Screening Spirits - Chilled interviews Dave Elger from Fox Business Network’s hit show Hotmixology

Hotmixology

WITH DAVE ELGER

Chilled met up with Dave to get some more information on his amazingly fun, wellinformed, must see TV show that teaches people how to mix it up like the pros do.

“Mixology is the ‘art of bartending’, Hotmixology is the ‘art of mixology” says Hotmixology host Dave Elger of his steaming Fox Business Network TV show. Hotmixology is “the foremost authority about everything booze” and was created originally to build brand awareness for Dave and his twin brother Will’s Reposado Tequila, Muchote. The show spun off into an informational segment, showing novice bartenders, and some not so novice, the latest in mixology technique. Mixologists are invited from all over the globe to mix up cocktails on the show and flaunt their best bartending skills. The half hour show also features great new products and the latest cocktails being served up all across the country. HERE’S WHAT DAVE HAD TO SAY:

WHAT IS THE MOST INTERESTING DRINK YOU HAVE EVER TASTED OR SEEN MADE? In my over fifteen years in the liquor business every time I think I see and taste the most incredible cocktail, I taste one I like better, with the creative mixologists out there and the great new products launching almost daily, I love searching for the most interesting cocktail ever. And I hope my search continues forever, as I love the industry and everything it offers.

WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT SKILL A BARTENDER SHOULD HAVE TODAY? The thirst for education is a skill a mixologist must possess. A passion to learn everything about a product ensures success in bartending today. Not to mention the great cocktails you can create when you understand the flavor profiles of a product.

WHERE WAS THE BEST PLACE YOU WENT TO GET A DRINK? The seven years I spent traveling the country with Jim Beam launching their new products, I had the opportunity to enjoy cocktails in fifty states. I visited over six hundred cities and have a favorite place in each city, so the list is long. I can tell you that now I enjoy great cocktails at the Hotmixology Lounge here in Colorado where we film the show. Not only when we are filming, but also as the host I have the opportunity to just hang out there and sample the greatest cocktails with some of the greatest products in the industry, you should come join me sometime. (Yeah, we should!!)

WHERE WAS THE WORST PLACE FOR A DRINK? The worst cocktail I have had was a “mocktail” I had in a “Dry County” here in the United States that still exists today. Can you believe it?

WHAT IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST HAVE TOOL FOR A BARTENDER? A tip jar and a bank account!

BEST BARTENDING TRICK? Make peoples “spirit soar” with every sip of the cocktails you create. WHO WERE SOME OF THE MOST FAMOUS PEOPLE YOU HAVE SHARED COCKTAILS WITH? I have had the pleasure of traveling around the country for a year with the great grandson of Jim Beam, Fred Noe, while promoting Knob Creek. Also, Dan Aykroyd was a blast to share cocktails with. Both these guys have a passion for their products that I adapted when I created Muchote Tequila.

WHAT IS IT LIKE HAVING A TWIN IN THE BUSINESS? We do not look alike, however I would not trade him in for anything. Will has been in the business as long as I have and shares the same passion and love for this industry that I do. He just wrote a book called The One Minute Bartender which is a guide to mixing great cocktails in a minute or less, allowing you to spend time enjoying the cocktails you mix with your friends instead of being stuck behind the bar all night. We all love to mix cocktails but we also enjoy drinking them, and the recipes in his book make it possible to do both! Check it out, you will love it. (theoneminutebartender.com).

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR PEOPLE TRYING TO BUILD A BRAND LIKE YOU AND WILL DID WITH MUCHOTE TEQUILA? Anyone can put something in a bottle and give it a great name and sell it to consumers, but my advice to anyone starting a brand of their own would be to put your heart into every bottle.

DO YOU HAVE ANY INSPIRATIONAL WORDS FOR OUR MIXOLOGIST READERS? Education is key, what other industry allows for so much fun in your “research and development”. I have recently acquired the trademark for the best way to sum this all up; it is what we live by at Hotmixology… “RESPECT THE DRINK”. I think that says it all.

Hotmixology airs nationwide three times a week, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday on the Fox Business Network. Visit Hotmixology.com for past episodes, recipes, and product information. You can also become a member, add your recipes to the website and get in touch with Dave directly to become a featured mixologist on the show.