Cocktails & Whisky with Monica Berg
MONICA BERG is among the most influential figures in the ever-evolving world of mixology. She co-owns the award-winning Tayēr + Elementary — a top-10 fixture on The World’s 50 Best Bars list — in London, along with her partner, Alex Kratena. Bartender, entrepreneur and innovator, Monica’s accolades include being named Best International Bartender and Drinks International’s Most Influential Person in the Bar (2023).
Berg was in India to conduct a special Johnnie Walker Black Label-focused masterclass and bar takeover at the Lair in Gurugram. (A second event was to follow in Mumbai, at Masque.) Berg spoke with noted food and travel writer Pallavi Pasricha about her journey and the challenges of running a dual concept bar known for its innovative and modernist approach to cocktails. Edited excerpts from the conversation:
How did you get into bartending?
I started bartending when I was still studying in Oslo. My parents allowed me to do this because it didn’t interfere with my studies. To be honest, I wanted to work in a restaurant as a chef, but they refused. Since I was going to university, they said I could work in a bar on the weekends, and that’s how it all began.
Do you remember the first drink you tasted?
Probably one of the first drinks that I tasted was a martini, which I thought was horrible. But now it's my go-to drink.
How did the One Sip Martini at your bar become famous?
It started out as more of a joke because in London, which is very diverse, traditionally, a martini is considered a gin martini, whilst in the US, it is vodka. We had a lot of Americans walking into the bar, and they often asked for a vodka martini with a blue cheese olive, which was not a thing in the UK. So we tweaked and changed the drink. Once the martini became perfect, we just shrunk the cocktail so the garnish is proportionally correct. And believe me, it's delicious.
What were some of the challenges you faced while setting up your bar in London?
The first challenge was obviously the money and funding. Once that was sorted, we had a very specific idea of what the bar was going to be like. But when people walked in after we opened the doors, they sometimes had a different idea, so we had to kind of navigate through all that. It wasn't necessarily the easiest thing to do, but in the end, one just tries to do what one thinks is right.
The cocktails at your bars are known to be seasonal and innovative; how do you decide what makes it to the menu and what doesn't?
It's a very kind of democratic decision. Every Wednesday, we have an R&D session, which is an exhaustive eight-hour shift with multiple people. And for something to go on the menu, everyone basically needs to say ‘yes’. Elementary and Tayer are different concepts — Elementary is the more casual area, and Tayer offers the more elevated experience.
At Tayer, the menu changes every day when it's open, which is three days a week, so you have to create between 8 to 12 new drinks every wee,k and that always keeps one under constant pressure. Because this is where you go to try something new.
In Elementary, one needs to think about what is going to be a bit easier to access for the general drinker, because it's a neighbourhood bar where people come to have fun. So we need to make drinks that, first and foremost, are both delicious and consistent.
How did things change when the bar won the Number 4 spot in The World’s 50 Best Bars?
We were very fortunate that since we opened, we have been on this list more or less since day one. We’ve been placed higher and lower, but we've always been in the top 10. It is definitely a huge financial advantage, and also, people know about you. One gets a lot of different types of guests. But being in the top also comes with a completely different type of pressure.
What role does whisky play in your menu? How do you approach it while using cocktails?
Whisky is a huge source of inspiration because it has so many different flavour profiles to pull from ,and it's a spirit that works well with a lot of other ingredients as well. If you understand this spirit and know how to use it to your advantage, then it offers a very diverse range. However, it is a flavour and product that doesn't hide behind anything. If you do a whisky cocktail and cannot taste it, then you're doing something wrong.
How many whisky cocktails do you have in your menu currently?
At Elementary, I would say maybe 25 per cent, because the menu needs to be balanced.
Johnnie Walker Black Label is such a recognisable name in whisky. How do you see it fitting into a modern bar programme like yours?
Johnnie Walker Black Label has always been our house pour for blended whiskies. So we don't believe in having multiple different expressions of everything. We will just have one whisky, one vodka and one tequila.
From your perspective, what distinguishes whisky appreciation in markets like India as compared to the UK, Scandinavia and other places?
In Scandinavia, whisky is a very serious thing. There are a lot of whisky clubs and snobbery attached to this spirit, and people know exactly what they are drinking. In the UK, they drink it in cocktails, but they don't necessarily drink it neat. In London, 98 per cent of the whisky that I sell is in a cocktail. The last 2 per cent are Americans on holiday!
For India, I can judge it from the guests that I have met. They know their whisky well, but they are still very open to trying it in a cocktail. I do get the sense that whisky, as a category, is familiar to the Indian drinker. They are very open to trying it in a new format. But it needs to be delicious.
What do you think makes Johnnie Walker Black Label such a versatile liquid for mixology?
I would say that if you have to force it, you probably shouldn't. There's an element of subtlety, so it gives you quite a huge canvas to work with.
Looking five years ahead, what changes do you think the global whisky market will go through?
I think that both brands and drinkers are going to see more cocktails, and that includes a range of ready-to-drink cocktails. It is easy and convenient to just pop open a can and pour it, so I think this is where the future lies.
Do you think younger millennials are changing the way bars are approaching their menus? Are they pushing you to make more interesting drinks?
I don't think so. The younger generation wants a drink to look Instagrammable and they want it to taste interesting. Sometimes they don't even look at the menu — they show you a picture on their phone to place the order!
RAPID FIRE
How do you like your whisky: neat, on the rocks, or a highball?
Neat.
Go-to cocktail after a long day?
A dry martini.
Your favourite whisky cocktail?
A Manhattan, but with blended whisky.
Your favourite ingredient to pair with whisky?
Ice.
Your favourite city for bars apart from London?
New York.
