(upbeat music)
- Totally groovy.
- Hmm, yeah.
- Did you like it?
- Sorry.
(laughs)
(music)
- Hi, I'm Alyssa.
- And I'm Motoki and this Expert Amateur Fraud
the show where we try to figure out
who the expert is and who's faking it.
- And today we are interviewing three
(Motoki drums)
Ah, bartenders.
- Bartenders, OK.
- The coolest people on the planet. (chuckles)
- So I guess we might get a little tipsy.
- You're going to have to be drinking
for me, I actually don't drink.
- Oh.
- I'm very cool and sober and that's okay.
(Motoki chuckles) What about you?
- I mean, I drink, yeah.
- Yeah.
- Like you know, every other weekend.
- I worked at a restaurant and I became really good friends
with a bartender and he was like everybody's best friends.
- I was about to say - Yeah.
- They're almost therapists.
- Yes, I think that's a good sign for a bartender.
- Yeah.
- Could you be my therapist? (chuckles)
(mellow music)
- Ooh. - Whoa.
(chuckles) Hello bartenders. - OK.
- Hello.
- Are you guys tired 'cause you had a late night?
(chuckles)
- No.
- No, just woke up.
- I think for round one, will you guys do some shots?
- Sure.
- I think every party you got to
start with some shots, right?
- Yeah.
(upbeat music)
- All right, shots. - Let's do it.
- [Motoki And Alyssa] Shots, shots, shots, shots, shots,
shots, shots, shots, shots, shots.
(bottle thumps)
- [Alyssa] Oh wow, what is it that?
- Passion fruit.
- Ooh.
- So this is a mixed shot so it's not so spirit forward,
you're not gonna just taste like alcohol.
(shaker clacks)
- It smells really good over here,
whoa you got a cucumber, I'm seeing
this, that, the way he's coordinating.
- Oh you're already done.
- I'm done, yes. - Oh wow, oh my God.
- OK, it looks very cute and seasonal.
- Yes.
- Timely for now.
- Yes.
- Seasonal.
- Many orders of these.
- This is fun, is this like a ring of Tajin?
- Yeah
- Tajin on the rim.
- Okay, Motoki, get to drinking!
- Would you like to explain your shot to us?
- So this is a Tiki Tequila Shot
passion fruit syrup, some coconut syrup,
reposado, and then some lime juice.
And then a little bit of Tajin on the rim.
- Smells really good.
- [Motoki] Okay
- I think you're gonna like that.
- Okay, well cheers, thank you for making this.
- You're welcome! Cheers!
- Mhm, drunk, I'm drunk. Um, yeah.
- Like ever in this life. (chuckles)
- It's good, it's got like a little sourness to it.
I'll take just a little more.
- A little sip?
- Please, it's just a little!
- He likes it!
(music plays)
- This is nothing fancy, this is a play
on a Whiskey Sour-ish. A little bourbon,
a little basil, but the job of a shot
is to get you drunk.
- Okay
- This'll do that.
- I feel like you kind of went with
like a classic shot is just, you know,
- Well, when you're, when you're doing like high volume
in a bar,
- [Alyssa] Right.
- You don't want to try to dress up,
you just gotta go.
- Oh, that's surprisingly sweet.
- Yeah?
- It's good. I did, I thought it would taste
way more like just straight alcohol.
- Okay
- Would recommend.
(music plays)
- What is this creation?
- So, this is the Apple Pie Shot.
So it's just one ounce of um, apple cider,
one ounce of Fireball, and topped with
a little whipped cream and a cinnamon stick,
just to make it cute.
- What a, this is gorgeous.
- Yeah.
- And as a basic fall girl,
- If Starbucks sold alcohol,
- Star, yeah.
- This would be it!
- I did used to work for them, so.
- [Alyssa] Did you?
- [Motoki] Like everyone, I had a taste aversion
now to Fireball, because of a traumatic experience
in college.
- Uh oh!
- [Man] Yup, we've all been there.
- But, for the sake of video.
- Hmm, yeah,
- Did you like it?
- Sorry, it's all just hitting again.
