What do you get when you cross the COVID-19 pandemic with a cocktail? Covid-ninetini.
You also get one of the best cocktail bar operators in the world opening a new bar in San Francisco.
Kevin Diedrich, co-owner and bartender of Pacific Cocktail Haven in San Francisco is only weeks away from opening his second cocktail bar in San Fran.
Diedrich not only filled up on booze in 2020 but swallowed some of the biggest awards in the business.
Not only was PCH awarded Best American Cocktail Bar, but Diedrich also took home American Bartender of the Year and 2020 Nightclub & Bar Bartender-Operator of the Year award.
Raised in Washington, D.C, Diedrich had his first taste of the hospitality industry in 2001 as a bartender at the Ritz-Carlton.
In 2017, Kevin partnered up with local restaurateur’s Andy Chun and Jan Wiginton to create and build Pacific Cocktail Haven and has been an industry leader ever since.
Diedrich dialled in to join cocktail podcast show Living Proof last week. Below are some of our highlights:
Industry love
With about two decades worth of hospitality experience and now a myriad of awards, Diedrich remained humble when asked about his success.
“We do it out of the sheer passion we have with what we do,” he explained to Living Proof.
“It was unexpecting for a lot of us [when we won the awards] but we are very thankful.
“I think it was a big surprise for me and the team, we are such a small bar, we do no marketing and PR, I have no degree in that so I have no idea what I’m doing.
“… We don’t work towards awards; we work towards our guests and their relationships.”
He said: “We never aimed out to opened a bar to be the best cocktail bar and I never became a bartender to be the best American bartender.”
Engaging customers
PHC has built its reputation since its inception in being one of the friendliest and most welcoming bars in America.
On top of the awards it won, PHC was also nominated for Best American Bar Team and after listening to Diedrich and the culture he has cultivated, there’s no surprise why.
“We are always trying to find unexpected moments… any moment when guest comes into PCH, as soon as they walk through the door, we all stop what we’re doing, we grab menus behind the bar and we all try and give them menus,” he said.
“It’s gratifying to have the acknowledgement when someone’s leaving the building.
“If you’re walking out you’ll get a goodbye from all our members.
“We’re more a ohana (family) than co-workers. The work ethic they bring to the table is awesome.”
Diedrich’s favourite
With knowledge and skills to make any cocktail under the sun, Diedrich confessed his favourite cocktails are made from brandy, and one of his own liquor loves, Sake.
He said in the podcast: “Texture in cocktails is just like texture in food, if food texture turns you off then bad texture in cocktails will turn you off.
“So we have to really concentrate on texture in cocktails because it holds the body from the length of the cocktail from the beginning to the end.
“Some Sake’s hit this amazing umami note, almost like candy cap and mushroom and then they’ll go all the way to the other side of the spectrum and be something really bright and acidic like melon and apple and you’re like “what the fuck am I drinking this is amazing”.
“Sake has this amazing texture to it. It holds taste and gives this velvety texture to it and is one of the reasons I fell in love with Sake.”
Listen to the full interview below:
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