GUEST SHIFT: Tom Blassman, Allen Street Pub, Albany
Tom Blassman tending bar at The Allen Street Pub. Credit: Konrad Odhiambo/The Dishing
Bartender Tom Blassman talks to The Dishing about flair, fencing + crafting bacon cocktails at Allen Street Pub.
Interview: Susie Davidson Powell
Photos: Konrad Odhiambo/The Dishing
Bartender: Tom Blassman IG: @tom_the_bombikaze
Bar: Allen St. Pub allenstreet.pub IG: @allenstreetpub
Hometown: Delmar, NY
Current city: Albany, NY
Personal style: It kinda changes for where I’m at. For Allen Street, I usually wear bar shirts with bar things like “Espresso Fucking Martinis” from Offsuit in Boston which is a speakeasy, or a Mover & Shaker Co. tee with “Livin’ the Dream” on it. I wear a lot of black pants and tees.
Listening to right now: I always cycle through a lot of random stuff, a lot of metal. One of my favorites right now is Ne Obliviscaris with a violin, a singer and a growler - really heavy. Also rock, blues, and latin music…like I’m into Bad Bunny but I also listen to Rita Payes and to flamenco. Sometimes I listen to totally different music like when I’m working it might be Motown and upbeat, accessible stuff we have on Spotify, or whatever is played on the TouchTunes jukebox.
Favorite spirit: I tend to gravitate to whiskey and agave spirits. Probably a nice malted rye or scotch occasionally. I also really like raicilla and mezcal.
Favorite classic cocktail: Sazerac, if done right. Gimlet or daiquiri for something more simple to order. It often depends where I’m going. I do love a good Last Word.
Favorite bar ever: Backbar right outside of Boston. Like a speakeasy in the sense you walk into an alley with no visible signage and walk into a door and down a stretch and there’s often a line. A lot of quirky stuff going on. It switches up with monthly themes from holidays to bugs to Lord of the Rings. I’m always blown away by them.
Favorite restaurant experience: Locally, I go to Nighthawks a lot. If you can make it to their weekend dinner menu they always have fresh, unusual options and the cocktails are crafty and well done too!
Biggest cocktail influence: Regarding Cocktails by Sasha Petraske and the Savoy Cocktail book by Harry Craddock. I take a lot of influence from seeing what other people are successfully doing in different places. I then try to incorporate it and make it my own.
Drink trend that should end: Sometimes people get too out of focus in one direction or another. Not that things are too elaborate but to build drinks you need to come back to the focus of having fun and the experience. Elaborate is fine, if the focus is on service. One trend that’s super irritating is people having a photo of their ID on their phone instead of an actual ID. Not very secure and not the same thing…happens all the time. I just wish they had it on them.
Tom Blassman incorporates working flair behind the bar. Photo: Konrad Odhiambo/The Dishing
Tom Blassman has worked in local Capital Region pubs from Juniors to The Pub (former Partridge Pub, )but few know he minored in philosophy, is skilled in martial arts, and studied flair in Portugal with some of the biggest names in the industry. Blassman is behind the region’s arguably least well-known craft cocktail list at an 80-year old dive bar, the Allen Street Pub, where current owner Joe Tersigni has built a remarkable whiskey collection.
Our recommended intel? Go after 8:30 p.m. on Monday nights when operations shift gears to all things bacon.
SDP: Tom, thanks for talking with The Dishing. How did you get started in bartending + what’s the story behind your Instagram handle, @tom_the_bombikaze?
TB: After I saw my friend Giles Chase bartend at The Stone Crow I decided I wanted to do that and worked my way towards it. I started in the service industry at 16 - first at Quizno’s, then as a dishwasher at Beff’s in Delmar (now Swifty’s), and then worked through various things. Like, I went to SUNY Purchase for creative writing with a minor in philosophy and while I was there I worked part-time as a theater usher. Did some delivery driving – got a lot of skills from that learning to organize and get to places quickly. At some point I went to see my friend Giles at Stone Crow around the corner from the Madison Pizza and across the street from Casey Finn’s. I knew I wanted to bartend rather than cook or be a delivery driver. Giles hired me at Juniors and I worked my way up from kitchen to barbacking, service bartending, and then bartending. I was there for 10 years + at The Pub for 3.5 years. I never wanted to work 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. – I was always trying to pursue cocktails. It was important experience… It combined a lot of things successfully so when I’m making and channeling a new cocktail program I want there to be a theme and integrity and cohesiveness. I went to work at The Allen Street Pub in 2020. I do have other passions like writing and martial arts but I always fell back into bartending.
