The Hudson Bartender Working Week was aimed at giving the bartenders the opportunity to experience and understand everything that goes into the production of whiskey - from milling, cooking and fermenting to distilling, barreling and bottling.
The first Australian to take part in the Bartender Working Week, Elysha Bush from Penny Black in Melbourne secured a spot on the trip after winning an incentive program with the brand earlier in the year.
Joining Elysha was Ahmed Mido Yahi from France, Simon Toohey from the UK, and Dirk Hany from Switzerland.
Co-founder of the American aged whiskey and the first to be distilled in New York since prohibition was repealed in 1933, Ralph Erenzo said commenting on the week: “This was an opportunity for [the bartenders] to meet the people who are making it; they really got in close with the staff and worked with everyone.”
Erenzo added: “I’m hoping this is the first of many distillery experiences for bartenders all over the world who can come here and learn about Hudson whiskey first hand.”
Hudson’s portfolio includes Baby Bourbon, Manhattan Rye and Four Grain Bourbon, offering a range of smooth, classic and slightly more complex craft whiskies.
Working at Penny Black, which serves the former of the two expressions mentioned above, Elysha said the experience was beneficial to not only learning how whiskey is made, but also the number of ways in which it can be served.
“I had never been to a distillery before, so it was really interesting to see how it’s made, including all the machinery they use, and the way it’s processed and bottled”, Elysha told drinks bulletin.
“The main thing I really took away was how you can serve products in a more creative way, rather than just the sub-standard way you would initially think you could use it”, Elysha added. “It was great fun, I’d love to do it again.”
Later this year, the bartenders who participated in the week will also take part in the Hudson Bartender Exchange, when each will swap places from their respective venues to another’s, to experience what bartending is like in other countries.
There will also be a second Hudson Bartending Week in October this year, with the winners of the trip expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
“All the other bartenders on the trip were awesome, very talented bartenders, and it was interesting to meet people from other parts of the world and get to know how the industry runs there, compared to how it does here”, Elysha concluded.
Share the content
