Cocktail Fun
Dan Ball, bartender at Hyeholde, creates eye-catching cocktails based on what he likes.
Do what you like. That’s the simple advice Dan Ball, bartender at Hyeholde, gives to aspiring mixologists. “Don’t just try to keep up with what everyone else is doing. Do what you like and have fun with it,” he says. And, if it wasn’t already clear from his vibrant, fresh, and undoubtedly eye-catching cocktails, Dan follows this advice. His cocktails are pure fun.
Like many at-home bartenders, Dan taught himself much of what he knows. In 2009 he started at Hyeholde as a dishwasher, and four years later, took the bartender spot. “I started researching new ways to make drinks from there,” he says. A few servers mentored him at the beginning, but for the most part, Dan led himself into the world of mixology.
One realization discovered on trips to restaurants around Pittsburgh was significant in shaping the character of Dan’s drinks: many craft bartenders made their ingredients in-house. “[These bartenders] had different reductions, tinctures, and syrups to give their drinks more unique flavor profiles,” Dan explains, noting that once he learned this, he “just started messing around, seeing what worked and what didn’t.”
This “messing around” has resulted in fresh, seasonal syrups, reductions, and housemade bitters peppered in his cocktails. Dan matches the burn of whiskey with a sweet and savory strawberry balsamic reduction, pairs herbal gine tones with homemade blueberry syrup, and hits a mix of sugar and orange peel with a smoking gun before turning it into a syrup, giving bourbon a smoke-filled partner. It all comes down to his original piece of advice: “If I’m having fun doing it," he says, "That’s all that matters.” The feeling conveys with the drinks.
Bring fun to your cocktails! Try out Dan’s recipes at home: