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Check out he latest drink creations by Wes
http://www.dailyxy.com/daily-xy/food-drink-daily-xy/the-perfect-aperitif/

Be it resolved that bars step things up!

Adam McDowell, National Post
Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011

Toronto's drinking establishments, never the city's strongest cohort of businesses, improved in 2010. If owners follow the 11 resolutions below, they can make our nights even brighter in 2011.

Port Hope Proud & Full of “Black Beans”

December 3, 2010
Kayea McCarron
foodie.ca

Recently, I have found a new man that will ease a very large transition in my life – and my boyfriend completely approves of him!

A few weeks ago, our lives were thrown into chaos when it was revealed with very short-notice that my significant other would be relocated by his company to open a new clinic in the tiny antique-capital of my province, Port Hope, Ontario. Of course, growing up in a rural community and gathering a growing distaste for a few summers spent in downtown Toronto’s sticky smog, the move was not unappealing. However, as a lover of premium beverage and foodie culture – the prospect at being ripped away from the urban glories of the city’s restaurant scene drove a stake deep into my perpetually thirsty – and hungry – heart.

With tremendous; but truly unfounded regret – I relented – believing I faced a future of hour-long VIA rail transportation each time I wished to reach my favorite big city watering holes.

In preparation for our December 1^st relocation we recently visited the tiny town that would become our future home, to look for apartments and get familiar with the area. We stayed at the magnificent Victorian-style Penstowe Bed & Breakfast and were advised by ownership to dine on Walton St., at Black Beans Steakhouse and Lounge.

I was intrigued to have been offered this advice so readily after asking for a recommendation, and researched the details of the restaurant via the social media tool, Foursquare, on my Blackberry. There I read a tip provided by a writer for the Financial Post that insisted Black Beans was THE cocktail location destination east of the GTA due to the outstanding talents of Wes Galloway, the head bartender.

Could it be true?

Upon arrival, we were greeted and sat by our server – Lynnsey – who after only fifteen minutes of meeting avidly chatted to us about a shared passion for local wineries; including some memorable time at Ravine Vineyard, in Niagara. With full confidence and success – she ordered our appetizers – and even wine – when I stubbornly put her to the test of what Black Beans was all about. Wes, to our  joy, still works here and holds up to all expectation! He joined us at the table and chatted cocktails, liquor, and his craft until our mouths watered. Needless to say, after perfectly cooked scallops; savory beef tip poutine; and two delicious striploins, we had experienced enough to ease the transition to Port Hope; but it was the outstanding talents, professionalism, and friendliness of the staff that made us sign the lease to a flat located almost directly across the street from our new favorite restaurant, and friends.

We look forward with much anticipation to stopping in after moving in this Sunday, and raising a glass to the staff at Black Beans – and our new home in Port Hope!

Below, Wes has graciously shared three of his original and inspired cocktails he prepared for us that evening, now for your drinking pleasure:

1.      The North Wind Cocktail (original)

• 2oz Skinos Mastiha spirit
• 1oz Fernet Branca
• 1tsp Chartreuse

2.      First Water Cocktail (original)

• 1.5oz Centennial Rye Whiskey
• .5oz Cream Sherrry
• .5oz Navan Vanilla Cognac
• 2 dashes of orange bitters

3.      Sherry Flip (inspired by a classic)

• 2oz Sherry
• 3/4oz organic sugar syrup
• 2 dashes chocolate bitters
• 1oz cream
• 1 egg
• fresh nutmeg

 

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In Wes Galloway's world, classical mixology still rules

 Like other residents of Port Hope, Ont., Wes Galloway, the head bartender at Black Beans Steak-House and Lounge gets to have it both ways: a home in a smallish community with quite possibly the prettiest 19th-century downtown in Ontario, and the big smoke of Toronto just 100 kilometres to the west. It was during one of his many pilgrimages to Toronto that Galloway was inspired to go from being another good soldier in the bar industry to an award-winning mixologist. At a Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association conference stage, he caught a demonstration by a Las Vegas-based advocate for old-school cocktail making, Tony Abou-Ganim, one of many bartenders who have rediscovered the art of the strong, virile drink in recent years. "I didn't know there was a movement until I got into it," Galloway recalls.

Intrigued, he started researching and experimenting with the classics. The approach gelled with the Port Hope steakhouse's updated Western feel and worldly clientele. "A lot of ex-Toronto people with money settle down here, or they come from all over the place," Galloway says. The 46 mixed drinks on Black Beans' summer cocktail menu juxtapose Galloway's own inventions (see sidebar) with traditional numbers, such as the Old Fashioned, that are as authentically antique -- and now popular -- as Port Hope's downtown. "This was not a cocktail community really," Galloway says, recalling his early forays. "It started with a few people who were kind of ballsy enough to try what I was doing. But the more passionate you are about something, the more people catch that fire a little bit. "

PISTOLS AT DAWN

1½ oz. Averna amaro

½ oz. apricot brandy

¼ oz. Stirrings Blood Orange Bitters

3 dashes Peychaud Bitters a few drops of Pernod Absinthe

Chill an old fashioned glass. Combine Averna, apricot brandy and bitters over ice in a mixing glass and stir. Rinse the old fashioned glass with the absinthe.

Discard leftovers. Express the oils from a large orange peel into the glass. Strain cocktail. Garnish with a wide orange peel.

 

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Genius Behind The Bar

PORT HOPE -- Wes Galloway has sacrificed his well being, his health, and his social life, all for the love of alcohol.

It is an obsession that began at the age of 19, shortly after Mr. Galloway became employed as a busboy at a Port Hope restaurant. He loved the environment, the cheer, the distinct sound of clinking glasses marking a celebration.

Soon he moved to serving tables, and then quickly found himself behind the bar. Since then, Mr. Galloway has been the guy who no one ever encounters in the morning hours, for when the rest of the world is getting up, he is winding down -- after a night of mixing perfect cocktails, and entertaining a small but appreciative audience at Black Beans Bar and Bistro in downtown Port Hope.

Recently, Mr. Galloway captured first place at the Iron Bartender competition, a take on the 'Iron Chef', held in Niagara Falls.

There were eight contestants, four judges, three rounds and 15 minutes to mix a cocktail using unusual ingredients that were just handed to him -- ingredients that included honey, rosemary and liquid smoke.

"Every time you add something, you want to taste it," he said of the experience. "There goes another five minutes."

In July, he'll enter a national competition, as one of only three contestants chosen to participate from Ontario.

Mr. Galloway, a natural comedian at heart, says he has always wanted to be on television, ever since he was a child.

"I wanted to work in film in the worst possible way," he said.

And it seems as if he might be on his way. So far, the local liquid chef has been featured on Jazz FM 91.1 for the cocktail he named after his favourite radio show. He's been interviewed on CBC and several culinary magazines have taken notice of his exceptional skills and his passion for mixology. He uses only the finest ingredients, right down to the size of ice cube he places in the glass.

"Ice is the most important part of your whole drink," he said.

Besides that, Mr. Galloway points out a quality cocktail is smooth, refreshing, and made with only the finest ingredients to enhance the subtle nuances of the spirit being served.

"It's just about finding ways to make things work," he said, comparing his trade to that of a chef. "If you went to a real chef, you're not going to find that guy using bagged mashed potatoes."

That said, Mr. Galloway in no way supports the use of bar mix, a cheap replacement for pure lime and simple syrup that became popular in the 1980s when consumers and pub owners attempted to cut corners and save money.

Instead, the 27-year-old spends his time away from the bar, not hanging out with friends, doing it up at the bar, but shopping for far out ingredients, always striving to give his clients an unparalleled drinking experience. Tobacco syrups are just a couple of ingredients he's recently added to his growing collection.

"I love people sitting at the bar and not even ordering off the menu," he said. "About 30 per cent of my orders are 'just make me something.'"

Although Mr. Galloway has long enjoyed working in the hospitality industry, particularly as a bartender, it was three-day industry exhibition held a couple of years ago in Toronto that he said changed his life,

For the first time, Host Ex, put on by the Canadian Restaurant and Food Services Association, had a cocktail stage set up, manned by world-class mixologist Tony Abou-ganim.

"I'll never forget it. He handed me the first margarita that was ever made properly," he said. "I was hooked."

Mr. Galloway says he "ix nayed" the rest of the seminars he was signed up for to stick around the cocktail bar.

So inspired, that when he returned to Port Hope, Mr. Galloway went on a shopping spree. In his bag at the end of the trip were grapefruits, syrup marichino liquor and a bottle of rum. He was going to make his first Hemmingway dacquiri and those who frequented the bar where he worked couldn't get enough.

"I was standing there squeezing juice for an hour with my bare hands," he recalled. "The drink was a hit."

Mr. Galloway attributes his accomplishments of late to simply "putting the right cocktail in the right hand." However, he recognizes it's a little more complex than that. According to the cocktail artist, a good drink takes fresh ingredients, careful preparation, quality spirits, and of course, love.