This week we are joined by Yelena Anter from Las Vegas Nevada. Yelena is the driving force behind Cocktail Vision - an online platform that guides you through your journey in the cocktail and spirits world with recipes, products and consulting advice.
Yelena is a fantastic guest with an incredibly interesting story that originates in a small village in Russia listening to Elvis Presley records that were smuggled in behind the iron curtain and how this helped fuel her motivation to move to Las Vegas. This is a interview that you will enjoy listening to!
This is Yelena's story in her own words:
“Just look pretty, sell as many frozen drinks as possible, and sell an extra shot or two of booze,” my boss instructed me. This where my mixology journey began, like all great things, in sleazy obscurity. At the age of twenty one, I was hired as a bartender for a daiquiri bar on The Las Vegas Strip. Originally from a small village in Russia, I had no clue what comprised a Rum and Coke or Gin and Tonic, except perhaps the Coke. I was strong even in high heels, carrying as many drinks as would fit onto two trays at once. It fascinated me how different a blue, red or yellow slushy tasted, depending on what spirit was added to it. I was instantly hooked on the entire scene.
My twenties flew by with increasing sophistication and decreasing crushed ice, at the same time “high-end” cocktails became mainstream. I found myself and the industry evolving away from those simple, sweet ole’ days selling yard-long slushees taking nothing away from that quintessential Vegas experience. I also found myself closer to my Russian roots of resourcefulness and stylistic restraint. With extremely limited options for ingredients, I was accustomed to improvisation and creativity ever since I was a child. Artisanal mixology is, after all, best achieved combining well-chosen ingredients sparingly in a shaker instead of dumped into a blender.
Whether recreating a beloved classic or fashioning a novel libation, I approach the craft of mixology as a chef would create an entree. An intimate knowledge of ingredients and their synergy is key. Traveling the world, I’ve been blessed to have experienced a wealth of cultures, their unique cuisines and their rainbow of distillates. Classically trained in art, I understand the essence of good orchestration — a perspective I use to build and integrate the flavor components of a cocktail. My special power, were I a superhero, is my mental library of flavors I’ve cataloged over the years. My second superpower is my ability to imagine the interaction of those thousands of flavor combinations in my head. It saves money on booze, trust me.
