There comes a point when that new beer of the moment has lost its luster, the wine list just isn’t doing it, and the results of imbibing mediocre cocktails range from sugar induced indigestion to head-splitting migraine. So what’s left?
Mix It Up serves discerning palates with an assortment of custom designed cocktails, rescuing your run of the mill mixed drink and setting it up with all the sophistication of a fitted three-piece suit and a double windsor.
With over 30 years of combined experience in the industry, Mix It Up takes their passion for mixology and infuses it with a culinary twist. They take an occasion, idea, theme, or even a certain style and create a cocktail that compliments the motif. Each client has the opportunity to have a cocktail specifically tailored to their special occasion.
The company started as an idea to design drinks for specific people or events and “taking the sort of intimidating aspect of ‘serious mixology’ out of the bars and into more diverse social settings,” says Chief Mixologist, Ricky Johnson.
A precursor to Ricky’s current arsenal of drink-making expertise was his education in wine while a server in fine dining. However, he did not truly delve into the science of drink making until his time bar tending and managing at The Falls in Mount Washington. These conditions were ideal as they allowed Ricky to experiment and brew up fanciful new cocktails while still learning the art. “The weirder, the better,” was Ricky’s personal motto, when he would request samples of things no one else was ordering from the liquor distributors. Most of his experience came from making bad drinks and through constant adjustments and diligent work, Ricky was able to iron out recipe after great recipe. Not knowing the faux pas, the taboo ingredients for certain combinations, really allowed Ricky to utilize his creativity to the fullest and come up with new, atypical ways to use ingredients.
Though a lot of Ricky’s experience came from experimentation, he developed his underlying foundation of knowledge in books about alcohol. Not so much about how to make drinks, but how the actual spirits were made, where they came from, the cultural backgrounds of the drinks. “Gin tastes great, but it tasted even better when there’s a cool story behind it,” an example Ricky offers. It’s about making a drink more than just an alcoholic beverage.
His level of experimentation has gone diminished, and waste along with it, but Ricky is always trying something new, keeping it fresh with things he’s never done before. Putting together cocktail menus and beverage programs for various places has allowed Ricky to escalate his mastery of the craft. “Each time I think I’ve gotten better at knowing what’s going to work, what will be the most popular drink, what the girls… [and guys] will drink, and so on.”
The flourishing young company doesn’t only want to be on speed dial for anyone trying to throw the party of the year and inspire and impress their friends, they also want to be a wellspring of expert information for anyone wanting to learn about making great drinks. Ricky says the key for the company is to continue to be focused on innovation and continued learning so that they can always be on top of their game in the industry.
The difference for is the personalization. Ricky says, “no one in the Mid-Atlantic offers what we do. We don’t try to sell people generic ‘packages,’ because every event is unique.” Most of the thought and time for large events is allocated for food, so often the bar gets relocated to the bottom of the list. Ricky feels that with the socialization inherent to cocktails, the food is important, but “the bar should be your first thought, not your last.”
When it comes to crafting his recipes, Ricky’s inspiration comes from all around the world. What it really comes down to, though, is understanding your ingredients. You have to know “how they’re made,” instructs Ricky, “where they come from, what they’re distilled from, and so on.” Ricky is always reading up on wines and spirits, and thoughts about complementary flavors and new recipes spring forth. Other times, a cool name may inspire a drink and the recipe is built around that. “Sometimes, I picture a certain setting, then try to imagine what drink would feel right in that place,” Ricky adds. To really hone his craft and skill, Ricky will also challenge himself to make a drink with whatever is lying around; “sometimes…you have to make a drink with limited options.”
For an idea of how the thought process goes, I asked Ricky what drink he would craft based on a few names, ideas and places and this was what his stream of consciousness came up with:
-Johnny Depp-
My first thought is of Edward Scissorhands, and the picturesque, almost utopian suburban setting it takes place in. I’m pretty sure there’s a scene with a cookout, and people are drinking lemonade, and it all looks really fresh and casual. For a cocktail-spin on that, I’d go with a basil/cardamom lemonade with bourbon and a little honey syrup. Could be made to order, but also would work great in pitchers.
-Jazz-
Makes me think of New Orleans and spending way too much money and time drinking absinthe on Bourbon Street. Here I’d definitely have to go with the Sazerac, a classic cocktail that includes a little absinthe and has been legally designated as the official cocktail of New Orleans, the city of its birth.
-The Telltale Heart-
My first thought was Cognac, in honor of Poe, but instead I’m going in a different direction. Maybe something called the ‘Evil Eye,’ to take inspiration from the story. It definitely needs to be cloudy and blue, like the eye, so maybe some muddled blueberry, fresh lime juice, and gin, shaken hard and strained into a martini glass. For extra effect, I’d drop a black cherry or some other kind of fruit in the glass to represent the heart under the floor.
-Baltimore-
I’m going to say one of my personal favorites: Bloody Mary. Tongue-in-cheek irony in the name aside, a spicy bloody mary in an Old Bay-rimmed glass is as good as it gets, and it’s also the closest you can get to drinking crabs (for now).
