By Matt Merkin

When Deniseea Head answers the phone, it’s immediately clear why she’s so successful as an educator in the bar world: she’s warm and disarmingly funny, asking good questions and explaining her work’s philosophical masonry with the easy fluency of someone who knows exactly what she’s doing, and why.

In other words, she draws you in.

Before you know it, you’re swapping bar tales and pandemic hustles when something she said clicks: It’s all about connection. Connection is why Deniseea chose cocktails as her classroom. Connection is why she uses simple ingredients. Connection, she says, “is meeting people where they are.” Once you’re there together, the learning can begin.

Though a natural organizer and host, it was only after moving to New Orleans that she found bartending, and almost by accident. The owner of a neighborhood spot needed help and Deniseea happened to be sitting at the bar. She started for a flat day rate plus tips. “It was what we call a ‘hole in the wall’,” she explains, “and there were lots of locals who gave me first hand experience of Nola drinking culture.”

The bar training dovetailed with her love for research, scrolling newspaper archives and old cookbooks, in search of rabbit holes to explore. She found that recipes—and the spices and ingredients available at the time—opened up deeper questions and histories. Even the humble Daiquiri has a lot to teach about the histories of sugar and the transatlantic slave trade. Cocktails could make that history immediate and tangible without feeling like a history lesson.

She had unlocked something. The vision came into focus and guests began to understand that what they were getting went beyond the drink in hand. “It was,” Deniseea says, “like they had drunk a cocktail of curiosity.”

As an educator and cocktail maker, much of Deniseea Head’s work stems from her focus on community, accessibility and connection. Below, she shares her top three philosophies in her own words.

Philosophy #1

“We don’t have to recreate the wheel”

Why It Matters:

Innovation is amazing but sometimes we overlook things that are simple.

Bartenders can get caught up with the newest technique or the flashiest trend, when actually the best answer is not only the simplest, it’s also cheapest and most time-efficient…unless you just love extra prep work that much? I know I don’t!

In Action:

I travel a lot for work and not all ingredients are available in different parts of the country. Therefore, I rely on ingredients that are common amongst people everywhere. REGULAR DEGULAR SMEGULAR kitchen items are the best.

For the Grand Encounter, I created a cocktail using strawberry jam as the sweetener. Instead of traveling with bottles of syrup or trying to source produce on the road, I utilized a ready-made product I knew would be available and consistent. As a bonus, this also means my guests can recreate it easily at home.

Philosophy #2

“We don’t want to sit with the cool kids. We just want to sit down.”

Why It Matters:

My experience the past few years is that there’s a lot of community within the industry. That can be the sharing of resources and recipes, or just exchanging helpful info. I’ve watched and been a part of what seems like a cocktail union forming.

Years ago when I got into the industry, it sort of felt like there was major gatekeeping within these bar spaces. This “You can’t sit with us vibe” was unspoken but very loud, not demure at all. That’s over. We’ve all been through so much as people and an industry that we have to make things accessible to one another, to make both our lives and our jobs easier.

In Action:

Down in New Orleans I’ve been a part of a community that thrives on sharing knowledge with one another. I’ve worked with Turning Tables since its conception and I’ve watched how a community can thrive with the help of one another, with industry leaders guiding up-and-coming hospitality folks. From techniques and bar tips to how to get your first job behind the bar, to transitioning from behind the bar and beyond. Things like this make me feel like we aren’t competing with one another—we want to share and make things accessible to build our industry together because we are better in numbers.

Philosophy #3

“Use things your audience is familiar with.”

Why It Matters:

Using familiar things allow guests to understand what we have in common, which puts them at ease and allows connection.

I understand we all come from different walks of life and have different beliefs and traditions. But the beautiful thing about history is that we all have a connection: No matter where you are from, there are traditions you’ve adapted. We all have them. With my guests I can share traditions or stories that have been passed down for many generations, and that story alone can spark a memory or connection to their traditions.