- Oh! Okay.
- I understand, I understand.
- Fireball, is Fireball like a college,
- Uh, when you drink too much,
it can do some damage to you.
- Make sure you're old enough to drink by the way.
- Yeah, make sure you're old enough to drink,
and don't drive.
(music)
- Make us your favorite cocktail.
- [Alyssa] Yeah, maybe your favorite one to make,
maybe a popular one.
- [Lulu] We're muddling fresh cucumber in here.
- Yeah.
- Just to get the essence of that cucumber
into the vodka.
- [Alyssa] Oh cool!
- Oh!
(bottle clanking)
- Shake that! Shake it! You're good, you're good.
- ♪ Shake it up baby, shake it up baby now. ♪
- What is this called?
- Just your standard, kinda your standard bar trick.
- Oh wow, you're already done?
- Yeah!
- Okay, you kinda do it quick.
- [Motoki] You're fast.
- We're watching your form.
- [Motoki] Spank.
- [Alyssa] All right.
- So how much do you, personally,
care about presentation?
- Ooh, this is pretty!
- [Michaela] That's probably my favorite part.
- [Motoki] Oh, okay.
- It's kinda like self-care.
- [Alyssa] Love that.
- [Motoki] Whoa, what's this?
- Yeah, just so when you take the first sip
you get that, hint of lemon not lime.
Set's your palette for the drink.
- Okay.
- All right, Lulu's bar, this looks gorgeous.
This is my mood, I would say.
- [Motoki] Where do you get this dried dragonfruit?
- I actually make those myself.
- [Alyssa] What?
- You're looking out for your customers.
- It's good!
- Oh what does it, okay.
- I'm tasting multiple things,
like a little cucumber, I get the dragonfruit,
you know,
- A little orange liqueur.
- [Motoki] Yeah,
- Lime
- Thank you so much!
- Thank you!
- Amazing job, all right. Kevin, my dad's name is Kevin.
- Good name.
So this is something that is pretty simple
but it's pretty kinda bar standard,
it's like a version of like an east side,
which is kinda like a vodka lime juice,
it's something that's easy to make.
- Is that basil?
- Basil in a cucumber, called a bow.
- You guys see this?
- Oh cute!
- It's through!
- Where are you from?
- Kentucky.
- Love it, that's where my mom's from.
- Is your dad from there too?
- No,
- Oh!
- Are you my dad?
- Yeah.
- Did you get started making drinks,
- [Kevin] Yeah,
- As a young lad?
- I actually started in my fraternity in college.
- [Alyssa] Oh!
- You like it?
- Actually it has like um, similar qualities
to the shot that you made.
- Yeah.
- He's got a style.
- Very similar.
- It's one of those things where you don't taste
the alcohol as much.
- Yeah, well here's the secret, is making the cocktails
easy the bar, for the bartender to make
and easy for the customer to drink
- So they drink more?
- So they drink more.
- Kevin.
- Michaela, what is this gorgeous little number?
- So, it's called a Paper Plane,
I like to call it an Italian Sunset
cause it has a lot of, you know,
Italian liqueurs in it.
So, it's gonna be bourbon, amaro,
which is like an herby liqueur
and then um Campari, or you can use aperol
if you want a little sweeter, so it's gonna be
pretty bitter.
- Before I drink it though, I wanna see you hold that.
Just for fun.
- Hold it?
- [Motoki] Yeah.
- [Alyssa] He doesn't know how to hold it.
- [Motoki] Okay, cool, yeah, yeah, okay.
- If you go like this, you're gonna heat it up faster.
So it's up to you.
- Oh! Whoa, that was kind of an interesting tidbit.
- Well cheers!
I feel like Great Gatsby.
- Do you think that a bartender would know that,
or just anybody would know that?
- [Alyssa] About the heating it up?
- That's valid, I, that's a good, that's a good...
- (indistinct)
- Hmm
- Oh yeah, that's strong.
- [Alyssa] Let me smell.
- I'm drunk!
(music)
- This is probably gonna be a fun one
for you guys, free for all.
