Photos by R.C. Visuals
Tom Lasher-Walker has built a career behind some of the world’s most respected bars, with stints at Bramble Bar & Lounge in Edinburgh, Scotland; the American Bar at The Savoy in London; and the New York institutions Attaboy and Dutch Kills. In Miami, he made his mark at local staples Jaguar Sun (now closed) and Sunny’s before landing at Mae’s Room, where we caught up with him.
Q&A
Your career spans from Edinburgh to London and New York to Miami. What’s one lesson that has stayed true no matter where you’ve worked?
Every time you walk behind a bar for the first time, you’re the newest person there. As such, soak up everything you can from every single person you work with in every environment you walk into.
Winning the Bacardi Legacy Global Cocktail Competition was a massive milestone. What did creating the Maid in Cuba teach you?
Creating the Maid in Cuba made me realize that achieving ambitions and goals is actually the beginning of something else, not just the end of the immediate thing. I was lucky enough to be asked to contribute recipes for one of the greatest cocktail books of all time — Michael and Zara Madrusan’s “The Madrusan Cocktail Companion” — which wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for Bacardi Legacy.
What advice would you give a younger you stepping behind the bar for the first time?
Hospitality starts at home — that means being nice to everyone who works above and below you, not just the guests.
Miami’s cocktail scene has exploded in the last few years. What’s the most exciting shift you’re seeing right now?
Guests are mindful of the economic times we’re in, especially in a post-pandemic environment. Affordability will define the next phase of the city’s cocktail scene. At Mae’s Room, we’re happy not only to stand behind quality products, but also to charge a price that guests don’t have to be concerned about.
What’s one item every home bartender should have?
There are a few: fresh juices, good products, cold glassware and big ice.
What’s one tradition in bartending you hope never disappears?
Old-school service. Sometimes you won’t remember the drink, but you’ll always remember how a bartender made you feel.
When you’re off the clock, what are you pouring for yourself at home?
A piping-hot Yorkshire Tea with milk.
Who would you most like to share a drink with, and what would you make?
Sasha Petraske, [the late founder of New York City’s Milk & Honey, among other bars], who passed away in 2015. We all miss Sasha. He made the world a better place, and the people who worked for him not only better bartenders, but better people. I’d make whatever he wanted, as long as he stayed for another round, so we could keep talking.
Direct Martini
Serves 5
INGREDIENTS
• 1 2/3 cups gin
• 3/4 cup dry vermouth
• 2/3 cup water
• lemon peel
DIRECTIONS
Add the first three ingredients to a labelless 750 ml bottle and place in the freezer. For a single serve, pull the batched martini bottle and a 5- or 6-oz. martini glass directly from the freezer and pour straight into the glass. Express a lemon peel over the surface of the drink.