In Action:

A bar is place where people enter as strangers and most of the time leave as friends, with ultimately a better understanding of another person. On the surface it may just seem like a fun night with drinks flowing, but when done correctly (and responsibly), it’s actually a night filled with an exchange of information, traditions and rituals.

What I’ve witnessed with pairing storytelling with cocktails is that my guests are more interested in listening and learning new things. It’s like they’ve drunk a cocktail of curiosity.

Follow Deniseea Head on IG: @chickenandchampagne.

Watch her Grand Encounter video and get her Grand Jam cocktail recipe.

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In honor of National Rum Month, we were honored to host Dr. Joy Spence, Master Blender of Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum, for a discussion about rum, Jamaica, and the art of blending.

Joy joined Appleton Estate as Chief Chemist in 1981, gaining the title of Master Blender in 1997—She is the first woman to hold the position of Master Blender in the spirits industry. 

Want more? Here’s our Complete Guide To Appleton Estate Rum.

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Campari Academy hosted this lively Book Club discussion with acclaimed bartender and author John deBary (and conversation partner Haera Shin) as we celebrated the recent release of Saved By The Bellini — the ultimate drink-driven love letter to the 90s.

You won’t want to miss the fun and informative talk on…well, just about everything: 90s pop culture, nostalgia in recipe development, celebrity crushes, community work, book writing, and how to name a cocktail.

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Culture is the key angle from which Kirsten looks at the scene. It hasn’t always been that easy, and still, there’s a fair amount of rooted challenges to face: “Scandinavians are not famous for hospitality, and there’s a huge cultural element to it. We don’t have a natural approach to openness, back in the ‘70s most Danes literally never went out. Now we are more cosmopolitan, but we like doing things that make us feel safe, comfortable. We also like simplicity, you can clearly understand it if you look at our design: straight, white, no fuss. K-Bar is traditional, but twisting towards a more evolved, European style. And I always enforce good behavior, which is not common, because Danes are not used to going out, so they’re not always sophisticated…”.

Kirsten’s hospitality journey began quite early, and has been a major presence in her life: “I spent my whole adulthood in hospitality: I was studying film and television at Copenhagen University, and got a side job in a night club’s bar. I loved the rock and roll side of it. I was thrilled by the feeling that I would never spend two hours that would resemble each other: from opening to closing, I would do from A to Z, covering a whole existence in one shift. The possibilities of hospitality have no limits, and that’s what probably made me fall in love with it”.

Twenty years later, she’s still surfing the wave brilliantly, managing to keep up with changing times and guests. “I think it’s important to feel restless, in a positive way. If you feel too comfortable, it’s wrong. You have to be a result of time, trends and tendencies. I’m not fashion oriented, but I keep myself informed, influenced, I go to movies, I try to keep myself updated. In this way, changes will naturally come to the business. I remember when hipster movement started out: I never decided I would implement it in the bar, but I definitely absorbed it. It’s about feeling the small changes, the small things that integrate my vision”.

Needless to say, the whole hospitality community sees Kirsten as part of its backbone. If you want to really have a glimpse of what Copenhagen’s scene evolved into, K-Bar is the address to look for. “I don’t know if I have, or had any influence. But surrounding businesses ask me how I did that, staying open for twenty years. And I can point out a few reasons: I never pulled back, I always stuck to quality, and tried to keep myself and my team on our toes. This fair amount of experience allows me to be more confident now. For instance, if I suddenly go through a sales low, I know it can be coincidence, so I don’t panic. At the beginning I would lose my mind. And I realized nothing is more important that staying true to your DNA: it’s easy to divert, but identity is key”.

There’s no recipe, nor formula to sculpt the identity of a bar and make it clear. But a tiny idea that permeates the place and Kirsten’s belief: “That’s something I love to describe as K-Bar-ish: a new traditionalism. It’s taking care of the classic, both flavour wise and hospitality, but giving it a fresh vibe. I push for open-mindedness, to be open and positive, to encourage a mixed crowd. But I never lose sight of the basics, techniques and ideas you must know, regardless. It’s like giving a twist to tradition, and that makes the bar survive”.