- Yeah
- [Alyssa] All right! Let the games begin folks.
- All right.
- They're off to the races!
- What's the most rewarding thing for you
as a bartender?
- My love language is pretty much hospitality business
so just contributing to everybody having a good time
that's what it's all about. Food, fun, memories.
- Food, fun,
- Nice!
- Well, you make me feel good.
- All right.
- We got our speedster over here.
- Not you Kevin.
- Not me, right?
- I'm just kidding.
- Because I remind you of your dad?
- Yeah, a little bit.
- Oh, sorry.
- No, my mom and my dad.
Well, you're already done?
- Yes.
- What the heck? Maybe we distract Lulu because
- Yeah, I was all starting up to shake.
- We distract her!
- Whoa, what did you do?
- [Michaela] I made a Manhattan. This is what I like
to end the night with.
- This is your favorite cup?
- [Michaela] This is my favorite cup. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- You've used it.
- [Motoki] It's cute.
- Twice.
- Okay, wow, is that a pineapple slice?
- Yes, that is a grilled pineapple, dehydrated.
- [Alyssa] Ooh. Lulu's classic garnishes.
Ooh, it looks like a flower!
- [Lulu] So this is just a Jalapeno uh Pineapple Margarita.
Made with a reposado, and then of course Tajin.
Because its traditional.
- Of course! We love it!
- Yeah.
- We love Tajin!
- Bottoms up.
- That's really good.
I feel like this would be a good, like,
barbecue drink.
- Because of the grilled, you're getting the smokiness
from the grilled pineapple.
- Oh!
- The garnish, it enhances the ingredients with the essence,
so now you're getting the smell of it, when you drink it,
so it's also bringing other...
- Wow!
- Notes and stuff forward.
- It does, I feel like I'm at a barbecue.
Where's my cousin?
- All right Kev.
- So this is a very, very classis simple cocktail.
- Okay.
- Known as a Mule. I'm sure you've heard of a Mule.
It's kind of what got me into bartending,
it's just your simple Kentucky Mule.
- Oh, not a Moscow?
- Moscow Mule's with vodka, Kentucky Mule's with bourbon.
- This is the one drink, I said, cause I don't drink,
but I was like, if I did drink, I would drink a Mule.
- Yeah, it's very simple to make and it's not time consuming
- Profit.
- And people, really, just go back to the Mule.
- Get back into Kentucky. Kentucky roots.
- This is good.
Once again, pretty similar to the other drinks.
Now, do you care about ice at all?
I know some people are snobs about ice.
- I've had to have a drink with ice in it.
Cause ice kind of brings out the flavor
of most alcohols.
- I mean, you, you, were about to say something.
- Oh, ice is vital.
You don't want thin, hollow ice,
because once you shake you just automatically
water down your drink.
- Speaking of ice, now talk to us about this.
- [Michaela] So this is a Manhattan.
Two ounces of bourbon, one ounce of sweet vermouth,
so you don't get the harsh taste of bourbon,
and then a little bit of bitters,
and then a sweet cherry on top to balance it out.
And it's stirred in ice to make it cold.
- It's definitely alcohol.
- Hmm, okay.
- Do you feel like you like to talk to your customers a lot?
- Oh yeah! Cause the more you talk, then they're gonna,
you know, drink their drink a little faster,
again, more profit.
- So, what made you wanna be a bartender?
- Um, I started working at Starbucks,
- [Alyssa] Oh, that's right!
- And I just liked, you know,
the creativeness, high paced, customer service,
and people are more happy when you give them booze
instead of coffee at six in the morning, so,
- Yeah.
- Sure.
- Right.
- That was it for the final round.
- Yeah, that was the final round,
you guys all did and incredible job.
- Thank you!
And you're all wonderful people. - You guys, you get A's.
(music)
- It was fun.
- It was fun, it was also kind of like, intimidating.
- Yeah.
- Because, bartenders, they're so cool.
- It's hard to tell, cause at the same time,
like alcohol, it's a little subjective. Right?
Even if I don't like a drink,
doesn't mean that they prepared it wrong.
