GUEST SHIFT: SETH JONES, Mirador
Seth Jones, Head Bartender of Mirador on Photography, Building Community + the Versatility of Sherry in Low- or No-ABV Drinks
Interview: Susie Davidson Powell
Photos: Victoria Sedefian/The Dishing
Location: Mirador, Kindred
Tastemaker: Seth Jones, Head bartender | IG: @sethjonesphotos
Where: Mirador | IG: @miradorkingston
Hometown: All over!
Current city: New Paltz, NY
Personal style: Often wearing whatever vintage pants I can find with loose fitting or cropped dress shirts and boots. Throw in a belt buckle and a bolo tie occasionally.
Listening to: The band Landrones
Favorite spirit/non-alc: Haitian Rhum/ Pathfinder NA spirit
Favorite classic cocktail/non-alc drink: Classic Daiquiri with a funky rum base
Coffee or tea and what’s your order: Decaf Americano
Biggest industry influence/inspiration: Both of my beverage director bosses have had a huge impact on my journey; Leif Huckman who invested in me early on and started my path bartending, and Nick Africano who continues to teach and pour into me now at Mirador.
Drinks industry trend that should end: This is a hard one for me. Part of me feels like everything has a place somewhere, and if it is enjoyed by someone somewhere, why should it end? I think the important part is knowing your audience.
“Welcome to The Dishing’s Quick Serve interviews where we talk matters of taste with tastemakers in the hospitality industry and trailblazers at the intersection of food, culture and art. Today we’re talking with Seth Jones, head bartender of Mirador in Kingston, about fine art photography, gallery space + sherry cocktails.
Hey, Seth. Thanks for talking to The Dishing! At just 25-years old you’re the head bartender at Mirador which opened in Kingston 2-years ago with its sunshine yellow decor and sherry-forward focus. How have you managed to design cocktails around a sherry base?
Very easily! It almost feels like cheating sometimes, but so many things beg for the qualities of sherry. The salt and dryness of Finos without the increase of ABV, allowing for a martini to drink strong but is actually low proof. The rich depth of oxidative and sweet sherries elevate a drink past the expected, especially when used in a classic.
Mirador goes beyond sherry with Spanish wines, tapas plates and a focus on the Andalucian region of Spain. You recently traveled to Jerez with your boss, Nick Africano. Was this enlightening in terms of really understanding sherry production and did it provide inspiration for your cocktails?
Absolutely. I am a very visual learner, so being able to see everything I have heard about for the last two years was incredible. Some things you can’t quite understand unless you are there, such as the smell of sherry IS the smell of the Bodegas that they are aged in. the produce and all food was so fresh and vibrant, I really wanted both the color and the freshness to reflect in the new cocktails. For example the Kiwi Y Rum cocktail on the menu right now was not only inspired by the fact that I was eating a kiwi every morning at breakfast, but also the striking greenery of the area, so green it made my eyes hurt just looking at it!
As a kid you moved from Arizona to North Carolina, to just outside Chicago + 8 years in California before landing in upstate New York where you attended SUNY New Paltz. Have you absorbed elements of all these places? You’ve been living upstate for the longest amount of time, so does this area feel like home?
I feel lucky to have the perspective of a lot of different places across the country, and I think a huge thing I have gained is a deep appreciation for this area, and how beautiful it is to live here. I spent a long time with this subject while I was in school, and it became the focus of my entire thesis project, on the differences between house and home and feeling rooted to a place versus restless and needing movement. I think that for a long time it was a very even battle between the two sides pulling me, however as of lately the Hudson Valley feels so much like home. So much love here.
You’re a fine art photographer and you run a shared gallery space in New Paltz where you host events and artist talks which feel like a community third space–and maybe not unlike a wine or sherry bar. Don’t you feel that people are hungry for points of social connection?
I think that people are always hungry for social connection; the problem has always been accessibility and comfort. At our studio I do not want anyone to ever feel afraid or embarrassed to show up/share/voice an opinion, especially when sharing artwork is so personal and vulnerable. Everyone deserves to be heard and understood deeply. I think the exact same thing is important for a restaurant: No one wants to show up to a bar wanting a cheap glass of wine, or a simple cocktail and be scoffed at for not ordering what THEY want you to order. Want to do a full meal, bottles of wine, the whole deal? Amazing. You want to come for just a happy hour beer and some olives? Also amazing. We need to meet people where they are at.
Your gallery is called Rule of Thirds, a foundational photography technique that divides the frame into a 3x3 grid and creates more balance, energy, and engagement than simply positioning subjects in the center. Can the same be said of cocktails?
Yes, I think balance is important not just In individual cocktail but over a whole menu. I don’t think it necessarily has to be a “need something for everyone” approach, however I think they should all speak to each other and pick up where others leave off so to speak. Balance not only in taste but also visually is important as well. I like to make sure things to don’t look too similar/dissimilar for the season
You worked at Inness in Accord before Mirador. Is that where you first learned mixology?
Yeah, working at Inness was where I first became interested in bartending and learning more about spirits/wine. I had some great mentors there.
For people less familiar with sherry, are cocktails a way to slowly introduce them to the versatility of what sherry is?
Absolutely. I think a lot of the time we Trojan-horse sherry to people through cocktails, and when they like a drink and inquire what makes it so good, that becomes a great opportunity to splash them a bit of the sherry that was in their drink on its own. Sherry is wine, but it is also a story and a nuance and it is in not just the drinks but the food as well.
You pay close attention to offering complex, but balanced non-alcoholic cocktails that twin some of the alcohol-based cocktails on your menu. How important is it for bars to accommodate low or non-alc options into drink menus nowadays? Can you talk about why that’s important and describe a couple?
I think it is super important. I have been mostly N/A for a while now, and I have always desired options that don't just taste like a soda, but to actually carry elements of a cocktail. I think having a good N/A cocktail is one layer of above and beyond that people really tend to appreciate and notice. My favorite right now is our drink with a rhubarb and ginger orgeat, Oolong tea, N/A red apertivo, and lemon. It has layers and evolves, the orgeat is warm and earthy, not too sweet and the dry tannins from the tea take it past that simple soda and citrus format.
What cocktail are you most proud of to date? And what’s something that you haven’t yet made yet but you’d love to figure out?
Super proud of a cocktail from the fall/winter menu that was a rye whiskey sour with a sweet paprika orgeat and a spanish aperitivo. Surprising and well balanced. One thing I have been experimenting with has been my own N/A Amaro recipe, and I am currently attempting to make an N/A Martini.
Staying local, can you share 3 of your favorite spots for breakfast, lunch and dinner anywhere in the Hudson Valley or Capital Region?
My favorite breakfast/coffee spot has to be Dry Fly in New Paltz. For lunch, I will say Hokkaido Japanese restaurant also in New Paltz. For dinner, it has to be Chleo in Kingston.
Imagine an ideal day or night out. If you could go anywhere in the world with no limits on costs or reservations, where would you go and how would your day or night unfold?
It may sound cliche but I am itching to be back in Spain. Would love to spend the afternoon bouncing around to the tabancos trying different sherries, and little vermouth and soda, some flamenco. The energy even in the stillness is addictive. I didn’t even scratch the surface while I was there and there’s so much more to learn and see.
As an artist, gallery operator and bartender, how do you manage a work/life balance. How do you relax?
I make sure to take my days off very intentionally. If I am burnt out that halts any creativity and makes it really hard to go all in at work as well. Gotta take care of yourself. I think that the “hustle” mentality only gets you so far and really limits your enjoyment of life. I am lucky to live with my best friends and spending time with them in any format recharges me every week.
Thanks so much for talking with us, Seth!