Whilst there is a disparity between food and drink in Denmark ,with the scales famously weighing towards the former: Michelin star restaurants are not hard to find in the country, whilst high profile bars are much rarer. The reason for this is something to be addressed: “All chefs in Denmark are educated at school, with a proper trainee education, that’s why it’s booming. Bartenders are not granted the same programs, we are self-taught, and that makes it much more difficult. But I do think that gastronomical success keeps us to be better, to learn, hospitality wise as well: waiters in a Michelin star are literally perfect, and this makes us bartenders and bar hosts look up to them, to take the extra step”.

So, culture and education, two fundamental aspects that Kirsten took as both her inspiration and her mission. Two things that keep being essential in a world that still sees a woman running a bar as something unusual. “It has a lot to do with upbringing. My father was very conservative, but still, he always told me and my sister that we needed to be educated, warned us to be ready to work twice as much to fight idiots, and not to take it personally. He was right. It was really important to me to get respect, not to demonstrate or show off. It was a matter of making others understand what I had to say: I did my best, and I tried to do the right thing every single day”. What about the future? “I think it’s changing. Upbringing is changing, education is focusing on these problems and is pushing to face them. And the movements and trends are doing their job: the more we speak about it, the better”.

Let’s start with diversity, which you can say represents the “what” in this discussion. Most of us understand what diversity is on a superficial level; it is the characteristics and distinctions that identify us – and separate us – such as gender identity, age, nationality, ethnicity or sexual orientation – but on a deeper level it also includes socioeconomic background, religion and education, to name a few. At this point in time, I think most businesses would agree that having a diverse team is an asset – regardless of the motivation behind – and in best case studies, you’ll often find that diverse workplaces are considered better to work for, enjoy higher staff retention and also higher revenues.

But, because there is a but, and an important one, you can also have a workplace or an environment that is diverse, with a team from a wide array of backgrounds and experiences, and not reap any of those benefits – very often because there is no inclusivity. So what does that mean? Inclusivity is essentially the “how” in this equation. It’s creating and nurturing an environment where people – regardless of differences and backgrounds – feel both welcomed and valued. It’s about developing and accommodating the diverse group of individuals you now employ, encouraging and advancing them on equal terms and with the same opportunities. The tricky part can sometimes be that it also means to change old practices that unfairly benefit only some, or challenge unconscious biases that are inherent in all of us – because as we’ve seen in the past – it’s perfectly possible to be inclusive but not diverse.

If you want to foster inclusivity, it requires not only commitment – it also needs thoughtfulness, understanding and intent. Most importantly, it relies on empathy; the ability to understand someone else’s point of view without the interference of your own. I think this is where the challenge lies for many of us – not because we don’t want to be openminded and inclusive individuals – but because our own insecurities often prevent us from asking for help when we come across topics or problems we don’t fully understand. Especially with sensitive topics, which ironically, are the most important to discuss openly if we want to cultivate positive change. Understanding the distinction between diversity and inclusivity, is to understand the importance of both, and how they equally need our time and commitment. Being different is something we should celebrate, not feel intimidated by, and creating spaces that encourage this is not only important – it is the future.

On an individual level, it means being more self-aware of our own personal biases and keeping them in check. The realization that there are several ways to achieve something is an important lesson to learn, but it can also be a hard lesson to learn.
Progress often comes through trial and error, but in today’s environment, that can sometimes be a rare luxury to come by. On a bigger scale, it means having the courage to ask ourselves the difficult questions around the current status of our industry, and stop making excuses when we realise the answers.

Monica Berg

Arguably, teaching is a creative profession, and I believe, as bartenders we could excel in this field if we just put our minds to it. The reason why I sometimes find drinks education boring, to say the least, is because of the disconnect between what bartenders want to learn, and what people think we want to learn. Yes, we need to know how spirits are distilled or when to stir vs when to shake, but equally important is it to understand what your body language reveals about you, how better designed bars can improve your peak turnover performance or why seasonality is more than being able to read a calendar. Together, all of these and many more, make up the intricate nature of bartending – and proves it’s incredibly important to look outside of the industry to find inspiration. Doing so allows us to look at things from different perspectives, it allows us to develop as bartenders but also people – and will give us the tools we need to adapt the ever-evolving role of the modern bartender.

