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Jason Littrell loves his job, that much is obvious. As one of the Death & Co. bartenders, the San Diego native slings both avant-garde and old-school cocktails with a contagious amount of enthusiasm. "I'm amped about this shit," he says during our phone interview. Littrell wasn't always as jazzed to be behind the bar: Like many barmen, he began his career as a way of subsidizing his income while he pursued another interest—in this case, music. But a chance encounter with Sasha Petraske steered him away from cymbals and high-hats to the world of sazeracs and high balls. Here, Littrell speaks about working with Petraske, his go-to spring cocktail and the surprising difficulties of hooking up from behind the bar.
What is it about bartending that you enjoy so much?
I love making drinks, but I love people more. Without them, there is no us. We can't survive at bartending by just making ourselves drinks. It's always been a symbiotic relationship. I've always operated very well with a physical barrier between me and another person, where the liquor is on my side and the thirst is on the other.
Your first gig was at a bar called Shooters, which ironically didn't serve cocktails. How did you get started?
This was about 10 years ago so in Spring Valley, Calif. The bar was inside a trailer park and served a very isolated community. People would just come in and put down 20 dollars and would drink as many Budweisers as they could. The tip was about 75 cents. But I liked being behind the bar—it was that gritty dirty underbelly of a world was kind of what I fell in love with.
How did you meet Sasha Petraske?
I was the manager of The Randolph, and that place used to be a total dive. It was amazing, actually. The bar was only open Thursday, Friday and Saturday and it was just like a party. Three days a week we spent destroying ourselves, and the next four days we spent resting and preparing for the next three. It was awesome. But, there were problems with the neighbors, and so the owners flipped the concept and became quieter, more posh. Sasha was brought in as a consultant and taught us about making the great cocktails he was known for. I didn't know anything about the history of cocktails, the craft of cocktails or the concept of balance. But Sasha opened my eyes. He taught me how to take pride in an expertly made cocktail. Now I can't imagine doing anything else.
Your Death & Co. customers have called you one of the most enthusiastic bartenders in NYC...
[Laughs] I don't know how people view me, because I've never seen myself bartend. But I do tend to talk with my hands. Even now, I'm smiling and moving my hands when I'm talking to you. I'm amped about this shit. I love it. I feel like I've been very lucky. I'm definitely not the best cocktail maker in the world, but I definitely love my job. And that enjoyment helps create a great cocktail.
It's always assumed that a bartender has a lot of luck with the customers. True?
You know what's funny? My first instinct would be to say a good magician never reveals his tricks. But, I actually don't score very much as a result of being behind a bar. The other part about working a bar is that you have to clean the bar. There's a distinct level of pride in how clean your bar is. And that's something we don't leave to anyone else. And Death & Co. is clean as shit. So the truth is, I don't think I've ever met a girl who's willing to wait an extra two hours after last call for me to do that. [Laughs]
With spring around the corner, what is your quintessential cocktail for the season?
I've got to go really old school and say a gimlet, daiquiri or Tom Collins. When well made, these three cocktails fill every gap in one's life. The key to a good cocktail is to make it simple. Cocktails are supposed to elevate one's spirit and that's what all good drinks should do. We're not saving the manatees with these things.
You've also created a number of new-school cocktails...
Most of my drinks come from the name first, which is kind of weird. A lot of bartenders have trouble naming drinks, but not me. For instance, I named a drink the "Behind God's Back" because I went to St. Lucia and overhead some locals talking and they kept saying the phrase. So I and built a cocktail around St. Lucian rum. It's in the tiki style, and in addition the rum has almond syrup, cinnamon syrup and cane syrup. The cane is a bit richer than simple syrup and binds the flavor together—with fresh-pressed pineapple and lime juice.
Your go-to hangover cure is...
I've found that drawing your blinds and drinking two pints of water before bed is pretty good. Also, I recently quit smoking, and I'm finding that exercise is really very good for you. It turns out that it actually makes your body stronger. Weird, right? You know, I drink a lot, its kind of part of the profession. But I also drink a hell of a lot of water, and because I just quit smoking I have a lot more energy. I work out and I ride my bike everywhere, and I find that that's a big hangover remedy. There is no quick fix, though. Being drunk is our reaction to poisoning yourself. You know, if you're worried about your hangover, then maybe you should take it easy.
Photo by Natasha Ryan
