vision for creating drinks as a form of exquisite liquid art, founded TAOS to give top-tier bartenders access to a specialized online resource and in-depth training. The classes’ evaluation of the artistic process focuses on inspiring students to discover their vision, inspiration, and passion while elevating their offers.
For the Bartenders
Caporale says, “The Art of Shaking is for skilled bartenders.”
When discussing techniques, we won’t show you how to shake a cocktail or create a Mojito because those instructions are available online for free. The information we have produced is of the highest caliber; it offers cutting-edge methods for manipulating flavors so bartenders can design their beverages and menus.
One of their favorite chapters, for instance, is the one where they show the effects of squeezing citrus fruits in various ways. This would never have been thought of in a workshop or trade exhibition. “This isn’t about teaching bartenders how to prepare beverages,” Caporale says. The power is in demonstrating methods that allow people to change flavors, enabling them to create custom cocktail menus.
Of course, independent bars will use it, but larger organizations will also. These organizations frequently struggle to develop new menu items, and this platform will undoubtedly provide them with enough inspiration to differentiate their offerings.
The Three Initial Courses
Cocktail Development, Cocktail Menu Creation, and Ultimate Bar Techniques are the three introductory courses; additional ones will be added throughout the year. One of the most well-known barkeepers in the World, Simone Caporale, presents each video class, which is recorded in his multi-award-winning bar SIPS in Barcelona. Simone demonstrates methods, sources of inspiration, and his approach to creating beverages throughout the sessions. English-language videos are available with subtitles in English, Spanish, French, and Italian. All membership options are compatible with laptops, tablets, and smartphones and have a 12-month billing cycle.
The Art of Shaking is the first bartender-led, paid-for subscription training program not sponsored by any company. There are two types of payments available to users: All Inclusive, which includes all three courses, or Premium, which consists of the Cocktail Menu and Bar Techniques courses (21 Video Lessons, 3 hours, 57 minutes) (28 Video Lessons – 5hrs, 40min).
Men Behind This Smart Invention
Simone Caporale
Simone Caporale, one of today’s most talked-about bartenders, is well-known worldwide for his distinct style, service, and innovation, including incredible attention to detail, playful presentation, and a warm demeanor toward hospitality. He has a wealth of experience working with top luxury brands, such as Peroni, Martini, and Disaronno, and has traveled the world conducting masterclasses, menus, seminars, and training.
Simone’s recent endeavors include the establishment of P(OUR) Symposium, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating up-and-coming peers in the beverage industry; the development of Muyu, a line of contemporary liqueurs with Alex Kratena and Monica Berg; the opening of SIPS, which ranked 37th in The World’s 50 Best Bars Awards in 2022; and the opening of P(OUR) Symposium.
Luca Missaglia
One of the key players in the UK bar scene is Luca Missaglia. Before joining the Hart Brothers to oversee the beverage program at Quo Vadis and moving on to become the Bar Director at Aqua Group, he apprenticed under the late Douglas Ankrah at the London Lab bar. He has won manifold awards throughout his career, including the UK Disaronno Mixing Star in 2012, the UK Nikka Perfect Serve in 2013, the Bacardi Legacy in 2014, the 24 Hour Bar Build in 2015, and inclusion in CODE Hospitality’s 30 Under 30. (2016-17). In 2021, he joined forces with Simone Caporale to launch Cocktail Concierge, a spirits brand-building company.
Both Caporale and Missaglia have a lot of expertise in developing products for the beverage industry. For spirits customers, Cocktail Concierge and its top-notch staff operate as a single point of contact and may work with a brand from inception to completion. Budgets, asset creation, brand strategy, planning for global marketing and commercial design, route to market, launch, brand management, sales, and brand-building activations, raising brand awareness and visibility through press and awards, and promoting brand expansion through advocates, events, and limited-edition assets are just a few examples.
