Who the f*ck is Tiago? Interviewing one half of the Bevy team
Who the f*ck is Tiago? Tell us about yourself
Yo I’m Tiago, I’m a multilingual sociologist turned bartender, drinks and food aficionado. I fucking love all things related to gastronomy. I am half french, half-portuguese, having inherited the best of both cultures. I was born and raised in the beautiful city of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. I’ve been fascinated by the universe of food and drinks, for as long as I can remember.
I’ve been working in hospitality for 6 years, on and off, having worked in Switzerland, France and Portugal. I have been a pool boy, waiter and now found my true place as a bartender. Also, I did a bachelor in sociology. So, basically I used to be a smart-ass and now I responsibly get people drunk for a living.
I am currently the head bartender at Toca da Raposa, an amazing cocktail bar in downtown Lisbon. It was actually in that bar that I met my good friend Lucio, the fruitiest of fruits (yep, he’s a fruit), founder of bevy and a.k.a kegboy. And that’s where this whole project started! It stemmed from a dream we both had of traveling through Latin America, and now it is becoming a reality! I still cannot believe it.
The whole purpose of the trip, aside from allowing us to fulfill our dream of discovering the drinks and food culture of Mexico, is to inspire young bartenders like us to go out there and to ditch the tourist mentality. Go where you want, but interact with the locals, blend in the culture, gather knowledge and share it.
Also, we really want to share with the world the amazing ingredients, spirits, cocktails and food Mexico has to offer, through our passionate eyes, the ones of two young and eager to learn bartenders, hip hop heads and cocktail nomads.
What are you most excited about?
The most exciting thing for me about this trip is first and foremost the opportunity to share my passion for gastronomy and flavors with my brother Lucio. He’s somewhat of the industry brother I never had, but always wished for. We both know we love all things drinks related, and love creating drinks together.
Secondly, but equally as important and exciting is to discover the way Mezcal and Tequila are produced. Being the two main spirits of Mexico and having a world renowned reputation, to be able to delve into the making of it, is just out of this world for me. To be able to understand the whole process and why it is so important for Mexican people to produce it and drink it, is nothing short of an honor for me. Honestly, I’ll be like Charlie in the Chocolate factory whilst visiting the agave fields and discovering the distilleries.
Cherry on top of the cake will be to share and discuss this knowledge with the bartenders of Mexico, and understand how they incorporate these two amazing spirits into their drinks. Last but definitely not least, will be to drink these said concoctions.
Why Mexico?
Mexico because it quickly felt like the most interesting and smart destination. As I said before, Mexico has amazing, yet underrated food and drink culture. Tequila and Mezcal are much more than just spirits for Mexicans, and we really want to know how and why. Being also two spirits that we closely work with but don’t know that much about, we really wanted to dive into them and their complexities, in order to be able to work them better. In addition, I’ve always been an absolute fan of Mexican cuisine and culture, so this country just checked all the boxes.
What can we expect from this project?
You can expect an amazing documentary following two good bartender friends, traveling from the western point of Mexico to its eastern one, exploring the finest ingredients and drinks this country has to offer. It will be some sort of a high end produced documentary series, kind of Bourdain inspired vibe, with a little hip hop, funny and goofy side added to it. It will be mainly oriented for hospitality workers and enthusiasts, but open for everybody. It will basically be a passionate journey through Mexican culture.
If you could be a cocktail, which one would it be and why?
I’d say either a glass of water, plain and simple yet refreshing and fundamental, or an old-fashioned, an absolute favorite of mine. An intense yet chilled drink with hints of sweet and bitter notes. Yep, that’s basically me.
How did you become interested in bartending/spirit-making?
So, my father is French and my mother is Portuguese, and both always had a liking for eating good food. They always passed on that passion to me, making me taste different ingredients and different cuisines ever since I was a young boy. Also, they taught me how to cook flavourful food at the age of like 8. Ever since that age I have been unconsciously drawn to everything gastronomy and hospitality related. By the age of 13 I made my first solo lasagna for a family dinner, which gained me a lot of compliments. At 16 I was already delving into the making of a mojito (another favorite of mine) and trying different recipes. Finally at 18 I went to Switzerland to study hospitality management, in part inspired by my father’s love of wine, and the fact that my older brother is a sommelier now turned restaurateur. I never left the industry since, and as of a year ago, found that my true passion lies in bartending, mixology and drinking ahahah
What is the thing you love the most about bartending?
Curious and funny enough, the first thing that pops in my head when I read this question is: shaking. I love to shake a drink. The whole movement, the noise, the cooling down of the drink. It’s like second nature for me. There are some days where my passion is not at its highest and I feel unmotivated to go to work, but as soon as I reach my station and grab a closed shaker ready to shake, I am instantly reminded why I do this for a living and why I love it.
Secondly, and as important is of course flavor! Flavor is a bartender’s life companion in my opinion. Flavor will always be in the back of my mind and is an absolute universe.
And that’s precisely what I love about bartending: whenever you open the door of an ingredient or spirit, a whole limitless universe succeeds for you to dive in.
As a bartender, how influenced are you by local products?
Sustainability and using local produce are both very dear values of mine, so I try as much to live, create and abide by those. Being also a young and eager to discover bartender, I also tend sometimes to use non local produce. The goal is to find the right balance, or to be able to go to the birthplace of the ingredients, which is exactly what we are doing with Bevy On Tour!
What’s the most random or funny situation you’ve had to deal with at work?
Well, fucking life actually. Everything to do with everyday ahahah. As a worker of this industry you have seen your fair share of crazy and funny situations, from couples getting into it on the couch at your bar, to people just popping by in the staff area thinking it was the bathroom, but the one that got me more confused might have been a guy that asked me not to describe the flavors of the drinks but the glasses. I did and he explained that he doesn’t choose the drink for its flavor but rather for the glass it comes in. WTF? You might hate what’s inside but if the glass looks pretty I’ll take it. This makes no sense to me and I think he should dial down on the alcohol and drugs.
Why are you doing this?
So as I said before this whole idea of traveling through Latin America was born during post-shift conversations with Lucio, at Toca da Raposa. We would do the shift together and then chill. We started sharing that we both had this dream of doing a backpacking trip through Latin America, mainly drink-oriented. The idea was to rent a van and just travel through the continent tasting their finest ingredients, spirits and food, and filming the whole thing. Since then, this has evolved into a real project, also thanks to our good friends of Between Collective.
Any last words?
I cannot still actually believe I’m traveling through Mexico for a month and a half, with Bevy On Tour. This has really been a dream come true and I cannot wait to actually step on Mexican soil, meeting my bro Lucio and getting this adventure started. I am literally living for it.
