Consulting · Cordials and ferments
Cordials, ferments and drinks development
By drinks development I mean preparing, ahead of service, the bases that give a bar its character: ferments, cordials, clarified drinks and batched cocktails. I build your programme with a spec sheet for each prep, its shelf life, storage and traceability, a weekly production sheet and hands-on training for your team.
Drinks development is everything that happens before the cocktail: ferments, cordials, clarified drinks and batched prep that give your bar its own flavour, speed and consistency. I design your prep programme, document it and train your team to run it. It's all built on what I do in the Stillroom lab.
How I work
A prep programme has to be full of flavour, repeatable and safe. Here's how I build it.
Review
I look at your menu, your space, your team and your timings to decide what makes sense to make in-house and what doesn't.
Programme design
I choose the preps (ferments, cordials, oleo saccharum, shrubs, clarified drinks, infusions and batches) and fit them to your menu.
Spec sheets and procedures
I write the spec sheet for each prep and a step-by-step procedure, with shelf life, storage, labelling and traceability, designed to fit your HACCP plan.
Hands-on training
We do it together in your bar: production, checks and use in service, until your team has it nailed.
Schedule and follow-up
I leave you a weekly production sheet and a purchasing plan, and check in with you on how it's going over the first few weeks.
What you get
- A prep manual with a spec sheet for each prep
- A step-by-step working procedure for each prep
- Shelf life, storage, labelling and traceability for each prep
- A weekly production sheet
- A purchasing plan for production
- Hands-on team training in your bar
- Prep sheets and HACCP records in Miselup, and prep checklists in Timlup, if you want to use them
- Duration
- Indicative: 1 to 3 days of set-up in your bar, plus follow-up.
- Format
- In person for set-up and training (in Madrid; elsewhere, just ask), with remote follow-up.
- Price
- Bespoke — ask for a proposal
For the day-to-day running of the bar, I set up Miselup and Timlup, the management software I distribute.
From a working bar.
At Stillroom, the gastronomic cocktail bar in Madrid where I'm co-owner and creative director, we have our own lab for ferments, macerations, cordials and infusions, in full view of the room. I work with lacto-fermentation, fat washing, in-house distillation and clarification. And I pass these techniques on at Stillroom Academy, in its courses on ferments for the bar, house cordials and clarification with milk, agar and a centrifuge.
Is it right for your project?
Bars that want to stand out
You want flavours that don't come out of a bought bottle: ferments, house cordials, clarifications, infusions.
High-volume bars
You need speed and every cocktail coming out the same: batching and well-organised prep.
Hotels and catering
Several shifts or off-site service: stable, labelled prep that's easy to serve.
Teams already fermenting
You already make ferments or cordials, but without spec sheets, shelf-life control or a production schedule.
Before we start
What exactly is drinks development?
It's the technical work behind a cocktail: designing and making your own ingredients (ferments, cordials, clarified drinks, infusions, batches) so they taste unique, come out the same every time and speed up service. It's the exact opposite of improvising behind the bar.
Can you ferment safely in a bar?
With method and control, yes. Each prep has its spec sheet, shelf life, labelling and traceability, designed to fit your HACCP plan. What I don't do is replace the person responsible for food safety: I work with them.
Do I need special equipment?
It depends on what we want to make. Many preps can be done with what a well-equipped bar already has; others, like some clarifications, need specific kit. We look at it in the initial review and I'll tell you what's worth buying and what isn't.
What is batching, and is it right for me?
It's preparing part of a cocktail in bulk before service. If you have volume, events or a small team, it can save you a lot of time behind the bar without losing quality. I'll tell you which cocktails are worth batching and how to store them.
Does it include training?
Yes, it's the core of it: the set-up happens in your bar, with your team. Anyone who wants to go deeper can carry on with the ferments, cordials and clarification courses at Stillroom Academy.
Pairs well with: cocktail menu design, bar staff training and bar audit and cost control.
Shall we build your prep programme?
Tell me about your menu, what you prep today and what you'd like to make. We'll go through it together and define the scope your bar needs.
Ask for a proposal