zach mccaffree behind the bar @ the can can

Rule #77 from the Modern Drunkard 86 rules of boozing [#] is, “Never preface a conversation with a bartender with “I know this is going to be a hassle, but . . .”

Of course, that is exactly what I did when I introduced myself to Zach for this interview. To his everlasting credit, he put up with me on several occasions and even provided me with many very tasty drinks. I have to say, I appreciate that immensely and on so many levels.

But let’s back up. If you recall, I embarked on this project at the end of September with an interview with Keith @ Union [mb]. My goal was/is to talk to Seattle’s good bartenders in order to let you get to know them a little before you take the plunge and enter their establishments. So, after my stint at Union, I took Keith’s recommendation and headed up a block to the Can Can [#] to investigate one Zach McCaffree. What I got was plenty: a new addition to my favorites list, a new go-to drink (his Ringmaster, so yummy) and the following interview.

How did you get here?
Well, I started working in restaurants when I was in high school. I started out as a dishwasher and then worked with a really good chef that taught me how to do prep work and then worked for a few restaurants in Spokane. I eventually moved up to Bellingham and was a big snowboarder, so basically was just working at night and snowboarding through the day. So that’s how I got into the business. I was a cook up in Bellingham for a couple of different restaurants and then when I turned 21 I realized kind of the other side of the line was deeply as interesting and looked like it might be a little bit more fun and a little less stressful; which I don’t know if that’s true or not.

Yeah. Depends on the bar, I guess.
Yeah. When you work as a cook it can be pretty painful sometimes. At least when you’re behind the bar you gotta keep up a kind of facade about you. There’s no throwing things or swearing and that kind of stuff. It’s a little bit different on the other side of the line. And so I started bartending up there for a corporate restaurant, I started as a bar back and within 3 months they had me bartending. I caught on to it pretty quick just because it’s all the same movements as cooking. It’s just about prioritizing and multitasking.

Do you think your cooking background informs your cocktails?
Yes and no. More just…Yes. For sure. But most of my cocktail knowledge is just from going to bars, or bartenders that I respect, and just sitting down. You just sit down and watch them. That’s it, you know? What goes in that? What are you doing? What’s that you’re making right there? Basically, that kind of stuff.

Oh wow. That’s kind of cool.
Yeah. But that’s not all. I mean obviously you’ve got to make a ton of experiments. Experimental hits and misses on your own. But yes, it’s mainly learning from the good people above you that have done it better. They learned from somebody else the same way, too. I go see Murray at the Zig Zag [#]. His name can’t be thrown around enough but that’s what it is. Go down and learn things like that.

How long has the Can Can [#] been around?
March of last year, so it’s been a year and a half. We’re coming up on our two year this spring.

And you’ve been here the whole time, right?
Yeah. I started about a week before we opened.

You do all the ordering of the booze?
I certainly do. Yeah, everything you see behind here is me.

So are you a big brown liquor drinker then?
Honestly, I like everything. I mean, I really, really do. I feel like I’m blowing smoke up people’s asses when I say that, but I really love – when I was in my early 20s all I drank was Bushmill’s – but I love bourbon, I love single malt Scotch. I go through big tequila phases; I love sipping tequila…beer, wine. Beer is probably my weakest as far as my knowledge. I never worked at a brewery and was never educated really well on the different types of beer and how they’re made and what’s really making each one different from each other.

Do you think that you get a good mix of people in here?
Everything. It depends on the day of the week. Entertainment’s a huge thing with this place, for sure, but also we’ve gotten well-known for having a well-stocked bar and good cocktails and that kind of stuff. I’d say that my regulars probably come out on the slower days rather than the busier days, but that’s typical of any place you’d work at. Then Fridays and Saturdays we do get quite a few people who come knowing we have really great drinks which can be difficult at times too because you’re trying to get drinks out as fast as possible. For example, one of my favorite drinks to make is my Bloody Mary and it takes me about 2 or 3 minutes to make that; a double tall Grey Goose and soda takes me about 15 seconds to make. So unfortunately with such a small bar with such high volume sometimes we have to encourage people to maybe steer away from those specialty cocktails. We don’t say no, but we don’t put specialty cocktail menus on the tables on Friday and Saturday night.

