For Chockie Tom, bar supplies are more than just accessories.
After all, the Brooklyn-based cocktail consultant and Thomas Henry Brand Ambassador for the United States has a jigger and strainer tattooed on her forearm. Her appreciation for quality barwares is here to stay.
Tom always uses Barfly by Mercer when bartending and designing cocktail menus for restaurants nationwide, citing the perfect combination of functionality and aesthetic.
“First and foremost, my bar supplies have to work as good utilitarian tools,” she says. “Then I make sure they’re pretty.”
We met Tom at LaRina Pastificio recently to discuss all things strainers, shakers and stirrers. She designed the cocktail program for this award-winning, trendy Brooklyn locale, where the negronis and amaro flow in abundance. Tom’s routine is not your average bar crawl. Her schedule is packed, making touches at speakeasies and cocktail lounges all over the five boroughs. You can find her signature beverages at local establishments such as Classic Car Club in Manhattan and Mayflower in Brooklyn.
Like any great bartender, Tom draws inspiration from her surroundings when building a cocktail menu. She uses Barfly tools she keeps in her mixologist bag (also available from Mercer Culinary), to make those creative ideas a reality.
“The Barfly shaker is perfectly weighted so I can keep shaking all night long,” Tom says. “A lot of other brands are not balanced in their weight, and you can actually get hurt using them.”
Tom pours a lot of tonic, as the brand ambassador for Thomas Henry. She keeps a variety of Barfly’s bar spoon shapes in her bag. The brand offers seventeen unique bar spoons and Tom’s are always twisted for sparkling drinks.
“The twisted spoon allows my drinks to be bubbly, vibrant and more aromatic,” says Tom.
The cocktail world in general has experienced a renaissance. Now, the industry expects access to antique inspired tools, in a variety of metal finishes. Requests for scalloped strainers and bell jiggers are growing. Barfly offers all the bells and whistles a bartender might need to keep them shaking and pouring all night long.
When it comes to the color of the metal, Tom doesn’t discriminate; she keeps a few different finishes of Barfly’s tools with her at all times.
“The different finishes of Barfly add to the aesthetic of any space,” she says. “I sometimes even match my jewelry to the bartools I’m using.”
Prevent a bartender fashion faux pas; make sure your jiggers match your strainers. All pieces are available in a myriad of handy finishes, from classic copper and gold to the latest additions of polished titanium black, antique copper and antique stainless.
Barfly by Mercer is stocked at Singer M Tucker and available to shop via our website at LMTprovisions.com. You can find the full collections on display at the International Restaurant and Foodservice Show of New York, from March 3rd until March 5th, at booth 1602-1729.
For more information on how to register, send us an email at LMT@singerequipment.com.
