Meet Vasilis Kyritsis of The Clumsies with Metaxa 12 Stars

During his visit to Sydney with Metaxa 12 Stars, we sat down with Vasilis Kyritsis, co-owner of The Clumsies in Athens, no 7 on the World’s 50 Best Bars 2018 list at the time (and has climbed one spot in the World’s 50 Best Bars 2019) to chat about his awarded bar, why Metaxa is the most popular Greek spirit around the world, what it takes to be in the top 10 and future cocktail trends.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’ve been in the industry for 15 years. When I first started, we didn’t have a lot of cocktail bars in Greece. We had more clubs, dive bars, margaritas with mixto tequila. I was lucky because I believe that working in this kind of environment makes you a better bartender because you have only to promote yourself to make a name and that was the most important thing for me when I started bartending.

After that I worked in clubs, at the same time I was studying nursery and realised this job could be more professional. I started in smaller bars in Athens and tried to make experiments with ingredients, cocktails and travel as much as I can.

In 2012, I won the Greek World Class finals and went to Rio. It was a big influence for me and I connected with different cultures. It gives you more skills, makes you a better person and more involved in our industry. After that I got a job in ‘Gin Joint’ bar in Athens, then I opened The Clumsies, and more recently Senios. In 2014, I applied for the Drink Factory with Tony Conigliaro and was accepted. I realised how to work in a more detailed way with flavours.

What is the concept at The Clumsies?

The Clumsies is an all-day high volume place, it’s open from 10 am to 2 am. It’s a creation of 5 partners. We serve specialty coffee, food, spritzes in the afternoon and our signature cocktail list. It’s a 500 square metres building like an old house separated by rooms. It’s a place that accepts standing and seated people. On the second floor, we have the prep room with a rotovap and centrifuge. On a weekly basis, we average 2200 cocktails so we have one guy who works one shift per week and does the whole prep. We organise a stage program. Every month we accept two people who work with the prep guy and learn how to use the equipment, and learn our philosophy. On the last day, they do a guest bartending shift with their own recipes and what they’ve learned. We have a lot of fermented products in our menus. To have it consistent, we designed a big fermentation cabin. We also have a long table for events like Chef’s Table where we serve fermented foods and fermented products.

How did The Clumsies get to be in the top 10 of the World’s 50 Best Bars?

We do what we do there. The bar’s always busy. We invite a lot of industry people to organise pop ups, guest bartending, events. These people come to our place, have a good time then they go back to their countries and spread the word. It’s like having brand ambassadors. The key for me to be in the top 10 is the Athenian scene. You can invite someone to your place at The Clumsies, have a good time then take them to 3, 4 more Greek bars, restaurants, coffee shops and they realise The Clumsies promote well the Greek culture and at the same time they have a good concept that makes you feel comfortable and happy.

For me the most important thing is be yourself. And promote as much as you can your culture. I totally believe that the Greek philoxenia is next to the Greek culture. What to try and do in our bar is promote Greek hospitality as much as we can.

Can you tell us about the drinks philosophy at The Clumsies.

The drinks at The Clumsies at first sight look simple. We’re not fans of over-garnishing drinks. We have a focus on preparation and spend many hours on the bar back. We do a lot of things in our research and in our preparation. We pre-batch cocktails for consistency and to be fast in a high volume place where you’re smiling and focusing on people. When you come to The Clumsies you’ll see simple drinks but complex at the same time. Our drinks are closer to the Mediterranean style in that we use gin, vodka, tequila, mainly white spirits. We try to use as much as we can in local and fresh ingredients, in our style. We do pickles, tea, kombucha, kvass because you can find all these fresh on a daily basis.

What impact do you think international awards and lists have on the industry?

When you’re in a country like Greece, not like London, New York, it helps you a lot. Having two bars on the World’s Top 50 list is like a guide for tourists and people coming to Greece. It’s also good to locals as well. If the World’s 50 Best Bars is part of your business, it’s a good thing. What I don’t like is that some bars, they open and the only thing they have in mind is to be on the 50 best bars list. The list is part of our marketing but you cannot work only for that. I’ve been to some bars that are awarded but empty. For me the best thing is to keep the bar busy first. The vote will come to your place and they will feel the vibe.

You’re here with Metaxa 12 Stars. What role do you see it play in cocktails, and what are the key flavours that complement it?

Metaxa is the most popular Greek spirit around the world. It’s like a cocktail. It has three parts, an aged grape distillate, Muscat wine from Samos and a bouquet of rose petals and botanicals. The blender combines three different ingredients to make Metaxa. It works perfectly with cocktails because it has a unique and strong character. If you mix it in a more refreshing drink or a boozy cocktail, it will still keep its identity.

I believe everything goes with everything – if you have the right amounts. Honey, berries are a good combination. You can mix it with vermouth. I like it with sparkling beverages like ginger beer and tonic.

Is there an experimental Metaxa cocktail recipe of your own that you can share with us?

I made a cocktail that was a re-distillation of Metaxa. I keep the front part which is clear and I cook it with fennel and some dried berries. Then I mix it with tonic, like a Metaxa and tonic but clear. The remaining part, the reduction of Metaxa, I did it as a paint garnish. It was for an event but one of the most experimental I’ve made with Metaxa.

What current cocktail trends have impressed you of late?

I’m a big fan of low ABV and highballs. I believe this is becoming more and more important for our lives. You can drink responsibly and have better health. I like it a lot because you still have flavours and not get wasted from one or two drinks. It’s a big turnaround with spritzes, highballs and home-made sodas, especially creating your own soda flavours and mixing it in a highball. It’s a big trend in the last year.

What do you think the next best cocktail trends will be?

I think you can see a lot of fermented products that more and more bartenders are using. That’s a big trend. I totally believe that reversion of classics in a more experimental way, the culinary techniques coming to the bartending side will help to create more experimental twists on the classics.

Like our Aegean Negroni, voted world’s best cocktail by Time Out. We blend our own Clumsies gin, blend bianco, dry vermouth and sherry, filter Campari with milk and acid to remove the colour and keep the bitter part. We make a reduction of blue Curaçao and remove the alcohol to keep the colour and flavour. We blend it, cook it with dried fennel and dictamo (a traditional Greek herb). The drink is blue. It has all the elements of the Negroni. It’s more Mediterranean, the colour of the Aegean sea. The garnish is a caper leaf, a little salty to remind you of the salty sea. These kinds of drinks are going to be a trend, more experimental twists on classics.

Any closing comments.

Our collaboration with Metaxa came because we have the same view. There’s an event we do called, Explore Greece. Every year we rent a boat, invite famous bartenders from around the world and go to different parts of Greece. This year was Crete. We did educational and fun events using Metaxa 12 Stars and local ingredient from Crete. It’s a global event and we hope to do it again in upcoming years.

In partnership with Spirits Platform, distributors of Metaxa 12 Stars in Australia.