If you read this intro before…skip to the blue below.

I had this idea in my head. Maybe put three pictures up in my office, each representing something important about what I do. Counseling reminder. A touchstone for the eye of sorts. Well, like I said, it was in my head and as I realized one of the three pictures I wasn’t going to be able to get, and the others were certainly copyrighted, the three sort of evolved as I looked for alternatives. So in looking for a different way to go, in my head, we went from three reminders to 96 reminders. It’s why my wife refers to what comes out of my noggin as ‘cumbersome’ on occasion.

So. I am mostly a counselor but I have also studied and practiced a bunch of other things including cuisine and photography. I always wanted to have an idea why some folks in every field are wildly successful compared to many of their contemporaries, so I always checked a bunch of them out. So, here come 96 people and quotes attributed to them, if there are any – 24 chefs, 24 photographers, 20 people associated with psychology directly, and then 28 none of the above people whose lives or words remind me what to strive towards as a counselor, a counseling business owner, and a general human being. The only problem was stopping. There have been a lot of people who for one reason or another inspire me, lots more names on the potential list but it had to at least pause somewhere, so here we are.

I don’t rightly know if writing these out and posting them will be of any use to anyone else but I’m reasonably sure codifying the whole thing will drive it home for me and hopefully offer some encouragement and centering for our folks. Hope you get something out of one or two of them too.

Had to be added. They moved to a bigger space. The alchemist who appeared to be the source of their magic and another bartender left. They have fancy new digs and nothing else. I shan’t be back, as they have lost the craft, the energy, the recipes, and gained only fancier seats. Pass. Too Bad. Another lesson, one that will be repeated with another of the 96 reminders on the list. 

Of all the intended portraits, this is the one that I suspected I might get the most guff over, but I am pretty good at taking guff. What is guff? Well, whatever it is what I would get guff about is I would definitely have a picture of one of the creations at The Crafted Cocktail Co. in Wadsworth, OH on my wall. You are more than welcome to your own thoughts, beliefs, and decisions related to alcohol. You are also invited to completely ignore my thoughts, beliefs, and decisions…I promise to wholeheartedly dismiss yours.

The Crafted Cocktail has little to do with intoxication. If you stopped into this oh-so-tiny place to get your drunk on, examine your life related to drinking…but don’t stop there…examine on. I’ve not been there frequently, but going to The Crafted Cocktail to get hammered, would be like cracking Osetra caviar roe or a Fabergé Egg to make an egg-white Denver omelet, hold the ham and veggies. I.E. a stupid waste.

There is a bit of a show in the way they construct their libations, but this is not a flair bar. Tom Cruise would not fit in, thankfully. It’s not about the show but about the craft. If you’ve ever had a cake that looked like it belonged in the Louvre and tasted like it belonged in the sewer, this is the opposite of that. The ambiance of the place (when we used to be able to enjoy something like going out) is kinda fun and can transport you towards a time of suits and hats. There is usually a black and white movie playing in what feels like a small speakeasy everyone knows about…like you might be sitting next to the chief of police.

But the craft. They are painstakingly recreating cocktails from centuries old recipe books alongside modern creations featuring recent food science and culinary trends. They are making their own tinctures, extracts, mixers, etc. The garnishes are done fresh, by hand. If you like or despise the day-glo-red “Maraschino Cherry” common in drinks or ice cream sundaes, you need to sample the Luxardo cherry those chemical ridden little buggers replaced when we stopped importing the Luxardos from Italy during World War II. You can enjoy a beautifully balanced classic Spanish Old Fashioned and follow it with wildly rangy thing called The Nosiest Pepper with Jalapeno-Infused Vodka and Cream of Coconut and a bunch of other stuff that is still wonderfully balanced but hits you from places you never expected in a glass. Definitely follow that with a ride home.

What I take away from the folks at this tiny gem in Wadsworth is the worth of combining long-standing classics with cutting edge ideas, taking time and care to ensure every drop of either is personally and fanatically crafted with devotion and care, to blend what you are with what you are doing, and add just a hint of show to make it more fun than other places…and you might well have a service that will offer something valuable to just about anyone. Even the teetotaler, if you are driving the Pain Killer (level zero) is spectacular and refreshing.

When you care about what you do, people can sense it. They do that here and I think so do we.

Find out more about the Crafted Cocktail Co.: Their Website

*All photos courtesy of CCC website.