Bartender Feature: El Moro Tavern
El Moro Spirits & Tavern is a re-creation of the original El Moro Saloon located on Durango's Historical Main Avenue from 1893 to 1913. Still in the original location, the bar and bartending staff honor traditional classic cocktails and, as Assistant General Manager & Spirits Director Lucas Hess says, “entertain curiosity with new modern classics in addition to innovating our own specialty food and cocktails.” Here we meet and get inspired by Lucas, his dedication to learning and trying new spirits (not to mention inspiring guests), and get a peak at El Moro Tavern:
Assistant General Manager & Spirits Director Lucas Hess at the El Moro Tavern in Durango, Colorado. He created the Sketches of Spain cocktail using Montanya Exclusiva (pictured above).
Name: Lucas Hess
Title: Assistant General Manager & Spirits Director
Bartending Experience: 5 years
A Love of Craft Bartending and Learning
I got into bartending through the community around me and my mentor Dave Woodruff pushing me to pursue it further. I found love for the craft of bartending through the artistic and stylistic approach of making cocktails for the guests I serve on a daily basis. The knowledge to be learned from the craft distillers making the spirits we use, the accomplished and amazing bartenders of our industry, and the chefs I work with all give me inspiration and motivation to continue to learn more, question more and pursue a better understanding of how we can best serve our guests through quality products, delicious flavors and wholesome hospitality.
Lucas Hess behind the bar.
Pursuing New Ingredients and New Ideas
Our bar program is seasonally changing and has been for six years now. Many other bars operate similarly, but it is worth mentioning that this has created an atmosphere of always looking forward to changing our offerings based off ingredients that are applicable to a specific season while also taking into account what is happening in the industry. Utilizing these two concepts gives us the opportunity to always be trying new ingredients and pursuing new ideas.
The last major component that I think sets our bar apart are the people we work with and their own pursuit of knowledge and becoming true professionals of hospitality and bartending alike. It is not only about what the cocktail tastes like but also how the bartender makes you feel while you are at their bar top.
If Only People Knew…
When it comes to craft cocktails, I wish more people knew that vermouth can be a beautiful thing when applied appropriately.
We’ll Try One of These!
We are currently using Montanya Exclusiva Rum in a cocktail called Sketches of Spain. The cocktail inspiration came from the eluding moments of being in a smoky jazz bar, listening to a proper jazz album, sipping on a beautiful rum or cognac followed by a nice cup of espresso. I wanted to combine and re-create this feeling and its flavors. Montanya Exclusiva Rum gives a warm and smooth backbone to be complimented by café amaro, honey grappa, bitters and a house made pipe tobacco syrup.
(It should be noted how gleeful Montanya owner Karen Hoskin was to hear about this cocktail recipe. The Montanya Exclusiva, if she were to describe it, is deeply influenced by the Mediterranean profiles of Amaro, so Lucas clearly understood the lineage.)
A Moment to Remember
My most memorable cocktail experience was sharing a glass of Mezcal with Dale Degroff, Sean Kenyon, David Wondrich and Steve Olson on the back patio of Occidental Bar in Denver after passing BarSmarts Advanced. Every moment around those legends of the industry felt like a learning opportunity and will forever be seared into my brain as a lucky, awesome experience.