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Who | Julian Olsson
Where | Toronto, Canada
Current Bar | Kasa Moto
Past Bar(s) | The Chartroom at The Westin Harbour Castle, The Watermark Irish Pub, Mariposa Cruises, Cafe la Gaffe
Favourite Spirit | Gin at the moment, but starting to get back on a whiskey kick.
Favourite Juice | Raspberry. No question.
Favourite Classic Cocktail | Cosmopolitan or Daquiri
Favourite Part of the Job | Sharing knowledge with, and learning from, my guests and co-workers.
Favourite After Work Drink | Cold, cold beer. Probably a simple lager, big fan of Asahi Super Dry for this!
Favourite at Home Drink | Scotch, probably. I keep a rotating decanter with what I’m enjoying at the moment.
Favourite bar in the world | Hard to pick one… I’d say it’s an entire region – the Shinjuku Golden Gai in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Something about those small bars and the atmosphere they evoke is just heavenly.
Best known for | Knowing a little about a lot of things (I feel like a bartender should know enough about any subject to carry on a conversation about it with their guests), and my sake knowledge.
Favourite “at work” memory | The time a lady at the Westin let me just make her whatever I wanted, because she didn’t know what she was in the mood for. That level of trust that I’d make a good drink, and the sense of fun that comes from explaining a drink and why I chose it… really just so enjoyable.
What do you collect? Shot glasses (although I lost most of my collection a while back), video games, and knick-nacks. I love fiddly little gadgets that have a really singular purpose.
Favourite thing about your city? It’s a Canadian take on every city in the world. Okay, maybe not exactly, but I feel like we take what’s working somewhere else and implement it here with a very Canadian twist.
What was the last photo that you took? My camera was broken for a while, but the last photo I snagged was a row of sake bottles at a tasting.
Where was last place you traveled? Barcelona! A trip with some ups and some downs, but what a wonderful city.
Any claims to fame? I once had a conversation with Sir Ian McKellen because my friend who wanted his autograph couldn’t figure out how to make words?
Lager or IPA? Lager, but not flavourless!
Sparkling or Flat? Flat, unless I’m having dinner with my Mom, then Sparkling.
Miami or Mexico City? Of the two I’d rather visit Mexico City.
Olive or Twist? Twist!
Are you available for freelance gigs? Yep!