- Of course, so yeah, you were obviously drinking
all of them, I was not.
- Yeah I was.
- Michaela's drinks to me seemed a little more, legit.
Like she definitely, is like, I feel like,
went to some kind of school for it.
Now, Kevin, was very like, hometown drinking.
- Mhm, I feel like it was very practical.
- And you said that most of his drinks tasted the same.
- They did.
- What'd you think of Lulu?
I was like blown away by her dehydrated pineapple.
- Yeah! Yeah! I thought Lulu's were great.
Tasted awesome. Presentation was spectacular,
but at the same time, like, anybody on say,
Pinterest, or TikTok, could see like a tutorial
and recreate it.
- So, lets say Lulu is,
- I'd say amateur.
- I'd say expert, amateur.
- Okay.
- Um, let me just take a sip of this.
- Yeah, take a sip and then see,
is that the drink of an amateur.
(music)
- [Alyssa] Come on in! Woo! Welcome back!
For the expert, we thought, it was, Lulu.
You had such a vast knowledge of not only,
like the drinks you were making,
you were making your own garnishes,
and grilling, and dehydrating them,
- Yeah, presentation wise, like, it was really cool.
And if you're not the expert then you had us duped.
- [Alyssa] Yeah, you had us duped hard core.
(drum roll)
- Yes! Oh my god! Wow!
- Good job guys! Good job!
- When I was twenty-one, I went to bartending school,
and every since literally, that's been my job.
I'm a slash bartender, mixologist, beverage consultant,
mobile bartending catering company, um,
with my own brand.
Being in the hospitality industry,
especially now, it can be really tough.
Yes, you're gonna learn drinks,
but also do you have the capacity of
having thick skin? And having patience
with customers? Explaining things to your servers,
to your staff, so that's, that's the main thing
that I teach my students, first and foremost.
Before they even get behind the bar.
- So the amateur. This is where it gets tricky.
We are going to go with Michaela,
because you're wearing an apron.
- That can make sense.
- Yeah, it really did.
- Nothing else can be said.
I mean, being like, uh, a barista at first too,
it feels like a seamless transition.
(drum roll)
(buzzer)
- Oh no! The apron!
- Gotcha!
- [Alyssa] Oh no!
- [Motoki And Alyssa] Okay
- All right, don't judge an apron by its (indistinct)
- I did work for Starbucks, but,
I just work at a computer, I'm an analyst,
I do like to make drinks, in college
I would make my roommate Mojitos all the time.
And I do like to make myself
a nice whiskey drink before bed.
I have no experience with bartending,
I mean, quarantine, COVID, definitely made some drinks
at home. Not just like, you know, vodka and root beer,
but like, some, some fruit and stuff.
- Wow.
- Kev.
- [Motoki] Down to you.
- You're the amateur.
- Wow.
- You do have such, like a confidence about you,
and I initially, when I first, like just
saw everybody, I was like, expert.
- I feel like, yeah, you were kinda going so fast
and stuff, we thought you were like,
I don't know, like just trying to just do.
- I bar tended for years, I don't anymore.
- [Motoki And Alyssa] Oh!
- [Kevin] I was in hospitality for ten years,
until recently, so I've done positions
from bartending to food and beverage manager.
My first bartending job was at a night club.
Where I was able to just crank 'em out.
- [Alyssa] No, you killed it. Yeah.
- Fast, as fast as humanly possible.
That's what you kinda have to do.
That was kinda funny, just looking over,
at their drinks and I was like,
oh that looks great. And then looking over
at Michaela's drinks, I was like,
oh that looks great too! I was like,
mine look pretty (beep), and it's gonna get them.
- Thanks for the free alcohol.
- Thank you guys! You were all amazing! Good job!
- Thank you.
- Thanks for watching everyone, hope you enjoyed it.
Did you guys guess right? I don't know.
- Yeah, we knew that Lulu was the expert,
and I'm gonna go home and be able to
sleep peacefully at night.
- Yeah.
- Because of that.
- Mhm, and I will sleep well because
of the alcohol in my system.
(music)