PAM WIZNITZER
Pam Wiz has been in the hospitality business for more than 16 years. She’s worked in every venue, from dive bars to globally recognized cocktail bars. “I don’t work so much behind the bar anymore. I work with brands on their consumer outreach and reshaping the definition of how we look at drinking. I’m good at getting drinks into funny places like airports or circuses.” (photo by Justin Sisson)
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PERSON: What are you reading?
American Serial killers: the epidemic yees 1950 to 2000, by Peter Vronsky. I have always been fascinated with serial killers since I learned bout them in my criminality class in high school. To see how a person can turn into someone that can do those things. My teacher always used to say you should ask on a first date: how is your relationship with your mother?
We are looking into the abyss of a new American Noir like the one in 1940s but worse. This time there will be no solemn homecoming flotillas of the dead in flag-draped coffins from overseas; they are already here with us in mass graves like New York’s Hart Island and in refrigerator trucks in hospital and funeral home parking lots.
Peter Vronsky, American Serial Killers: The Epidemic Years 1950-2000
What was the last song you listened to on purpose?
Booty, by Jennifer Lopez and Iggy Azalea
Worst thing you can say to a bartender?
1. Can I split this check eight ways?
2. Any kind of yelling. Any kind of demeaning conversation. People are sometimes very coarse and forget we’re trying very hard to accommodate you.
What’s your guilty pleasure drink?
Let’s clarify this: if I enjoy it, it’s not guilty. However: a frozen mudslide complete with a chocolate drizzle on the inside of the glass. That’s the best thing in the world. I also enjoy a really well-made grasshopper and cognac old-fashioned.
People need to quit drinking . . .
. . . things that are inherently trendy without doing research. I’m not saying trendy booze isn’t great quality. I’m just asking that even if you see an ad, do a little research and find out how it’s made and find out more about the company. Marketing dollars are used to sway your preferences and your palate as opposed to you sticking with your palette and your taste.
I never want to make another . . .
. . . guest unhappy by not making the drink they want. I love making all kinds of drinks. Even if it’s a Ramos Gin Fizz. It’s way more important to accommodate whatever weird request you get—I don’t care if it’s a glass of water with ice.
Unconventional bar tool you can’t live without
J. Rosser Lomax (my friend who is a big tool). However . . . it’s funny; I call this a tool even though some people call it an ingredient: I can’t live without ice. You can’t make the overwhelming majority of drinks without ice. It’s a vehicle that helps shape the drink; it’s what agitates your drink and whips your drink. I’ve always viewed ice as a tool.
What’s the name of your drink?
Mortimer and Mauve
How the hell did you come up with this drink?
Had this on my menu at Seamstress. It was named for the two main pigs at the Whistle Pig distillery, who have both now passed away.
Cocktail: Mortimer and Mauve
Ingredients
1 1/4 ounces Whistle Pig rye
1 1/4 ounces chai-infused sweet vermouth, preferably Martini & Rossi
1/2 ounce ginger liqueur, preferably Barrow’s Intense
Garnish: Orange twist
Method
Combine ingredients into a mixing glass and stir until chilled
Strain into a rocks glass over a large cube of ice
Express orange peel; discard
