Sven Almennings Video...

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Interview with Sven Almennig Part 2

Do you think reproducing vintage shakers is a good idea?

Why not? However it would be great to see modern shakers take more care with regards to quality and durability rather than just copying vintage forms and shapes. I think there is a real opportunity for someone to produce high qualiy cocktail shakers and barware. Unfortunately this is hard to come by these days.

What are your future projects and plans?
Am hoping to keep working in the bar indusry for years to come. Am hoping to soon open a bar where I can display my favourote shakers, bar tools and cocktail books. I really believe that these great items help create a link to a time when the art of the cocktail was more widely appreciated by people.

Can you tell us a few homepages where we can find further information about shakers and bar ware?

Am sure you know them all already:
Cocktailshakers.com
Vintageswank.com
Rubylane.com
Atlantaantiquegallery.com
Thejazzage.com


Cheers
Sven


Be sure to watch this great video made by ABC about Sven and his shakers:
ABC
There are some shakers I haven´t seen in "action" jet.

Sven, thank you for the great interview and the link to the video.

Interview with Sven Almennig Part 1

Personal information:

Sven Almenning
Director of Behind Bars Industry Services, Australia’s largest bar Industry consultancy outfit
Sven @ behindbars.com.au

How did you get started collecting?
By necessity almost. I was working on some training modules for bartenders where I was hoping to inspire some passion for our industry and to really impress upon them the proud history of bartending. I purchased a few shakers, and was immediately bitten by the bug

How many shakers do you have and how do you store them?
My collection is not huge, however I believe I have a lot of great items. It’s probably around the 100 mark at the moment, (more if I counted trays, glasses tools etc). Currently they are stored and displayed in my office for my daily enjoyment.

Which is the oldest and which did you buy last?
I am not 100% sure which are the oldest although I do have a few shakers which apparently date to the late 19th century (If i’m to believe the antique stors where i purchased them).

My latest shaker was a ruby skyscraper with gold stripes. Awesome!

Which is your favourite shaker and why? And do you have one with a personal story?

I LOVE the Gorham Artillery shell shaker! This was one of the first shakers I really set my eyes on buying, and one of my favourites to use. I love making a smoky Talisker Rob Roy in it!

Is there still a cocktail shaker or bar item you have heard about but never seen? Something like the Holy Grail of Shakers?

Mark Bigler told me about a huge Lighthouse shaker he’s got. I think the price tag was around $20,000. I think Visakay also has one that he once lent to Dale de Groff at the Rainbow Room. Sounds incredible…

What do you think about modern bar design; ie; the Flip Top shaker by Metrokane?

I think most modern shakers lack imagination and focus on quality. My favourite modern shaker is probably the Carl Mertens double tin (looks like a 3 piece, but is just two tins). Am using this a lot at the moment.