|
|
|
| |
 |
|
Junior Merino the liquid chef
In 2006, Junior Merino created the Liquid Chef as a means of harnessing his talents and knowledge as a mixologist and offer them to the public. The Liquid Chef, Inc. was founded to educate and to show case the artistry and mixability of ingredients and liquors from all over the world. In 2008, Junior Merino added the Liquid Team—a group of highly trained mixologists inspired by his passion.
Always eager to share his extensive knowledge of spirits and ingredients, Junior has been featured in Gourmet, Marie Claire, Time Out, Latina, the New York Times, Women’s Wear Daily, and New York Magazine, among many others, and has appeared on BBC Radio, Martha Stewart Radio and Televisa. He’s currently working on a new show called “The Liquid Chef.”
Philosophy
Balance and harmony are the essential qualities driving the artful execution of an elegant cocktail.
The cocktail should be served with food or any occasion that is uniquely suited to it. Fresh, quality ingredients, the complexity of their flavors, evolve with the collaborative talents of Mixologist and Chef. The result is a perfect pairing of food and drink.
Junior identifies five elements contributing to an enjoyable and memorable cocktail. First—the visual, the beauty of the creation. Second—the scent of the combined ingredients. Third—taste; the harmonious interplay of all parts. Fourth—balance; the creation of something greater than the sum of the parts. Fifth—the human element; the dedication, passion, the knowledge and respect—with out these none of the above would be possible. |
|
| |
|
| |
 |
|
Castries
2 oz Castries
1 oz Dewar's 12
1/2 oz Dekuyper Buttershots
Add all the ingredients into a shaker, add ice, shake and strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with red currants.
Indulge your fantasy with this velvety creation, warm your heart with the spices from the whiskey, and caress and indulge your senses with the creamy texture of an exotic blend of peanut, rum, and cream.
You can also come and taste this cocktail from 3-5pm on Saturday Feb 14th at Astor Wines 399 Lafayette St at East 4th St ~ New York, NY 10003
VIEW VIDEO
|
|
| |
 |
|
X's & O's
2 sage leaves
¼ oz Monin pear syrup
1/6 asian pear
7 blueberries
¾ oz lime juice
2 oz g’vine Nouaison
Muddle the first four ingredients, then add the lime juice, G'vine, ice, shake, and double strain over ice into a tall glass. Garnish with blueberries and raspberries.
Impress her with this cocktail and for sure you'll get some X's & O's…….Enjoy!!!
|
|
| |
|
| |
 |
|
Jr Merino Website Launch by Lani Chun
Finally, after all this time planning, and anticipation, we here at The Liquid Chef, Inc. are pleased to announce the launch of our website. Our team has compiled recipes, pictures, videos, articles, and news concerning The Liquid Chef and The Liquid Team.
The Liquid Chef, Inc. created this website to give instant access and easy to navigate information such as the services that we render, seminars we have available, etc. for hotels, restaurants, lounges, and as well as liquor brands, corporations, and classes.
Please do not be a stranger to our site, as each month we will launch a new video and recipe of the month, The Liquid Chef updates, and much more.
We could not have done this alone and so we would humbly like to thank our design team, Group M, Darian Scatton, our programmer, our photographer at Studio P, Peter Pioppo and our videographers at Parlay Films, and The Liquid Chef's team. Above all, we would like to thank you all for your support and input.
Visit Us Today: www.theliquidchefinc.com |
|
| |
 |
|
The Liquid Lab by Lani Chun
The best kept secret of The Liquid Chef:
People have always asked The Liquid Chef and The Liquid Team what Junior Merino's biggest inspiration for creating cocktails is. What people do not realize is, that it is not a question of what inspires him but a question of where he is inspired. When Junior Merino started The Liquid Chef he also created The Liquid Lab- a space where he would be inspired and influenced by the spirits and ingredients around him. In The Liquid Lab there are, from all over the world, spirits, spices, herbs, seasonal fruits, purees, vegetables, food chemicals, flowers, teas, vinegars, extracts, wines, beers, sodas and of course The Liquid Chef products (Salts, Syrups, Mixers). The Liquid Lab also contains all essential equipment and scientific equipment such refractometer, hydrometer, salimeter, pH meter, dehydrator, collapsible bars, vacuum infuser, hot plate mixer, ISI siphons among other equipment.
