Meet The Mixologist: Fionna Gemzon

Fionna Gemzon is the beverage manager at None of the Above in St. Louis, a speakeasy-style cocktail lounge from Niche Food Group.

What was your first job in the beverage or hospitality industry?

My first job in the hospitality industry was at a donut shop called Ray’s in St. Louis when I was in college, before I became a barista at a place called Magnolia Café. I first got into bartending at Nixta, a Mexican concept from Bengelina Hospitality Group, James Beard Award semifinalist Ben Poremba’s restaurant group. Going from barista to bartender made a lot of sense to me, and I loved all the creativity and endless possibilities of cocktail making.

What is your favorite spirit to work with at the moment?

I’ve been loving sotol lately, because it has such a complex flavor and each type is so different. In general, sotol leans savory, so I love experimenting with it.
 

The menu at None of the Above emphasizes luxury spirits and technique-driven cocktails; can you give us some examples?

When it comes to technique, I’m most excited about the rotovap we have at None of the Above. The rotovap, or rotary evaporator, is a vacuum distiller that allows us to capture the essence of more delicate flavors than regular infusions.

I feel like such a scientist when I use it, and the final product is always so clean and delicious. We currently use the rovotap for our House Vesper, which we make by running sandalwood and lapacho bark herbs through it to get an infusion. We’re also working on another new drink that uses the rotovap to infuse matcha and Cognac with creme de cacao.

What are some of the new flavor profiles you’ve been experimenting with on the signature cocktail menu?

I’m into cooking and like approaching cocktails in a similar way to how others approach food recipes. Because of that, our signature drinks are definitely more culinary-driven.

Typically, I care more about how the non-alcoholic ingredients interact with each other than the actual spirits. I also love savory ingredients, like Gemlick olives, kombu (edible kelp) and green Sichuan pepper, which are all used in our Dry Summer cocktail with hibiscus, mezcal, sherry, pimento dram and grapefruit.

What are some of the popular cocktails on the menu currently?

One is the Past Lives, made with raspberries, rose, jasmine, 1220 barrel-aged gin, Bigallet china-china and Lillet, topped off with raspberry rose foam. Another member of our team came up with this one, and it’s been so popular! 

It’s a super time-consuming cocktail, because it requires the raspberry and jasmine to infuse into the gin for five days. It’s somewhat of a riff on a White Negroni but ends up being quite a “floral bomb.” The raspberry rose foam also gives it a delectably silky texture.

Another is the Blood at Dawn, with calamansi, pineapple, Tiki spices, Aqara Reposado, Salers, Bruto Americano and Aperol. This is one of our newest cocktails and it’s been really popular so far. People are loving tropical drinks now that summer is here!

What’s your own current go-to cocktail or beverage?

A tequila or mezcal and soda!

Would you share one of the most popular cocktails at None of the Above, or one of your favorite drink recipes?

Here’s a sotol-based cocktail called The Ofelia, named after the little girl in Pan’s Labyrinth.

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