Somm Favorites with The Stockroom: ‘Blue Curaçao gave me a near-death experience’
Groningen—no, the Netherlands—has been home to a speakeasy bar since June. And what a bar it is: The Stockroom. Owners and mixologists Erik Beeftink (28) and Lennart Deddens (35) are fervent fans of the Roaring Twenties, something you can certainly see reflected in the cocktail bar. And what else are they fans of?
Standard in the fridge
Erik: “CHEESE to go with the cocktails. Preferably different kinds to combine with a pickleback.”
Lennart: “Good white wine, a bottle of Hooghoudt Infused #2 jenever and dry vermouth for the bottle of gin in the freezer above.”
Favorite drink
Erik: “Beer or a tequila/mezcal Old Fashioned.”
Lennart: “Martinez with jenever.”
The first time I drank alcohol…
Erik: “Was when my parents were away and my babysitter let me have a beer. I was about thirteen or fourteen. That’s where the trouble began.”
Lennart: “Was with my dad during the 1998 World Cup, when I was fourteen. I remember it exactly: the Italy–Cameroon match. After extra time, I still hadn’t finished my bottle of Amstel, haha!”
Favorite ingredient
Erik: “Oleo saccharum, a syrup made from sugar and citrus peels. A super-smooth product to use in cocktails. Plus, it’s good to try to maintain a zero waste tolerance. That’s how we use the peels of the grapefruits we juice for our fresh grapefruit juice.”
Lennart: “Radish!”
Favorite hangover meal
Erik: “Ham and cheese toastie with mayonnaise.”
Lennart: “A hamburger at Block & Barrels in Groningen.”
Guilty pleasure
Erik: “I secretly eat a lot of frikandellen and sausage rolls, super unhealthy, but every time I see them I have to get one or two.”
Lennart: “Hooghoudt Kalmoes Beerenburg & Cola. Definitely.”
Favorite drink on the menu.
Erik: “Obviously the BEEFIE BLINDER. With Mezal (Agave de Cortez), our own fermented pineapple/agave and lime, topped with Baxbier Abel’s Ale.”
Lennart: “Currently the Hendrick’s Summer Cup: Hendrick’s gin, grapefruit oleo saccharum, citric acid, Sauternes and soda.”
Favorite bar tool
Erik: “Blazer mugs, a bar tool that used to be necessary to reduce the spirit’s excessively high ABV by setting the spirit on fire and pouring it from blazer to blazer, allowing the alcohol to evaporate.”
Lennart: “The jigger.”
What do you always buy ready-made?
Erik: “Very little, but if I get something ready-made, it’s a pizza I can just slide into the oven.”
Lennart: “Orgeat syrup.”
Everyone should try this drink (or combination):
Erik: “Blue Blazer, a recipe from our bartender Joe. I won’t say anything about it yet, except: come by soon to try it.”
Lennart: “William George Rum, lime & tonic.”
Strangest drink I’ve ever had (and is it worth repeating?)
Erik: “Breast milk. Never again, haha!”
Lennart: “Positively strange: a Corpse Reviver twist by Sergejs Platonovs from The Duchess Amsterdam. In terms of flavor, it resembled a liquid version of an After-Eight chocolate. Absolutely worth having again! In fact, it’s one of the best drinks I’ve had in the past five years.”
Favorite restaurant (and what should we definitely order there)?
Erik: “Het zusje van André Dokter in Groningen. Then take a seat at the bar and let them surprise you all evening with the eight-course surprise menu, accompanied by matching wines or beers.”
Lennart: “Restaurant Eetwaar in Groningen. Order the surprise menu ‘De 5 van Pim’. Pim is the chef, logically.”
Favorite bar (and what should we definitely order there)?
Erik: “Clandestino in Mallorca, a very small bar where you have to ask the owner if you can sit in the basement. You’re then led downstairs behind a bookcase, where you can smoke cigars, drink cocktails and eat very well. What you really have to order is a Negroni with smoked rhubarb Amaro, garnished with a liquid olive that explodes in your mouth.”
Lennart: “Jiggers: coolers and cocktails in Ghent. Order something with veggies.”
Never again
Erik: “Tequila suicide. Everyone has done stupid things on holiday at some point; this was one of mine. The citrus in your eye isn’t so bad, but the salt in your nose… I suffered for days.”
Lennart: “I’ll never drink Blue Curaçao again after a near-death experience the day after I had ten Blue Curaçaos with 7Up at Disco Club FOX in Stadskanaal when I was sixteen. Oh man.”
If I don’t feel like alcohol, I drink…
Erik: “Water with a piece of grapefruit in it.”
Lennart: “Water.”
Most overrated drink and most underrated drink..
Erik: “The most overrated drink is definitely grappa, and the underrated one is jenever, a beautiful spirit that we as Dutch people can—and should—be proud of.”
Lennart: “The most underrated is unfortunately still jenever. Despite being a wonderful distillate, gin may be a little overrated at the moment. That’s because of the mega-ongoing gin trend.”
Favorite cookbook / food film / food series / food podcast
Erik: “My favorite documentary is SOMM; those people put so much passion into their studies to ultimately become the best in the world. It’s wonderful to see them do everything they can to use their taste buds to the fullest.”
Lennart: “My favorite cookbook is The Flavor Bible, my favorite cocktail book is The Joy of Mixology by Gary Regan, and my favorite food film is actually a drinks film: Schumann’s Bar Talks. And finally, my favorite food series: Chef’s Table International.”
The best bartending tip I’ve ever received
Erik: “As soon as you have nothing to do, always listen and watch how the head bartenders work, so you can become better than they are.”
Lennart: “‘You better look at it, than for it.’ My good friend and bar mentor Phil Felstead always said this in relation to stock control.”
The strangest request I’ve ever had at the bar…
Erik: “Not necessarily behind the bar, but in a restaurant: a group of older ladies asked if I could be the dessert, with whipped cream and chocolate. I said I would get changed and come back. But I never did, and I never saw those ladies again.”
Lennart: “Okay, this is a gray area. After almost twenty years of working in hospitality, I could write a book about super-weird shit. Someone once asked me if they could bring their own gin to the bar. We were supposed to make cocktails with it, and they wanted to pay less per drink because they had brought the spirit themselves. I really thought it was a joke, but after checking three times I discovered that, unfortunately, she was serious.”
If you could choose, what would your last meal be and what would you drink with it?
Erik: “A lot of meat, with nuclear daiquiris all evening.”
Lennart: “Sashimi with a nice bottle of jenever alongside it.”
The Stockroom
Oosterstraat 24-1
Groningen
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