Now, for the first time The Liquid Chef and The Liquid Team are opening the doors to select bar professionals to come and experience The Liquid Lab. Mixologists and other serious industry individuals will be invited to participate in a friendly discussion in which The Liquid Chef will share some of his own personal techniques and secrets. Our guests will also put their skills to the test by creative challenges in which they will have most of the lab and its contents at their disposal at this gathering.
This idea was conceptualized as a result of the continuing requests from bartenders, mixologists, bar managers, and other industry professionals for The Liquid Chef to share and demonstrate The Liquid Chef's secrets of creating, visualizing, and executing cocktail creations, techniques, etc.
These discussions are by invitation only. Each month The Liquid Chef will host two gatherings of 5-7 carefully selected individuals. If anyone is interested and would like to be considered for The Liquid Lab, please send your info to:
theliquidlab@theliquidchefinc.com
|
|
| |
 |
|
La Condesa by Lani Chun
Executive Chef Rene Ortiz, formerly of La Esquina in New York City, will open a new Mexican restaurant in Austin, TX on Valentine's Day. The Liquid Chef pushed the limits of his creativity when designing this beverage program. He needed to match and pair with Chef Rene Ortiz's revolutionary flavor combinations.
When creating these concoctions, The Liquid Chef carefully studied the menu selections and ingredients, the décor and theme, along with hearing the vision of Chef Rene to help inspire and to fuel his creativity.
For this challenge, The Liquid Chef created cocktails using grilled fruit, tobacco infusions, roasted agave, and local, organic ingredients.
Together they have created a dining experience that should not be missed.
The Liquid Chef will quench your thirst and slate your hunger in the next issue for more about La Condesa.
|
|
| |
 |
|
Alchemix School of Mixology by Beam Global Spirits & Wine by Lani Chun
...When the truck turned the corner for the first time and came to a halt, we were all mesmerized to see the joint collaboration of The Liquid Chef, Event-Pro, and of course, Beam Global Spirits & Wine. Our vision was a reality in steel! A sudden hiss of the hydraulics opened the school to double its original width. Stairs descended, and we were introduced to the interior of what would become our home for the next 5 months.
At the head of rows of desks, stood the central bar of The Liquid Chef, with a huge plasma screen behind it and plexiglass shelves with a lighted base that displayed rows of bottles. On both sides of the school, stand 10 stations for 20 bartenders equipped with their own plasmas, a double sink, retractable tables, induction stoves, blenders, muddlers, the same lit shelves with rows and rows of spirits, bitters, syrups... and every kind of tool, mixer, etc, that one could imagine.
Behind the central bar stands a private prep and kitchen area, complete with refrigeration, storage, freezers, sinks, stoves, pots, pans, and a fully stocked pantry.