When I said yes to becoming the creative director of the Campari Academy, I had so many ideas and thoughts that I instantly had to take a step back and tell myself to calm down. To be honest, this is not an unusual thing, because at the core, I am a dreamer – but the fact that within a few days I was already discussing internally if I should model it after Hogwarts or Harvard might be a bit much. So instead, I started to ask around.

Through conversations with friends and colleagues, I started gathering topics, problems and ideas of what to explore – and it quickly became apparent that there was a need to find some sort of way to categorise or compartmentalise them, to give it more structure. The needs and wants of today’s bartenders are so diverse and varied, that in the beginning it felt a bit overwhelming to be trying to choose where to begin. Because how can you find something that resonates with everyone and is also relevant to everyone – well, the short answer is; you can’t, and it won’t. But you can create a system that makes it easier to look at the challenges from all levels; globally, locally and individually – and allow them to adapt to the needs of each.

I have always believed in systems and structure; despite it not always coming naturally to me, it is crucial when you want to create something that will exist beyond yourself. How many times have you tried to explain something you do every day – for example why you use lime for this and lemon for that – only to realise that despite knowing it perfectly well for yourself, it’s really hard to explain it to someone else?

This has always been one of the hardest challenges for me personally, especially when it comes to making drinks. The way I work with flavours is very instinctual and often without clear rules or guidelines – meaning it can sometimes be difficult to pass the knowledge on to others. Over the years, I’ve had to work hard to improve on this, and only by looking at it from a different perspective than my own, I managed to find a way to teach how to develop flavour instincts as a way to create drinks.

The role of education should be to excite the power of creativity and imagination, and for this to happen it needs to be both engaging, inspiring and of course; intelligent! Learning can, and should, be fun – but most importantly – it should be democratic and it should be for everyone. The conventional way of teaching the standardised topics we all know so well; spirts knowledge, recipes, drinks groups and families etc alone are not enough anymore – in fact, I would almost say they are limiting our progress and potential growth – and therefore needs to become a part of a bigger universe of resources we pull from.

In the same way that I want all of my team to one day go on to become better, smarter, faster and more successful than I can ever be – I also want the next generation of bartenders to have all the information, knowledge, tools and skills I always dreamt of having. That is why I have created three overarching themes to start with, but within those themes there are no boundaries to what can be explored and discovered. Most importantly – this is just the beginning!

The first theme, Community and Culture, looks at everything from the ecology of drinking, geography and the role of bars and bartenders in society – but also looks at understanding locality, culture and human behaviour through the lens of our industry. It is where we’ll talk about important stuff like employment, diversity, empathy and anything else we need to speak about as a community, in order to rebuild our industry to a better place.

Design and Technology investigates how we can build better, more efficient bars – but also design more welcoming inclusive spaces. We look at ways we can implement technology in a purposeful way – because I don’t think anyone really believes that a robot bartender will ever be the answer, regardless of the question.

Anyone who knows me will understand how excited I am about the last theme, Raw Material and Flavour, where we will explore all the things I get extra excited about; seasonality, agriculture, biodiversity, sustainability, techniques and traditions – and as we search for the future of flavour, we look further and more alternative than ever before. Needless to say, I can hardly sleep in anticipation!

I am super excited to be starting this journey together, and I hope you will join me and the rest of the Campari Academy team in this new adventure where we try to reimagine how we learn and digest knowledge, so we can unlock our full potential.

See you in the bars!

“I have always loved learning new things, and from a very young age I realised that happiness to me is directly linked to the opportunity of learning. It’s my engine that keeps me pushing forward – the one thing I cannot live without – and at the times of my career where it’s not been present, it’s something that I’ve greatly missed.

