Credit: Submitted Photo
Credit: Submitted Photo
To fill the gap, he wrote a small booklet containing a little bit of history, cocktail theory and a list of master recipes to give to those that attended his classes.
“People were really stoked about it and they were asking if they could get other copies,” Fugate said. “That’s when the wheels started turning for a book.”
In 2023, Fugate left Dayton and moved to California to get reinspired. He’s returning home on Sunday, Jan. 12 to launch his first publication, “This is a Cocktail Book.”
From an aspiring chef to bartender
Fugate, a 2006 Northridge High School graduate who went on to study English at Wittenberg University, landed his first job in the restaurant industry after college.
“I think before graduation I had entertained ideas about being a writer, but I was young and was pulled in a million different directions,” Fugate said.
His first job was working in the kitchen at Figlio in Kettering, followed by a few dive bars in Springfield and a Chinese restaurant in Dayton.
“After I graduated, I had decided by that point I’m going to be a chef. I’m going to immediately move to New York and be a chef,” Fugate said. “It wasn’t until I moved to LA that I kind of got serious about bartending.”
Fugate spent about two months in New York before heading to California.
He recalled working in the kitchen at Josie, a French restaurant that was once on Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica. His station was right across from the bar at the restaurant where he started watching the bartender.
“I learned what I could from him,” Fugate said. “I would come in on my days off and shadow. The bar manager there took me under her wing and taught me what she she knew.”
He then set out to find a mentor who he could learn even more from. He found that in Beau du Bois, a former beverage director at a 3-star Michelin restaurant who Fugate described as “the bartender’s bartender.” At that time, du Bois was running the beverage program at The Corner Door on the outskirts of Los Angeles.
Fugate tried to get a job at The Corner Door, but was turned down because of his lack of experience. He started sitting at the bar and learning as much as he could. Eventually, a bar back didn’t show up and Fugate was able to step in.
“By the time I left, a couple years later, I was second in command at that bar,” Fugate said. “Based on his recommendation, I was able to go manage a spot in Hollywood for a little while, helped open another spot in Hollywood and then I traveled for a year and a half.”
His journey back home
He traveled across the country and internationally blogging about booze and working for Tastemade. He later found out that the content he produced helped him get on the radar of the Idea Collective, a hospitality development company that owns Sueño and Tender Mercy.
One of his favorite places he traveled to was Mexico City, Mexico.
“Some of the best restaurants and the best bars in the world are in Mexico City right now,” Fugate said. “I’ve never seen anything like it in terms of the combination of hyper modern and ancient... I absolutely fell in love with it. In fact, I think my love for Mexico City is really what got the hooks in me to be a part of Sueño.”
Fugate said he was back in Dayton planning his next steps when he met the Idea Collective at a dinner party. He thinks the original plan was to stay with the Idea Collective for a year, but “the more we got invested in the project, the more we just kind of fell in love with it.”
Tender Mercy opened three days before the state shut down restaurants and bars due to the coronavirus pandemic. At that time, Fugate said they learned to pivot and launched what they called downtown Dayton’s first e-bodega: Mercy Mart.
Fugate was a part of Sueño and Tender Mercy for about two years. He did everything from coming up with quarterly menus and introducing Dayton to clarified milk punch to teaching cocktail classes and training employees.
“I think the beverage program being a supporting role to the food program is where I really shine,” Fugate said. “I think some of the best bartenders in the world have been restaurant bartenders that have supported the food program.”
Imposter syndrome
Although Fugate is considered one of Dayton’s tastemakers in the food and beverage scene, he admitted that he had immense imposter syndrome when he first started bartending. Back in 2013, there weren’t a lot of good resources for new bartenders.
He recalled going to the public library and getting books from the 1970s, in addition to sitting at a wide variety of bars and learning by watching the bartenders.
“There wasn’t really much cocktail culture to speak of in the 70s and 80s, but there was a lot of interest in home entertaining,” Fugate said. “There was a lot of interest in the ambience of a bar and taking care of guests.”
