If you’re an avid drinker of cocktails and spirits, you know there are plenty of Charleston spots that offer a wide variety of alcoholic beverages — from fine dining restaurants to casual joints and even dive bars. There’s no shortage of diverse options, a truth coterie bar manager Sa’Quan Jenkins relishes.
“I never make the same drink twice,” Jenkins said. “Unless you really want it. Nine times out of 10, I’ll always make you a different drink. Which is both good and bad because there’s so many different drink combinations.”
Of course, if you just want to order martinis all night, Jenkins will gladly make you those. But if you’re looking to hang and chat with him while he’s slinging drinks, never expect the same drink.
Despite the repetitiveness of the cocktail world, there’s something that keeps Jenkins going: the people, be it tourists, regulars or fellow food-and-bev workers.
Jenkins recently shared some of the things that keeps him going in a world where things can taste the same, how to keep things fresh for the average drinker and some things to enjoy during this seemingly never-ending hot season.
City Paper: Describe your bartending experience. How long have you been at Coterie?
Sa’Quan Jenkins: I started at Coterie about a year ago now, and didn’t start bartending until 2017 at Carmella’s. I worked there for about four years, then moved over to Bourbon & Bubbles.
CP: What do you like best about bartending? What’s kept you in the game for so long?
Jenkins: The people. Honestly, serving is always fun, but you only have a certain amount of time to talk to the table. With bartending, it’s a little more personal. You’re there all night and there all the time — at least I am. But it’s also great because I can use people at the bar for my experiments, you know? I can get an honest opinion from them.
You also meet people from all over the place and learn so many things from them. Like when I worked at Bourbon & Bubbles, I met some people from the Midwest who taught me about Midwestern Old Fashioneds. People would come in, sit at the bar and ask, “Hey can you make this?” And if I can, I will. If I can’t, then I can try my best.
CP: What other things have you learned from customers along the way?
Jenkins: I got put onto a lot of amaros and certain mezcals from customers. I also got a lot of my bourbon knowledge from customers, which is nice. Sometimes, someone would order a Weller and at the time I didn’t know what a Weller was — I never had it before. So when they order it, I would get to taste it with them and they’d teach me things like notes and smells and stuff about the spirit. Wine, too. Customers have really helped me learn wine.
It really helps me because I’m learning about things from different regions, or places that I might not even visit. I’ve learned so many things about spirits and just weird drinks, too. I never knew what The Incredible Hulk (Hpnotiq liqueur and Hennessy) was. I’ve also learned some of the crazy names for cocktails. People will be like, “Can I get the salty dog?” and I’ll say sure, that’s nice. It’s literally just grapefruit juice and tequila.
But you wouldn’t think about things like that normally, you know? Stuff like that, I’d always be confused when people would ask me, but then I’d look it up and be like “Oh, it’s that easy?” and make it for them.
CP: What’s the ultimate goal for you?
Jenkins: I need to find a new goal. When I started off in food and bev, my whole journey was to be a bartender. It’s just kind of funny now because I’m a bar manager. I need to find a new goal because obviously, I’m in it now. You don’t really think about stuff like this when you’re in the middle of it. I’ve worked probably almost every position in a restaurant — from dishwasher to server assistant to server.
Jeremy Buck at Coterie has been a really big influence. If I had any questions or ideas, I’d always go to him and ask, because he was a bartender for a really long time. He knows his stuff. I look at him and think, “Maybe that’s something I could do.”
CP: When you do get a chance to go out to a new restaurant or bar, what’s your go-to drink? Your control, so to speak.
Jenkins: Espresso martini. I would also do an Old Fashioned because I love when people make them. There’s only three ingredients, but for some reason, it’s different every single time. I always tell people: Order Old Fashioneds because it’s three ingredients, and if the bartender doesn’t know what they’re doing with that, then I don’t know.
CP: What’s some advice you could give upcoming bartenders?
Jenkins: You can have a vision. You can have whatever you want. But if you aren’t as passionate about the drink, you will fail. You can make anything, and if the owner or whoever’s above you approves you without trying the drink, then people aren’t really coming for the drinks.
CP: What is your favorite kind of spirit right now, especially in the summer?
Jenkins: Tequila. And it’s not even close … I lied. An amaro.
CP: What’s your favorite amaro right now?
Jenkins: Montenegro. It’s undefeated. It’ll probably never be topped. I literally drink Montenegro on the rocks with some Angostura Orange Bitters and it is the best thing.
Pro tip: Bitters are the secret ingredient to every cocktail. It makes such a difference.
CP: What is the drink of the summer?
Jenkins: I love this question. As a bartender, making cocktails, you think about this all the time. But for right now, the world is saying Hugo Spritz, which is nice. I tried drinking an Old Fashioned, but that didn’t work out.
But really? Rum punches. For me, rum punches are hitting really differently. I’ve been on a rum kick lately. Anytime someone asks me to make a drink for them, it’s probably rum and a banana liqueur.
CP: If you were making a rum punch at home, how would you make it?
Jenkins: I do some crazy stuff. I’ll usually do a dark rum, guava juice, blueberry puree and pineapple juice. For some reason, it just works.
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