For mixologist Alicia Perry’s vacation traditions

First, take an oz of home made sangria, an oz of tequila blanco and three quarters of an oz of freshly squeezed lime juice and shake them along with ice. Then pour it into a vacation glass, prime it with crushed or shaved ice and garnish with a number of mint sprigs and seasonal fruit. That is the best way mixologist Alicia Perry creates the vacation cocktail she has served her household for the previous a number of years.

Although it’s turn into an annual custom, her signature vacation cocktail was one thing Perry created to bridge her skilled and private lives. She calls it Anita’s Vacation Punch, named after her grandmother as a result of “Anita all the time pushed to get the household collectively regularly,” Perry mentioned.

“As soon as I acquired into bartending, I wished to begin to convey one thing dwelling for the vacations that I might sort of present my household what I used to be doing when it comes to work, and I felt like this was one of the best ways to showcase that in a communal manner,” recalled Perry, beverage director for Consortium Holdings, one in all San Diego’s most outstanding hospitality firms with a roster of extremely well-liked properties, together with Born and Raised, Ironside Fish & Oyster and Noble Experiment.

In 2015, Perry utilized as a cocktail server at Well mannered Provisions — a Consortium Holdings property — as a result of she wanted a job whereas attending grad college. She was an everyday on the bar off Adams Avenue and thirtieth Road and was lucky sufficient to get the gig with actually no bar expertise. Inside the first six months, Perry fell in love with the work, the group, the bar program and the corporate tradition.

“I might see the imaginative and prescient of the enterprise, and it definitely aligned with the place I noticed myself,” she mentioned.

After getting her grasp’s diploma in social work from California State College San Marcos, she made the transition to enter the hospitality business. In her first yr, she accomplished the bar program with Consortium Holdings and has excelled since. In 2019, she was promoted to common supervisor of Well mannered Provisions, and as of 2022, she has been the beverage director for a number of bars throughout the Consortium Holdings portfolio, which incorporates venues like Raised by Wolves, Half Time Lover and the newly renovated Lafayette Lodge.

Perry’s ardour and inspiration for mixology comes from cooking with household — and the way, similar to bars and cocktails, it brings folks collectively,.

“At a really younger age, I used to be launched to the thought of bringing household and pals collectively round meals and drinks, and so it’s one thing that all the time resonated with me,” she mentioned. “Even to this present day with cocktail making, I positively use related methods or concepts which are stimulated by cooking and apply it in the case of making cocktails and creating drinks.”

Vacation traditions

The idea of Perry’s vacation cocktail, Anita’s Vacation Punch, comes from her background. Her household is from Italy, in order that’s the place the sangria a part of the cocktail comes from, and the tequila is an homage to being raised within the San Diego-Tijuana border area and incessantly touring south of the border. It’s now a recipe that’s requested usually and has turn into a household custom.

Moreover particular drinks, the vacations in Perry’s household embody meals traditions, too: Her mother cooks prime rib, and, in fact, pastas are additionally on the menu. For desserts, Perry mentioned they make cream puffs and enhance Christmas cookies. Different vacation rituals embody taking part in board video games like dominoes, Rummikub and the cardboard recreation Machiavelli — all as a result of they bring about folks collectively, Perry mentioned.

The vacation embellished bar at Well mannered Provisions.

(Courtesy of Shannon Partrick)

At Well mannered Provisions, Perry mentioned they host an annual vacation pop-up occasion from Thanksgiving until the tip of the yr that appears like “Santa threw up in right here.” The occasion, known as “Holidays at Well mannered Provisions: A Cocktail Carol,” consists of over-the-top decor all through the bar: overly embellished Christmas timber, lights, bows, presents, vacation mugs and glasses, themed drinks and extra.

Mentorship

Moreover curating the drink applications at varied Consortium Holdings venues, with fellow beverage director Anthony Schmidt, Perry is closely concerned on the operations aspect — growing groups, strengthening relationships with native manufacturers, spirits choice, monetary oversight and training.

“I believe the merchandise that speaks to me essentially the most is certainly the mentorship piece,” she mentioned.

