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Paul Brandt
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Words Dwain Hebda image Jade Graves Photography
start learning. One of them was The Craft of the Cocktail, the why’s and how’s to make real drinks. When to shake a drink, when to stir a drink, you know? The little things. “I started experimenting and learning about craft cocktails and really learning the flavors and all the spirits; where they come from and what makes them different. It just snowballed from there.” Paul’s time behind the bar has developed him into a cocktail craftsman. He says not unlike a chef, the best drinks are as much art as science. “The perfect cocktail,” he says. “The first thing would be balance, between sweet and sour, between bold and nothing, between what is known as ‘hot,’ as far as alcohol percentage. If you have a drink that’s too hot, it’s got that big burn from the alcohol. There’s a time for a drink that has burn, but if there’s too much, you can’t taste anything else. “If you can balance it, you can take anything and make something that people will go, ‘Wow! This is really good,’ even though it’s the type of thing that normally they would not drink. That’s the trick with it. It’s trying to find exactly what each person wants and try to build the drink to fit what they want it to be.” Paul plies his trade at 906 Lounge in downtown Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he’s known as the whiskey expert, but he says his love for spirits goes far beyond one category.
Before Paul Brandt was known as one of the most
“I kind of jump all over,” he says. “I do know about
knowledgeable and innovative barkeeps in Fort Smith, he
whiskey, but I consider myself more of an aged spirits
was working his way up the ladder of the bar business, a
guy, whether that be rum, cognac, tequila, rye whiskey,
journey that started at the door.
Canadian whiskey, bourbon, Scotch. Regardless of what it is, if it’s been aged, the flavor profiles are complex and
“I just fell into it,” he says. “I needed a job and they needed
amazing and there are no two that are exactly identical.”
somebody to check I.D.’s and help be a doorman, bouncer or whatever you needed to be. I started doing that in 2011
With such a wide repertoire, it’s hard for him to pin down
or 2012. Then I realized that if I knew how to make drinks,
a favorite signature cocktail.
I could be more helpful.” The staff showed him some basic booze-and-a-mixer concoctions. The drinks weren’t fancy,
“I have a few different craft Old Fashioneds that are really
but they struck a chord with him.
fun, but the one that I probably get the most enjoyment of watching the customer’s face would be the perfect
“They showed me a lot, but they didn’t show me everything,”
Manhattan,” he says. “You make that drink and they take a
he says. “I needed to learn more, so I picked up books to
sip and they’re just blown away by the flavor.”
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