As a young bartender, I struggled quite a lot to fit in, because I always found myself chasing information- and specifically – answers to questions no one else seemed to ask. I grew up in a home where the connection to agriculture was firmly established and celebrated, and I spent my weekends foraging, harvesting, preserving – you name it – according to the season. It was only later in life that I realised this was not the norm, and that most kids don’t make fruit wines at the age of 10 or keep sourdough starters in their bedroom or learn how to skin an elk at 12. Ironically, when I came to the point in my life when I wanted to learn more about these things professionally (maybe not the elk part) – there was very little to be found, if anything, so I went searching.

Within the first 5 years of my bartending career, I pretty much covered it all; dive bars, pubs, nightclubs, various types of bars and restaurants – only to eventually end up in a cocktail bar. Against the advice of most, I rarely spent even a full year in each place, because once I’d learned what I came for, my restlessness kicked in, and I was off to the next one.
I would roam all the biggest book shops in Oslo, and devour any kind of drinks related material I could find – when I could find it.

Eventually, I would also discover the online forums and chatrooms dedicated to drinks, and slowly but steadily, my world expanded. I started dreaming about attending bar shows, to visit cities like London and New York – and it was actually on my first visit to the latter, that I had my first real bartending “aha” moment back in 2011.

I was sat at the bar in Death & Co – with the sickest line up of bartenders; Joaquín Simó, Thomas Waughn and Jessica Gonzalez – and it suddenly struck me “WOW, I do what they do!”. Obviously at a different scale and level, but at the end of the day, I bartend and tend bar – just like them. It sounds so silly, but it was such an important moment for me, because it made me understand that due to the human nature of what we do, some things cannot be taught by reading a book – they can only be lived and shared.

They say knowledge is power, and it most certainly is, but it is also potential or the lack thereof. It represents both what our industry will look like if we don’t act now, continuing to complain about the lack of qualified talent whilst turning a blind eye to the outsourcing of education which relies only on brands and agencies, OR we can reach that potential if we act now. It is very easy to point fingers and criticize, but in my experience, real change only happens from within, and for that, we need to show up and be willing to work together.

I’ve always firmly believed it needs to be ourselves who decide our own future, because after all, we are the only ones who know what we need and want – despite those two things not always aligning. The challenge is despite knowledge being free and readily available, we also have to deliver it in a manageable format which is both interesting and engaging – because learning can be fun, however, I think we can all agree that it can also not be.

At this stage in my professional life, I know I don’t have all the answers – nor do I need to have them – but selfishly speaking, there is nothing that makes me happier than seeing the impact of knowledge and education, and witnessing the confidence it can give someone who is just starting to understand the full potential of themselves. The importance of having someone believe in you – more than you do yourself – is priceless, and something I wish everyone gets to experience at least once. Personally, I’ve been very fortunate to have individuals guide me through life, be it my parents in the early stages, or some (not all) of my bosses in my professional life, and the more time I spend in this industry, the more I realise that this not the norm. So how can we change that? Well, it all starts with education; because you cannot teach what you do not know.

Perhaps one of the biggest lessons I learned doing P(our), was that if all you have is good intentions, you don’t actually have a lot. Let me explain; yes – we had the passion, yes – we had the network and yes we most definitely had the vision BUT what we didn’t have was the knowledge (how to set it up), the infrastructure (logistics is a killer ) and as a charity, we definitely didn’t have the money. But in the end, we still managed to challenge the status quo at the time, and push the industry into a new format of education. To me, who spent almost 5 years at the beginning of my career teaching – this felt incredible – but it also made me realise how much I’d missed this side of it.

Which is why, when Campari Academy invited me to be part of this project, and despite having some initial reservations, I was very excited. Excited to work with the team of people I get to work with, excited for what this project can become and excited that a company like Campari Group shares the vision for rethinking drinks education, re-imagining how we digest information and of course that they want to be part of building the dream of ‘what ifs’.

It’s been extremely tough these past two years, and my hope is that we can take all of these lessons we’ve learned, and channel them into something tangible and useful for the next generations, and hopefully we can get back on track to reinvent a
future which is better than the past we’ve had.

Monica Berg”