Stay tuned for more... |
|
| |
 |
|
Featured Liquid Team Member:
Eric Villa by Lani Chun
The Liquid Team's, Eric Villa, gets this month's spotlight. Prior to working together for The Liquid Chef, Inc for the past three years, Junior Merino and Eric Villa worked together for 10 years before this. Now, Eric Villa is one of The Liquid Teams most dedicated workers taking charge of events for accounts. Not only has Junior Merino personally trained him, but Eric has also been experimenting on his own cocktail creations at The Liquid Lab. Eric Villa's recommendation for Valentine's Day is listed below. |
|
| |
 |
|
Nutty Monkey (Dessert Cocktail)
Recipe by Eric Villa, The Liquid Team
2 oz Castries
1 oz Godiva white chocolate liqueur
½ oz Vodka
½ oz Evaporated milk
¼ oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/3 banana
Muddle the banana and the cinnamon syrup. Add the rest of the ingredients, ice, shake and double strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a banana fan and dust some cinnamon powder. |
|
| |
|
|
Press Links
Philadelphia Citypaper January 2009
Fox News January 2009
City Paper January 2009
Special Events Feature Cocktail Couture
Hispanic Business November 2008
Womens Wear Daily Lifestyle November 2008
Webstv November 2008
The Record North Jersey August 2008
Bloomberg August 2008
Daily News en Espanol August 2008
City Search August 2008
Artisanal Tonic Water
The New York Times (Shaken & Stirred) July 2008
El Universal June 2008
Food and Wine Magazine April 2008
New York Times March 9th, 2008
Marie Claire Magazine December 2007
Bartender Magazine December 2007
The New York Observer August 2007
New York Magazine June 06, 2007
La Jornada April 2007
Cheers Magazine November-December 2006
Starchefs September 2006 |
|
| |
|
| |
 |
|
Services
PRIVATE EVENTS
The Liquid Chef/The Liquid Team offers original cocktail design and staffing for weddings, anniversaries, etc to add that special touch to your event.
CORPORATE EVENTS
The Liquid Chef/The Liquid Team offers original cocktail design for your event, such as holiday parties, corporate launches, etc.
The Liquid Chef offers workshops and seminars on bartending, mixology, liquor history, for your staff.
COCKTAIL DEVELOPMENT
The Liquid Chef will develop signature/specialty cocktails for Liquor brands/Restaurants based on the specifications of the client using ingredients and brands based on the event, needs, season, and
budget for almost any occasion.
SPECIALTY TECHNIQUES
• Molecular
• Fusion of the kitchen and bar
• Various Spherification Techniques
• Suspension
• Airs
• Foams
• Edible cocktails (gelees, marshmallows, Popsicle, etc.)
• Liquid Nitrogen
• Infusions
BRAND DEVELOPMENT
• The Liquid Chef will develop signature cocktails for your brand to aid in placement and sales.
• Will head Demos for press releases and/ or product/brand launch
• Staff training for brand reps and corporate establisments
• Monthly videos with webcast feature, featuring your brand available for purchase
• Will aid with product development flavor proflies and design.
• Aid in designing original concepts for marketing strategies.
• The Liquid Chef/The Liquid Team can develop your concept and execute it around your brand's philosophy
SEMINARS / WORKSHOPS
The Liquid Chef will provide a member from The Liquid Team to head/host seminars on a wide range of categories such as cocktails/brand facts and history, molecular mixology, tastings, edible cocktails, etc.
EXPOS / TRADESHOWS
The Liquid Chef/The Liquid Team will create and/or execute demos, cocktails press events for your brands and corporate accounts.
THE LIQUID TEAM
Hand picked and meticulously trained by The Liquid Chef, these members are available for each function with cocktails created by The Liquid Team/The Liquid Chef. |
|
| |
|
| |
 |
|
The Real Housewives of NYC's, Alex McCord, Hosts a Cocktail Hour at Bruno Jamais Restaurant
The Liquid Chef along with a few members of The Liquid Team, served some amazing cocktails that was the talk of this event, hosted by Alex McCord and husband, Simon Van Kemper from Bravo TV's The Real Housewives of NYC.
One cocktail that boasted Pom, raspberries, and rhubarb bitters was clearly the crowd favorite, but the other two cocktails ran neck-and-neck for a close second. One was made with guava, roses, and Moet & Chandon Imperial Brut, while the other was made with muddled asian pear, blueberries, and sage.
The main stars of these libations were G"Vine Nouaison, a London Dry styled gin, and G'Vine Floraison. Both G'Vine Gins are the world's first gins distilled from grapes, macerated with grapevine flowers (which only bloom for two weeks in June) and infused with 9 botanicals. |
|
| |
|
