Blog news.

New Content Director and more upcoming changes.

Exciting changes have been taking place behind the scenes here at The Cocktail Balance!

The first item of order is to properly introduce Adrian Chrzan. If you are at all acquainted with The Cocktail Balance, you’ll know Adrian’s work as he is behind the lens of the stunning photos both in the book and on the blog. His photos and videos are characterized by their rich texture and striking use of light. As a digital creator, he has recently worked with top companies in Slovakia such as Carlton Property, Pilsner Urquell, Világi Winery, and Agropodnik Trnava. He’s also our marketing manager.

And, of course, there is Stanislav Harcinik. Stan is driven by a passion to share what he has learned with others, resulting in his book and this project. From barback, Stan quickly grew to head bartender at a number of establishments. Eventually his journey took him to Mirror Cocktail Bar in the Carlton Hotel as head bartender, and simultaneously Content Director of Slovakia's best printed media bartender magazine Bar Magazine-Thinking and Drinking. From head bartender at Mirror, Stan become Global Ambassador, and is one of the team responsible for Mirror Bar being listed as the 90th best bar in the world by The World’s 50 Best Bars.

We say we need more hours in a day but if we had more time, we’d just fill them up with more things to do. We don’t get more hours, and that’s why we’ve taken on another member of The Cocktail Balance team, Naomi Huzovicova, as Content Director for the blog.

Naomi has experience both in the hospitality industry and writing, especially about food. Those in Slovakia may have seen her words in The Slovak Spectator, Slovakia’s English language newspaper, or even seen her in person cooking at Wild Kitchen restaurant. Though she lives in Slovakia, Naomi originally hails from Canada and once kept a blog about her adopted country of residence. Together with extensive editing experience, Naomi has the background to take The Cocktail Balance blog to the next level.

The next level for this blog means serving the drink-loving community in even more ways. Upcoming changes include revamping the site so that it is easier to navigate, adding new items to the shop, and a newsletter to keep you up to date.

We are going to start interviews with those directly in the bartending industry as well as professionals and artisans that support it. Book reviews will provide guidance for you to continue your learning journey, and books will be available directly from us in the shop as well. We’ll feature interesting ingredient profiles (Naomi is also an experienced forager), special days to the industry, and coverage of events especially in Slovakia and Czechia. There will also be a special section for current news and events.

All of this while working on book 2.0.

We’re looking forward to 2024 here at The Cocktail Balance, and hope you’ll join us!