Those early books inspired him to recreate his own book focusing on home entertaining.
This is a Cocktail Book
Fugate’s latest publication, “This is a Cocktail Book,” is not only for the home enthusiast that wants to learn to make and understand cocktails, it’s also for people who want to become professional bartenders.
“We’ve created this world where people assume cocktails are really hard and they’re best left to the professionals. That’s absolutely not true,” Fugate said. “I think this is a really, really great entrance into that because it spells thing out things out formulaically without talking down to you.
Fugate starting working on this book right before he decided to move back to California. When he was close to finishing it over the summer, he quit his job and put all of his time and energy into the book.
“This is a Cocktail Book” is not only written by Fugate, but it’s illustrated by him too. It’s printed on newsprint and is about 15 by 12 inches.
“There are some elements of that original book that ended up in this book almost completely untouched,” Fugate said. “Some of the illustrations from that original book are in this book (too).”
He was inspired to publish the book on newsprint as a homage to Andy Warhol’s “Interview” magazine. Fugate said he stumbled upon a vintage copy in high school and was obsessed with newsprint ever since.
“This is a Cocktail Book” can be read from start to finish and contains information on:
- Basic bar tools and glassware
- The best way to stock a home bar
- How to make ice
- How to shake and stir drinks
- How to make blender cocktails
- The history of the cocktail
- Cocktail theory
- Cheap tricks
- Classic recipes
- Fugate’s signature cocktails
“So many of the recipes that end up in this book are things I was able to develop at Tender Mercy” Fugate said. “The amount of of innovation and experimentation we were able to do at Tender Mercy obviously wouldn’t have been possible without a group of owners who were fully on board and were our biggest cheerleaders.”
Launch party and technique class
The book will be launched on Kickstarter at noon on Sunday, Jan. 12, followed by a launch party from 8 p.m. to midnight at Joui Wine, located at 117 E. Third St. in Dayton. Those that RSVP to the party for $1, can get 50 percent off the book.
“This is a Cocktail Book” will retail for $30.
The launch party will include a special menu featuring drinks from the book, a sneak peek of advance copies, a free menu item for Kickstarter backers, cocktail demos, merch, a costume contest and more.
Credit: Submitted Photo
Credit: Submitted Photo
Prior to the launch party, there will be a 2.5-hour technique class from 5 to 7:30 p.m. for those wanting to learn cocktail methodology, mechanics, theory and history. This includes three handcrafted cocktails per participant. Only 12 spots are available. Cost is $150. Those that use the discount code “metronome” can get $50 off.
Those that order a book via Kickstarter should expect to receive their copy in March. The Kickstarter will run through Feb. 12.
What’s next?
To publish “This is a Cocktail Book,” Fugate started a publishing company. He’s currently promoting his book by creating content on Instagram. His next project is to translate and republish the first Japanese cocktail book that was written in 1924.
When asked what’s his favorite thing about Dayton he said, Cassano’s Pizza.
“That’s my one word answer,” Fugate said. “My longer answer is there’s something about Dayton that I couldn’t sell to anyone that didn’t grow up there. I feel like there’s this energy in the air where all of the cool stuff we’re doing, we’re doing because it’s cool, not because anyone’s paying attention.”
Fugate believes Dayton has some of the best bars, coffee shops and restaurants in the world. His favorite spots to get a drink when he’s in town include the Silver Slipper, Tony & Pete’s, Van Buren Room, Wheat Penny, Century Bar, Tender Mercy, Sueño and Joui Wine.
“They’re strictly doing this because they love it and to serve a pretty tight community of people,” Fugate said.
In the future, he hopes to return to Dayton to open another cool spot.
MORE DETAILS
For more information, visit bleubooks.com/tiacb or the book’s Instagram page (@thisisacocktailbook). To buy a ticket to the launch event or technique class, visit exploretock.com.
TASTEMAKERS
We want your suggestions on local chefs and bartenders to feature. Email suggestions and details to Food & Dining Writer Natalie Jones at natalie.jones@coxinc.com.
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