Ask A Bartender: Clarke Anderson on Mixing with Matcha, Turmeric and Tepache

Being raised in a family that valued food and wine, Clarke Anderson’s interest in food science and culinary arts was sparked early on.

However, after working briefly in the kitchen, he realized his true passion was in beverage service and education after a transformative trip to northern Italy and southern France. “I had never felt such a strong connection between people and their agriculture. That’s what I’m aiming for here at home.” Clarke’s career began as a sommelier at Fogo de Chao in Atlanta, and he later joined Ford Fry’s team, helping open no. 246 and The Optimist. He expanded his role over the years and now helps guide several beverage programs at restaurants, including St. Cecilia, BeetleCat, Marcel, and Le Loup in Nashville. He is a Level II Certified Sommelier by The Court of Master Sommeliers and a founding member of the Southeastern Sommelier Society.

At Le Loup, which opened in 2022, Clarke has created a sophisticated, intimate bar experience inspired by New York and L.A. cocktail bars. Located in Nashville’s East Germantown neighborhood, the bar offers over 50 cocktails, with categories such as Originals, Classics, Forgotten Classics, and Tributes. Clarke explains the importance of the design: “Custom-built wells behind the bar – inspired by a pilot’s cockpit & designed for optimized, streamlined execution – ensure every bartender has everything they need at arm’s reach. And Le Loup’s ice program is unlike anything else in the region, with a focus on proper temperature and exceptional execution via hand carving, house-frozen ice blocks, shaved granitas, and in-vessel specialty flavored ice – depending on what best suits each drink.”

Clarke has embraced buzzy ingredients like matcha, turmeric, and tepache in his cocktails. “Matcha adds earthiness; a lot of cocktails that have honey lack that earthy component, and matcha tends to give us earthy components from the green tea. Matcha is highly caffeinated, so it gives a boost too.” For turmeric, he starts with a straightforward ginger honey recipe, and adds it. “We get fresh turmeric in cases and process it. You get a shaken whiskey sour situation with spice from ginger then a lot of earthiness from turmeric.” Finally, tepache is a historic ingredient, in that it’s been made in pineapple growing regions all over Central and South America for 1,000 years. “It’s a low alcohol situation, so fermentation happens slowly over a couple of days and gives us single digital alcohol numbers.

You can ferment it all the way to get to 7%, but we stop it and refrigerate it, which gives some alcohol and some sweetness. This drink is about the balance: acidity from pineapples, sweetness from pineapples, and a little bit of alcohol.” He offers key advice for bartenders working with these ingredients. “Cocktails are balanced by proportions, and adding more or less of something—even while you think you’re cool giving someone extra booze—you’re throwing the balance of the cocktail off.” He also stresses using fresh ingredients and recommends not bulk-prepping certain items. “If you are making turmeric syrup, make just what you need for a few days.”

On the wellness trend in cocktails, Clarke’s take is pretty clear: “Cocktails are not vitamins. A lot of people are mixing these ingredients in NA drinks. If you are looking for libation that makes you feel good, leave the alcohol out. If you want a wellness drink, leave out the alcohol. You can add a NA spirit or club soda. Takes trial and error because dilution is different. Save your money and work with modifiers like bitters and cordials. If you do use NA, stick to something more of a modifier than base spirit.”

Ultimately, Clarke’s approach to cocktails is about balance and precision, whether creating an alcoholic drink or a wellness-focused non-alcoholic one.

For this version, we are using the matcha just over the top for garnish, which gives a wonderful aromatic addition to the drinker. 

The post Ask A Bartender: Clarke Anderson on Mixing with Matcha, Turmeric and Tepache appeared first on Chilled Magazine.