The Brand New Life of Veronica Correa
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Veronica attended college (majoring in art) and started to bartend at what she felt was the tender age of 20 as a relatively easy way to make money when you're a late riser. "I really fell in love with it, though. The first year and a half, I read every book about cocktails, every bar manual or training I could find. I would sit at random bars and talk with bartenders while watching them and take mental notes on recipes, the number of dashes, the ingredients… Everything. Absorbing as much as I could. I'm convinced that the inherent and immediate creativity echoed my sensibility to art right away. Alongside this, I fell in love with the industry and how, especially in New York, this community is so tight-knit."
"I have bartended in college bars, dive bars, restaurants, speakeasies, you name it, and there's a good chance I bartended it." Out of all the bars she worked at, the Pouring Ribbons, a speakeasy nestled in the second story of an East Village building, was her favorite. "It's the kind of bar where people go specifically for the cocktails. We used to do themed cocktail menus twice a year. We would redecorate the entire bar, change everything for a completely immersive experience. 'New York City 1983' is one of the last ones I did while there. The cocktails were complex."
She could have easily seen herself staying there for a while if it hadn't been for this visceral desire to visit the West coast. "When you grow up on the East coast, you kinda assume you're going to wind up on the other coast at one point and some capacity. She told the manager she would be gone for 3 months. "I was a little naive... Just a little bit." (laughs)
With the ulterior motive of transitioning into marketing within the spirit industry still in the back of her head –gotta get some return on investment from the Economy minor, right?– she packed her car. She squeezed in her dog and her dad en route to a new adventure. "We hit Nashville, Denver, and Santa Fe… it was a beautiful trip. Now it's just my dog and me. My dad? I just left him between Santa Fe and Denver… No, I'm kidding! I flew him back home, back to Brooklyn."
It took Veronica 3 months to find her place. Throw the nice weather, a pandemic, and rollerskating in the mix, and you get a brand new life. "I just hung around. I started making plans focusing on what I would have had done in New York but while staying in San Diego," she says in a crystal clear chuckle.
"Right now, I do a lot of consulting for different brands, and I get assigned to create cocktails, which I love. I love being given some constraints. I start with the who and the what. Who is it for, and what is it for. A cocktail to replicate at home will be very different from the fancy and beautiful ones a publication or a seminar for bartenders that teaches about cocktails and flowers may ask. You can't make an 18 steps cocktail recipe that requires a sophisticated blender for the public. They don't have the time nor the energy to do that. I think about seasonality. I approached a 4th of July cocktail with roasted peaches in my mind because who isn't excited about roasted peaches, right?! Then I go the opposite direction and ask myself: "how do I tame the sweetness?" I'll pour it on ice and add club soda to make it a tall refreshing cocktail. Then, I'll add rosemary on top to bring some sense of wonder or excitement. It's all about starting with one exciting ingredient, and then it's all about building from there. I guess it comes from the experience (chuckles) as a bartender and serving cocktails to fellow bartenders, and analyzing all these reactions.
What's next under the San Diego sun for Veronica? "I rollerskate pretty religiously 5 days a week. It's vital to me. And I started to ride a long skate too. Well… trying! Hold on… when I said I bartended in every type of bar, I omitted strip clubs. There is one in San Diego that does "industry Monday." Every Monday, a bartender from a different establishment takes over the bar. So, one day, I'll do that just to wrap up the bucket list. (laughs). A dancing sexy roller skater girl from Brooklyn mixing cocktails in a San Diego strip club just for one night? That's Veronica to you!