Trevor Kallies | Donnelly Group | Vancouver

Trevor Kallies is the Bar & Beverage Director for the Donnelly Group in Vancouver, he has been mixing drinks at The Granville Room for the past 6 years as well as beverage training all the bartenders at the Donnelly Pubs and Night Clubs.

What drew you to bartending?

An accident, I was studying in English Lit in university, my friend got me into bartending after university. I then worked at Earls for 5 years as a bartender and then worked at the Granville Room.

What goes into creating a new cocktail? What inspires you?

The spirit – play around with different tastes and flavours, ie gin & lime or gin & lemon, work outward from spirit, start with the garnish and work backwards.

What was your training like?

Earls trained how to serve, then I was self-taught as bartending.

Tell our readers where you have worked in the past 10 years?

Earls for the 5 years and then The Granville Room for the past 6 years.

Who are your mentors?

1)    Jay Jones – for inspiration

2)    Simon Ogden (Uncle cocktail) in Victoria

3)    Brad Stanton at Hawksworth

4)    The Bartending Community –share, give opinions and help each other.

Tell us about The Granville Room, what type of drinks do you showcase?

Classics, modern classics and contemporary house spirits.

What is your Favourite Drink right now?

Negroni

If you weren’t a bartender, what would you be doing?

Probably would be a teacher. Now I am teaching my staff about cocktails, prohibition etc

Is the cocktail program at each Donnelly place the same?

There are three different concepts at Donnelly:

1)    Pub cocktail list – more fun and less intense

2)    Night Club –entry level, easy to make, light, fruity, refreshing style

3)    The Granville Room – stand-alone list here, Brown spirits focus over clear spirits, modern classics (gives full credit to other bartenders around the world and their amazing cocktails).

How do Vancouver cocktail competitions compare with the USA?

We covet a lot of the drinks that New Orleans, Seattle, New York, Boston and Atlanta do in those cities.

By: Richard Wolak