As for the handle, my specialty shot has been a “Tom Bomb” for years. It’s a flavored vodka and red bull shot that tastes like Rainbow Sherbet from Stewarts. I combined that with one of Giles’ nicknames for me - “Tomikaze” - from when he made me kamikaze shots with a “Tom” amount of vodka.
SDP: The Allen Street Pub has been a neighborhood watering hole for over 80 years. It’s just across the street from St. Peter’s Hospital, it’s been a popular bar for military veterans and beer lovers but it’s an unexpected hidden gem for craft cocktails. When Joe Tersigni bought it in 2021, how did you convince him that mixology was the right direction?
TB: Although making him a good drink helped, there wasn’t much convincing needed! I think he both noticed the increasing sales and growing demand for good cocktail options. But when I started at Allen Street in 2020 it wasn’t like it is now. It was more like craft beer; the owners were veterans. With Joe there he’s really on top of it. Back then I had to get my own fruit and ice for service. [Laughs].
During the pandemic, we had to make some food specials so we decided to do $1 soup and $2 grilled cheese, or $6 crockpot things. We did Philly cheesesteak and chicken tikka masala… and of course the Bacon Mondays.
SDP: Oh my god: Bacon Mondays! I have been waiting so long to tell the world about your bacon cocktail specials, bacon-infused spirits and bacon snacks. How did Bacon Mondays get started and what kind of bacon creations (drinks and snacks) can people expect?
TB: My friend “Bacon Brian” – Brian Minarich – hired me at The Pub (formerly The Partridge Pub) and he had brought in a Bacon Monday there. Since there’s no kitchen it provides a bar snack and it encourages more drinking! He brought it with him to The Pub on Madison Avenue when it was owned by BMT and I worked with him there for over three years so he was one of my mentors. When I started working on Mondays at Allen Street, I got him to work with me and keep it going. Now he owns the People’s Pub in Chatham and gave me his blessing to keep it going. Actually he just bought The People’s Pub this year with his wife who’s the chef.
So on a Bacon Monday you can expect both bacon and bacon-infused cocktails! There’s always, consistently bacon, but sometimes we get weird with it too. I’m always cooking off bacon. To mix it up we’ll wrap things in bacon like bacon-wrapped dates or bacon-wrapped shrimp, or we’ll season bacon with syrups and spices. We’ve done saddlebags - that’s a pancake with bacon on it - and Joe has made variations of pancake fritters, seasoning the bacon with maple and brown sugar
In this iteration of Bacon Mondays, I fat-wash spirits with bacon and I’ll vary the cocktails as I infuse different spirits from bourbon to mezcal to rum, and use different seasonal or special ingredients. A few examples being a maple-bacon old fashioned and an al pastor taco-inspired mezcal sour.
**Ed. note: Bacon Monday happens weekly from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m.
‘Little Piggy in The Big City’ backlit by the TouchTunes jukebox.
Photo: Konrad Odhiambo/The Dishing. Helping hand: Susie Davidson Powell.
SDP: I know you love the theatrics of a high pour and flair tricks for your cocktail presentation. You even attended flair training camp in Portugal. Where - or from whom - have you learned most of your flair style?
TB: Up until last year when I got professional training at the Flair Camp in Albufeira, Portugal, I had largely taught myself through videos and a lot of practice. For me, working flair is key – that’s flair that can be done in the middle of service without slowing it down considerably. So both my environment and setup dictate my style.
SDP: Who would you credit as some of your mentors and inspiration?
TB: My biggest influence in flair is Dean Serneels. After starting with his flair videos, I met him last year in the camp put on by Tom Dyer. Dean did a seminar and a class. While there I learned a ton from Kate Gerwin, Michael Moreni, Alexander Shtifanov, Rafael Arce, and Flavius Lupu. And of course bartenders that I worked with coming up were my former bar manager Brandon Henderer who trained me and started teaching me some flair, Brian Minarich who hired me at The Pub and started Bacon Mondays, and Kimmy Peckowitz who I worked with at Juniors.
