Recognition

Rozhovor s nejslavnějším českým barmanem, který toto řemeslo úspěšně posunul mnohem dál. …a který už dávno není jenom barmanem. Na čem právě pracuje? Bude mít vlastní bar? V případě, že ano, pak kde?

Alex Kratěna je světově uznávaný barman. Ovšem od doby, kdy působil v jím proslaveném Artesian baru, se toho hodně změnilo a Alex už není barmanem celých 24 hodin denně. Beverage & Gastronomy přináší rozhovor s ikonou současného bartendingu, který vznikl na Alexově rodné brněnské půdě, velmi přátelsky – i proto to tykání.

What makes a modern bartender? Alice Lascelles travelled to Paris for the first ever P(our) Symposium, where the question sparked some lively debate.

The two-day programme of talks, which took place in a space donated by Paris’s annual bar-fest, Cocktails Spirits, was the first for the not-for-profit think-tank P(our). The bartender collective was launched earlier this year by a committee of industry luminaries including Alex Kratena and Simone Caporale, formerly of Artesian, Monica Berg of Himkok, Oslo, Ryan Chetiywardana of Dandelyan, Joerg Meyer of Le Lion, Hamburg, and ECC’s Xavier Padovani.

Must one even say more about these two? Kratena and Caporale announced their departure from London’s Artesian bar shortly after it was named World’s Best Bar for the fourth year running in 2015. They’ve definitely kept busy since. The dynamic duo launched their non-profit drinks summit P(our) to great international acclaim at the Paris Cocktail Spirits this summer. They have a couple more joint projects up their sleeves and we can’t wait to see what they do next. read more...

The Creators List 2016 — a collection of people and their companies that are creating the future of the global bar industry.

Alex Kratena, P(OUR) Foundation
It’s no surprise to us to see Alex Kratena on this list: having helmed The Artesian at The Langham, which has been at number one on the World’s 50 Best Bars list four times, his next steps are being eagerly watched.
“Alex’s post-Artesian life is even busier than before, and his new initiative, POUR (a non-profit education and discussion forum for the hospitality and drinks industry) is as innovative as his cocktail creations,” one panel member said.
” He creates unbelievably conceptual cocktail with service, and his hospitality is way beyond. Definitely one of the top influencers in 21 century so far,” said another.

Head bartender Alex Kratena has helped to make the lounge at London’s Langham Hotel one of the finest cocktail joints in the world — with the help of a slushie machine.

When Alex Kratena took over as head bartender at Artesian, the David Collins–designed lounge tucked inside the Langham Hotel in London, he made an unusual purchase: a slushie machine. “Everyone thought it was totally bonkers, and that I was crazy,” he recalls now. “We had to paint it black to cover the flashing lights.” read more...

Ever-more inventive drinks are being created by a new breed of artist, says John O’Ceallaigh.

Recently named the World’s Best Bar for the third consecutive year, Artesian in London’s Langham Hotel offers a drinking experience that can fairly be described as beyond compare… Each signature cocktail is served in it’s own glass, be it a wooden bowl, gleaming brass pineapple or traditional porcelain: rather than tonics or juices, libations might feature sandalwood or frankincense.

There are bars. Then there are Bars.

And when yours has been named “The Best Bar in World” for three consecutive years, you know that your watering hole is the latter: more elevated in nature and in a league of its own – and that the pressure is on to create extraordinary cocktails with (mindblowing) twists. But for Alex Kratena – head bartender at Artesian in Mayfair’s Langham London – it’s more about passion and fun than anything else. read more...

Alex Kratena stands behind his bar at Artesian passing some twigs of fresh wormwood to his fellow barman, Simone Caporale, who inhales the sweet herby scent. “Without this plant, you cannot make a Martini,” says Mr. Caporale. Wormwood is the base herb for vermouth, a vital ingredient for the classic cocktail.

Framing the mixologists on the back bar is an array of imitation skulls, mugs in the form of sheiks’ heads and mini sombreros that hint at the bar’s theatrically playful cocktails. read more...

Alex Kratena creates his Martinis shaken by Ultrasound, not stirred.

Modern mixologists rely on a shelf-load of ingredients, from booze and bitters to tinctures and foams. Alex Kratena, head bartender at the Artesian bar in London’s Langham Hotel, has a new addition: sound waves. Kratena, 33, uses an ultrasonic homogeniser to rapidly infuse drinks with new flavours. Called a Sonicprep, the $4,900 devise (held by Kratena) emits up to 20,000 ultrasonic pulses per second.

It’s tough at the top. Whether you’re a CEO, musician or bar manager, you’re only as good as your last set of earnings, song, or cocktail menu. There’s always an upstart ready to take your crown.

Artesian has been voted the world’s best bar for two year’s on the trot. Last week Alex Kratena and Simone Caporale – Artesian’s star bartenders – updated the cocktail list ready for their defence later in the year. In response, they’ve created a menu that takes the bar’s famed imagination, experimentation and presentation to whole new level. read more...

Bright green and vitamin-packed, they’re the drink that ticks all the right boxes when it comes to the current fad for cold-pressed juices. But there’s a twist to the newest staple on trendy bar menus: a slug of spirits means vegetable-laced cocktails are reinventing the notion of a daily shot.

The taste for “juicetails” has seen even mushrooms and avocados mixed in with spirits such as tequila and vodka at some of the country’s most popular drinking dens. read more...

Since there’s little hope of banishing social media from social situations, you may as well make your peace with it. At the Artesian bar at the Langham, head barman Alex Kratena clearly realises that for many customers Instagramming prior to sampling is part of the price of admission.

One of the drinks on his new list (a fashionista would call it his “AW14 collection”) pays direct tribute to the phenomenon. He calls it the Digidiva. It arrives in an oblong of glass set at an angle in a sleek jet stand, so that the liquid pools at one end. read more...

Widely hailed as London’s most glamorous cocktail bar, the newly renovated Artesian offers a respite from the bustle of shows and parties. The Digidiva, a new cocktail unveiled for Fashion Week is worth ordering for its appearance alone. A mix of Absolut Elyx, Sherry and seasonal flowers all served up in a hand-blown glass cuboid and drunk through a straw. Yes please.