Supporting workers with their objectives and aspirations is vital to Perry as a result of she acquired the identical mentorship throughout the one-year bar program when she began at Well mannered Provisions.

“I all the time (felt) like inside the firm, I did have a supervisor or chief and even friends alongside me (who) helped me alongside the best way or had been in a position to all the time information me in the fitting path,” she mentioned, including her mom, fellow managers and Consortium Holdings proprietor Arsalun Tafazoli all encourage her.

Past mentorship, Perry additionally finds function and pleasure in her job in the case of new initiatives. She, together with Schmidt, created the menus for the 4 new bars within the newly restored Lafayette Lodge — from the analysis and growth of recipes and uniformity of all of the cocktail alternatives, to the best way they’re ready.

“Menu growth is all the time thrilling and enjoyable and that positively feeds the inventive finish of what I do,” she mentioned.

As well as, Perry mentioned passing alongside her data to workers is all the time among the best components of her job.

“We basically give them the instruments, present the construction and work with them aspect by aspect to get them to the place they should be to make sure profitable new growth. I actually take pleasure in that apply as a result of it’s basically a type of instructing as nicely.”

Trying forward, Perry needs to proceed down a path of serving to others whether or not that’s by teaching and instructing present workers and managers, or consulting exterior of San Diego.

“If there are alternatives to talk on the work that we do (at Consortium Holdings) and share with different people seeking to personal their very own bars, begin their very own enterprise or people that wish to simply be in administration … that might be superior,” Perry mentioned.

Alicia Perry holds a private vacation favourite cocktail at Well mannered Provisions in North Park.

(Nelvin C. Cepeda/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Meet Alicia Perry

Present place: Beverage Director at Consortium Holdings

Age: 32

From: San Diego, grew up in Clairemont

Present lives in: North Park

Schooling: Graduated from California State College San Marcos with a grasp’s diploma in social work

Earlier job: Social work and continuum of care with homeless inhabitants at San Diego Rescue Mission

Vacation traditions: Taking part in board video games like Rummikub and card recreation Machiavelli

Favourite cocktail to order at a brand new bar: Margarita

Favourite highball: Gin and tonic

Favourite vacation drink: Something heat like an Irish espresso, scorching buttered rum or mulled wines

Favourite meals: Mexican meals in San Diego or Italian and Chinese language meals when touring

Favourite artist: Beyoncé

Alicia Perry makes one in all her favourite vacation cocktails.

(Nelvin C. Cepeda/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Household Vacation Sangria Recipe (aka mulled wine)

1 bottle cabernet franc or cabernet sauvignon
1 bottle fino sherry
1/2 bottle orange liqueur
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
1 entire orange (sliced)
1 basket blackberries
4 cinnamon sticks
8 entire allspice berries
4 grams of unfastened tea (or 3 baggage of tea)
6 cups of cane sugar (gentle brown)

Place the cinnamon sticks and allspice berries in a pot over medium warmth, permitting the spices to toast and turn into fragrant. Roughly 5 minutes over warmth, rolling the spices to keep away from burning.

Place all gadgets except for the tea in a pot over medium warmth. Permit the fruit, spices, liqueur, sherry and wine to simmer for as much as 12 to fifteen minutes. At this level, the berries ought to start to interrupt down.

Add the tea to the combination and permit the tea to steep/infuse the mulled wine for not more than 5 minutes.

Take away from warmth and punctiliously pressure by a cheesecloth or high-quality strainer.

Carry again to warmth and add 4 to six cups of sugar. You’ll be able to management how candy you like the mulled wine. When consuming the mulled wine straight, Perry prefers not more than 3 cups of sugar. This mulled wine may be loved scorching straight from the pot, or absolutely chilled over ice.

Anita’s Vacation Punch (cocktail)

1 ounce sangria (see recipe above)
1 ounce tequila blanco (base spirit)
3/4 ounce lime juice

Place all contents in your shaking tins (bar shaker) and shake briefly with ice. Then pour over crushed ice into your favourite glass. End by garnishing with a number of mint sprigs and contemporary seasonal fruit.