Legendary Czech barman Alexander Mikšovic on cocktails, Czech beer and hangovers

My special guest in the studio this New Year’s Eve is cocktail expert Alexander Mikšovic, who has written eleven books on the art of the cocktail, and trained generations of Prague barmen. Alex is an expert on whiskies, and knows more of my native Scotland than I could ever claim to have seen, but is equally as proud of the Czech Republic’s own domestic offerings. I first asked him if, in terms of alcohol, there was more to this country than beer:

“Yes, I believe so – first of all, I believe that the Czech Republic is not only ‘beerland’ – but that it is first and foremost a land of bitters. Czechs like bitter beverages like Becherovka, Fernet Stock and much more. But this land is a land of cocktails as well – and that development started approximately 120 years ago, in 1887.”

And how?

“The first mention of the word bar was in the professional newspaper Hostimil in 1887. The first American bar opened its doors in 1891. The first cocktail book was published in 1912 – that means two years before the First World War. And the first competition for bartenders was in 1927 – and by the way, this competition was the second such competition in European history.”

So you’re saying that there is this great tradition of cocktail making in this country, and that here, as with elsewhere in Europe and in America, it was in the roaring twenties that it perhaps enjoyed its heyday. But you yourself have said before that we are now ‘living in the age of the cocktail’ – what did you mean by that?

“In fact, I prefer the term ‘cocktail culture’ and ‘the cocktail era’, which we are living in here in the Czech Republic. And I’ll tell you why – Czech bartenders have served a lot of cocktails in the last 120 years. But in 1995, Bugsy’s Bar opened its doors. And so it was on March 31, 1995 that this era really began. Because bartenders before relied on different drinks and served cocktails as well. But this bar only relied upon cocktails, and so this was an important development.”

Over the years, as well as researching the history of cocktails, you have made a few as well. You have actually invented a couple of cocktails – can you tell me about your own creations?

“Oh, this is a very small list of drinks. Frankly speaking, I created just the one. It is called the Alcron Special, and I mix it with two centiliters of Disaronno Amaretto Originale, two centiliters of Campari Bitter – we are a bitter country – and four centiliters of fresh pink grapefruit juice.”

It sounds fabulous.

“It tastes fabulous.”

But on top of all of this writing, and all of this cocktail making, you have been teaching generations of budding barmen how to do the job at the Prague School of Hospitality. So, what have you been teaching them, in a nutshell? What makes you a good barman would you say, is it a case of making good cocktails, or is that just a fraction of it?

“By the way, if you knew this exactly, then you would win the Nobel Prize. But I believe that the first thing is communication. It is not to make cocktails or to serve shots of whisky or cognac. Everyone can do this. But to communicate with guests, with people, it is really sometimes a very difficult task.”

… And something you can learn?

“No, I didn’t learn it – I think I was born with it.”

We have talked briefly about beer, and perhaps beer is the drink that this country is best known for, but would you say that there are other alcoholic drinks coming out of this country which are every bit as good, and perhaps a bit overshadowed?

“Yes, I told you, we have all these bitter drinks, which are very specific, and which people like. Becherovka has started now to produce something new. The name is Becherovka Lemond, and I like the name, first of all. Because Lemond means the world in French – and Lemond contains citrus peel and juices, and you taste this from an ice-cold glass, and when the drink is well-chilled, you feel something like French esprit. You know, it is light, it is tasty, it is sophisticated. I’m sorry for the promotion, but I like it really very much!”

At the end of all of this it seems only appropriate to ask you if you have a fail-safe hangover cure that you can share with us now?

“Yes I do, don’t drink.”