The Black Parade: Meet Joe Bradley of Upper Echelon Bartending
An Interview with Jessica Wise
Tell us about your business and how you got started.
After graduating from my second bartending school, I began working in all different aspects of bartending. From corporate events to night clubs, birthday parties and weddings. This caught the attention of the Professional Bartending School of America and they asked me to join their team as an instructor. I was honored!
While training the students, I also would still do gigs from time to time. Throughout the first couple of years, my services became very popular and I began getting double booked and sometimes even triple booked for certain days. It also hit me, I had an influx of professionals that I had personally trained! From there, I partnered with a great marketing company that boosted our clientele and the popularity of our company, so much so that in September 2019 we were ranked as the Number 1 Private Bartending Company in Atlanta! I have my team to thank for that.
We have since branched out to nearby cities, going as far as Miami. We now also offer many services within our company. We now have event staffing, DJ’s and even a magician! We also launched our Online Bartending School, which has been backed by professionals as the best online school for the fundamentals of bartending. I’m not certain about what the future holds, but I sure am excited.
What are the key components to a perfect cocktail?
Balance. Simply put. Many people miss out on the opportunity of a great cocktail because they have shifted the balance somewhere. For starters, the glass should be full of ice, that’s right I said FULL. It keeps the ice from melting as fast and also helps show you where to stop when you’re pouring.
A little goes a long way, so you don’t need to have 5 ounces of alcohol in every drink you make. To be honest, you shouldn’t have 5 ounces of alcohol in ANY drink you make. Pace yourself, 1-2 ounces is all you need for a good balanced drink. Also know which drinks should be shaken and which ones not to. It will make a difference in your life.
Do you think social media has changed mixology?
I believe it has brought an awareness to the creativity of bartenders and the kind of drinks that are out there. It also pulls back the curtain to let people see the setup and preparation for making some of the craftier cocktails.
Tell us about your online mixology classes.
For sure! We wanted to create the best online bartending school, so we did research and surveyed what was missing from other online schools and also what were their strong points. In the end, I am very happy with the results.
We’ve put a collection of about 17 videos with hours of video training along with pictures, texts and quizzes, to make sure our students have the best chance of understanding bartending and mixology to create the perfect cocktail.
We all know about the infamous mid-20s tolerance dip. How old is too old to be drinking cheap liquor?
You know what? ASAP. I strongly recommend buying a good bottle of alcohol as soon as you can scrape up enough money to do so. Visiting a distillery is a good way to learn more about the different brands that are out there. You’ll have way less headaches too, LOL.
The pandemic has either made people super sober-curious or more prone to day-drinking. Was Dry January different this year?
The pandemic has definitely shifted the bartending industry. I’ve been doing a lot more virtual happy hours for my clients, as people are being cautious and want to socially distance themselves. The happy hours have been fun! We send out the ingredients ahead of time and people can follow along while I personally teach them on how to make their favorite cocktails.
How has mixology changed with everything going virtual?
It was very challenging at first. Sure I can still interact with my guests but, it’s not the same as direct one-on-one service. That intimacy that a bartender shares with all of their customers has been such a great component in our career. It’s great to see how innovative we can be since being pushed to operate virtually. I can’t wait until we can experience a night where we are all in the same setting once again.
What are you looking most forward to for your business in 2021?
Well, we have taught literally a couple of thousand people. The online school is a great tool for people who are looking to bartend full or part-time, or just for that person who wants to make cool cocktails for their friends and family at home. We’re looking forward to reaching more people and definitely doing more virtual events. We’re lucky and blessed enough to have worked with some of the biggest names. From corporate companies and celebrities like CNN, Coca-Cola, Teyana Taylor, iFly, Slutty Vegan, Porshe Hennessy, Georgia Tech, Emory University, and more. Our favorites are still birthday parties and weddings.
How can we support you?
Great question! Right now we’re offering a huge stimulus package discount. The online course usually goes for $45 a month or $470 for the entire year. However with the discount, people can join the online school for less than $50 for the entire year! We are also doing virtual events and would love to do one for any guests and subscribers. Our price is just $250 and we’ll do up to 5 cocktails that we’ll personally teach you!
You can call us at 443-356-2708 or email at JoebradleyBartending@gmail.com.
Take a virtual mixology class with Joe at Audacity’s Round Table Talk: Love, Work, & Rona. Click here for tickets.
