XX Files–our weekly item on Toronto’s better bartenders. Name/alias Sandy De Almeida Current bar UNIT Bar, Churchill, Reposado, Gladstone Hotel How long bartending Twelve years Your first drink/drunk Amaretto and diet, unfortunately. Influences Anything can inspire me. Classics, people, flavours, spirits, regions, movies… I just finished a Cahiers du Cinma series: a group of five cocktails inspired by five of my favorite French New Wave films, all using French modifiers. But really the inspiration came from me cracking my bottle of Amer Picon and Lillet Rouge finally coming through the LCBO. Best barfly Daniel Baldwin used to be my barfly at the Gladstone about seven years ago. Nobody ever recognized him, which I think he liked. So I had to pretend I didn’t know who he was for 6 months even though I was a huge fan of Homicide: Life on the Street. I had to call him Dan, which felt really weird to me. Favourite cinematic bartender Alban (Michel Constantin) in Le Deuxieme Souffle. Gentle with a bottle of brandy, mean with a gun. And always with a trusty alibi. Bartenders in pre-60s films are inspiring to watch. I always pause to look at the back bars. Seeing what bottles were available back then and what vermouth they were using. Even just watching how preparing a martini has changed so much over the years. It’s all captured on film. Rules It depends where I’m bartending. I don’t hate making cosmos or vodka sodas at the Gladstone. I prefer it, actually. But if I’m working a cocktail event or at Churchill and UNIT, where I put together our cocktail menus, of course, I’d rather people order our cocktails. With cosmos, I think people just order them because they don’t know what they’ll like on the menu. You can usually guide them to a cocktail on the list that they’ll love by just taking a moment to ask about their personal tastes. Unfortunately, you don’t always have that moment behind the bar, in which case, I’d rather just make them the cosmo. 
Celebrity experiences Too many TIFF parties to remember them all, but I always loved when Catherine O’Hara would come by the Gladstone for karaoke. Best late night or morning after places UNIT always has the best DJs. It’s right on the beaten track, but still manages to be essentially hidden. The lack of signage makes it almost like a speakeasy of sorts. Nobody just wanders in. If you are at UNIT, it’s generally because you’ve been invited to UNIT. Morning after, Holy Oak makes great coffee and I love their tandoori chicken naan. Best tip ever Box seats to Ozzy Osbourne. BEST TIP EVER! Favourite cocktail/beer/wine right now Classe Tous Risques: Sazerac rye, Applejack, Lillet Blanc, orange clove tincture, bitters. Up. Cherry. Watch out for We’re launching a new cocktail night, Housewives Choice, at UNIT bar on Thursdays. They’ve always been really amazing and supportive of what I’ve been doing, they’re always right on top of bottles coming through vintages and are super excited about the menu. We’re starting the new year with some amazing house tinctures and syrups. I can’t wait. UNIT Bar, 1198 Queen Street West Churchill, 1212 Dundas Street West