You’re here Wednesday and then on the weekends?
Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, I’m bartending, but I’ve worked, I think, every single day this month. Just doing inventory, orders, I put up all these shelves in the past month, too. That’s been fun, I feel all Bob Villa.

Do you rotate your cocktail menu at all?
Yes. I’m actually going to do that in the next week or two. The shelves were the big one. That was my big priority this past couple of weeks. I’ve been wanting to get these in for a year now and finally I was like, I’m just going to do it myself. So I think after that I’ll rotate my cocktail menu. I’ll put a couple of my own drinks on there and then I’ll switch up different classics. I recently found out that there are a couple of drinks on my menu that are on menus at bars nearby – they’re great drinks, but I don’t want that. And it’s just fun to introduce people to new classic drinks too.

How do you come up with your own cocktails? Tinker?
No. I was talking to somebody recently that’s a cook that basically said the same thing. I really don’t know how to explain it. You can picture what something is going to taste like before you make it. You just have to get creative up here and then after that you can try and see how they taste. But it’s more usually thinking about obscure things and whatnot or just some things that’ll taste really good that maybe somebody else has done before. And a lot of tinkering, too. (laughs) I’ve got a 1000 different cocktails that I’ve come up on my own with, some better than others, but have never been written down. Most have never been named. Someone will ask, “Make me something good.” And you just kind of brainstorm and go for flavors that you think that are going to please that person’s palate.

Do you make your own mud for your Bloody Mary?
Oh. Yes. I’m a pretty modest person when it comes to a lot of stuff, but I think that’s hands down the best drink that I’ve done in this business. People always ask what your specialty is. I always respond that I like to make good cocktails but this is about the best thing I make. Do you drink Bloody Marys at all?

Love them. But at so many places they’re bad.
Well, most places, you’ve got places that will do scratch Bloody Marys, which is great but they can be inconsistent because there’s a difference between a little lime juice or a little extra horseradish or whatever…and then you’ve got most of the bars in Seattle just use that Demetri’s mix, it’s not bad but it’s going to taste the same wherever you get it.

Is that Worcestershire in there?
Yep. It’s a very, very complex mixture. (laughs)

It smells good.
I remember when I was a little kid, it was one of those things I remember from watching Cheers, thinking that having a really good Bloody Mary is really important as a bartender.

All the bartenders I’ve talked to are really nice about people who order bad drinks. So, I’d like to try to get you to say something mean about them.
My biggest thing – and this is just about being a snob – I don’t like to see people order drinks because they feel obligated to order them. A good example is about 5 years ago you couldn’t pour a woman anything except a cosmopolitan because they were watching Sex and the City everyday or seeing commercials about mojitos. But you can’t get upset about that kind of stuff because there are so many bars and so many bartenders that aren’t necessarily going to be able to introduce you to something new that’s going to be good. When you go up to a bartender and ask what he’d recommend or to pour you a good cocktail, you might get something good or you might get a Black Opal or a terrible version of a drink that’s overdone.

Keith [mb] said that you know your bourbon and have a healthy respect for your trade. I had asked him for a list of good bartenders in town and your name came up. It was Murray [zigzag] and Jamie Boudreau [vessel] and you. those were his big names.
Thank you. I’ll have to thank Keith for that, that’s awesome.

Where do you like to go out in Seattle?
I like to go where my friends are, but

• Zig Zag, of course [#]

• Il Bistro [#]
• Tini Biggs, the guys there have a lot of knowledge [#]
• Zoe [#]
• Suite 410, definitely [#]

Can you give us a recipe for the site?
Sure. I made this drink for a friend of mine who was going to Italy and I wanted to give her some of those flavors.

Rebecca’s Trip
Mix equal parts:
Aperol
Rye Whiskey
Amaro Nonino
A dash of orange bitters
Stir and garnish with a twist of orange.