Tom Blassman and the comprehensive backbar at Allen Street Pub. Photo: Konrad Odhiambo/The Dishing
SDP: What have you seen that’s changed significantly in the hospitality industry and bar scene since the days before the pandemic to now?
TB: One major change is that so many places close earlier now. At Allen Street Pub it has been good for us since we have always been consistently open late. I do miss the variety in late night food options though…
SDP: We know the non-alc and low-ABV cocktails have been surging in popularity. What’s your take on that shift in the drinks industry and is it a focus at all for your menu?
TB: I have incorporated low abv cocktails into my menu as well as created mocktails and we have a variety of N/A options from sodas, juices, and (N/A) beers. There’s usually a spritz for a lower abv cocktail on the menu and I am currently working on some seasonal mocktails.
In addition to the current trendiness, I think it's valuable and thoughtful to provide options, whether it’s that someone wants to be responsible or go out without consuming alcohol.
SDP: Joe Tersigni has built up an impressive selection of whiskeys. Can you talk about the whiskey program at Allen Street and the craft whiskey cocktail you make for the whiskey flights?
There’s a definite focus on American Whiskeys with some great overproof and allocated bottles. We do have a solid selection of Irish, Scotch, and Japanese options to balance it out. And it all continues to expand. The prices are pretty reasonable in general, but Joe also does a monthly flight event where you can buy a themed flight of whiskey and a whiskey forward cocktail to go with it at a special discount. We recently had a flight with Pappy 10, 12, and 15 with a Weller cocktail accompaniment. Ed. note: **The next one will be on July 26th, so drop in and buy a ticket in advance!**
Tom Blassman and Joe Tersigni with whiskey pours and bacon-wrapped shrimp on Bacon Monday.
Photo: Konrad Odhiambo/The Dishing
SDP: Let’s shift to other tastes. What are your earliest childhood memories of food or cooking at home?
TB: My parents would often cook and involve me. My dad would make pizza and that was one of the first things I learned to cook, but as an adult I discovered a passion for baking.
SDP: You grew up in Delmar, so you’re local. What are three places you like to go in the area for breakfast, lunch and dinner?
TB: For lunch I eagerly await the expanded re-opening of Pad Thai Noodle on Everett Road later in the year – it used to be a staple in my diet. I really like Nighthawks for their weekend dinner menu and cocktails. Lately I’ve been going to Caffe Italia’s new Guilderland location and they have some solid drinks as well! I’m not usually up and about for breakfast, but I enjoy Naughters in Troy for a diner-style menu. They have brunch, but I’m usually there late at night.
SDP: If cost and reservations were no issue and you could go anywhere at all for dinner or drinks, where would it be and what would be your perfect night out?
TB: The last time I was in Boston I had to go to Mahaniyom for Thai Tapas and cocktails, then down the street to Blossom Bar for authentic chinese food and tiki mixology, and finally off to Backbar… so maybe that? But I find I’m more often in New York City...
SDP: Since the pandemic, we’ve seen a lot more focus on mental health and avoiding burnout in the industry. What’s your approach to workplace wellness and how do you relax?
TB: I find it is important to have passions or hobbies unrelated to going out. For me, my training in fencing as a martial art gives me discipline and a sense of purpose. But playing music or creating art in general is also a good release.
SDP: Since the pandemic, we’ve seen a shift in dining trends with fewer walk-ins, earlier dining and people drinking less. What do you see for the future of hospitality?
TB: I think that with this, and the impact of social media, venues will have to focus on the experience of going out in addition to expanding their options for a more educated consumer base. Despite that, I am certain there will always be a place for hospitality.
SDP: What’s something you haven’t yet tried to make as a cocktail and would really love to put on the menu?
TB: I try to incorporate new techniques into my menus as I go. We have two cocktails on nitro draft, but, eventually, I’d like to get a carbonated cocktail on draft!
Allen Street Pub. Photo: Konrad Odhiambo/The Dishing
*This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length. - SDP