Christian Büsel and James Grogan like to shake things up. By day these two mild-mannered professionals can be found extrapolating variables as a banker and maths teacher. At night they unleash their alter egos and switch out their spreadsheets for shakers as Shakerman and The Secret Bartender. Each have evolved their passion for mixing drinks into businesses that offer their skills for private events and parties. We got them together for a shakedown…
Shakerman
Christian Büsel
How does this passion compare with your day job?
Creating and presenting cocktails is something that is diametrically opposed to my day job as a senior director in a Private Bank. No matter how much we enjoy our careers, we need something else in our lives which allows us to engage with our creative side. For me, cocktails are fun and relaxing.
What’s your favourite cocktail to make?
Anything from the family of “sours”, which cover a whole variety of spirits and are extremely easy to create. The key is adding egg white (or other emulsifier), because this gives a fantastically firm top layer of foam, upon which you can let your creativity with garnishes run wild.
What’s your favourite cocktail to drink?
My current go-to cocktail is the Rock Pool – something that I created for a project with Jersey’s Tidal Rum. 50ml Tidal Rum, 25ml rosé vermouth & 20ml Campari, stirred over ice with a squeeze of grapefruit. Then strained over fresh ice in a rocks glass and garnished with grapefruit and samphire.
What’s the most versatile spirit and why?
For me the most versatile spirit is rum – white, golden, dark, spiced – the whole range creates depth and body within a cocktail.
What the most interesting ingredient in one of your cocktails?
Three come to mind: red wine as float in a New York or Boston Sour, pickle juice in the infamous Pickleback and also Angel Hair chili as an interesting and pretty garnish.
What three guests—from today or any time in history—would you invite to your dream cocktail party?
My late grandfather, Leonard Janes – he played clarinet and saxophone in the Big Band era (pre & post war). He also loved Campari, so it would have been wonderful to share a Negroni with him. Gino Di Campo – just because I find him hilarious and I’m sure we would get along famously. Finally, I’m split between Joanna Lumley, who would also be both fascinating and hilarious and also Clare Balding who has done so much in her broadcasting career and rightly put women front and centre in sport.
If you were a cocktail, what cocktail would you be and why?
A Ramos gin fizz, because whilst it is fun, flamboyant and full of bubbles, it is ultimately a complex and tricky cocktail to master.
Where is your favourite cocktail bar in Jersey? Why?
I think Shinzo has the edge with great cocktails and beautiful presentation. Vinifera do a mighty fine Negroni. Having said that, cocktails at home are always generously proportioned, beautifully garnished and flow freely.
The Secret Bartender
James Grogan
How does this passion compare with your day job?
I have a passion for teaching maths and a passion for making cocktails and teaching people how to make cocktails. Both things are entertainment, in a way. In my classes, my students are definitely entertained, and I want to take that level of entertainment into my cocktails.
What’s your favourite cocktail to make?
I love using interesting ingredients that no one else is using. One of my colleagues, an Italian teacher at JCG, makes her own limoncello, and I love to use that for a limoncello spritz with fresh mint.
What’s your favourite cocktail to drink?
Gingerbread espresso martini. It’s the right balance of coffee, alcohol and sweetness. The ideal late-night Christmas drink to give you that Christmas glow. Also, my Nespresso machine makes the best coffee in Jersey, so I can combine my love of coffee with my love of cocktails. Even my non-coffee-drinking friends love the gingerbread espresso martini.
What’s the most versatile spirit and why?
I love rum. Because it has different textures and colours—white, spiced, dark. It can be used in tropical drinks, spicy drinks, tart drinks.
What the most interesting ingredient in one of your cocktails?
Thyme. I make a Thyme Collins—a twist on a Tom Collins. 60ml Tanqueray gin, 30ml lemon juice, 30ml sugar syrup, two sprigs of muddled thyme, shaken over ice then poured into a fresh glass of ice, topped with roughly 125ml soda with a sprig of thyme for garnish.
What three guests—from today or any time in history—would you invite to your dream cocktail party?
It’s so hard to choose! 1980s Whitney Houston because I wanna dance with somebody. Barack Obama because he’s a legend, and I would love to see him in a relaxed setting instead of on the world stage. And Amy Winehouse. Amy is everything. And I think all three of them would get on.
If you were a cocktail, what cocktail would you be and why?
Blackberry and chili mojito. Because it’s crisp, sweet, and tart with a bit of spice.
Where is your favourite cocktail bar in Jersey? Why?
Other than my house, Number 10. The bartenders there are creative and adaptable. The atmosphere in the downstairs bar feels like a cosy pub crossed with a speakeasy.
