‘I want to try and push myself,’ says Trap’s Jack Somers

Trap. is a small Adelaide bar that might come across as a little scrappy — they’re using household refrigerators instead of commercial gear, for instance — but they’re making some very smart drinks and showing people a great time.

“We pride ourselves in our cocktails,” says bartender Jack Somers. “We only have five cocktails on the menu, so we want to just put lots of effort into a small amount and make some tasty drinks.

“We don’t take ourselves too seriously, so you don’t need to come down wearing a three-piece suit or anything.”

Jack is an integral part of the team at Trap., and it just so happens that he’s also one of the top 25 bartenders in the Espolòn Afterlife To The Bone cocktail competition.

Below, Jack talks about his drink, what you can expect at Trap., and why he decided to give the Knickerbocker a new lease on life.

What kind music do you guys play?

So lots of of like R&B, hip hop, just easy listening. It starts off pretty chill, and then as the night goes on, it gets a little bit louder, gets a little bit more upbeat.

It’s small right, how many seats have you got at the bar?

So we’ve got about 15 seats around the bar, a bit of standing space. On our hip -hop nights we have a bit of space out the back to fit a more people in as well.

How long you been bartending for and how long have you been here for?

So this bar’s been open just over a year. I’ve been here since it opened up. I’ve been bartending for about four or five years now. Been in the hospitality industry a bit longer because I glassied for a few years back in the day — you gotta start from somewhere.

Tell us about your drink. What’s the name of your drink and what’s the big idea behind it?

So my drink is the New Jalisco Knickerbocker. The Knickerbocker was a popular drink back in the 1800s. It was made in New York and it was named after the Dutch settlers who who rocked up in the early 1600s. The original has rum, orange liqueur, pineapple juice, raspberry syrup and a bit of lime. So my drink is a bit of a Mexican rendition on the classic.

It uses Espolòn Reposado, a bit of Grand Marnier, tepache to replace the pineapple and raspberry agua fresca to replace the raspberry and lime and then a little bit of salted pineapple syrup just to add more sweetness and round it out.

Why did you choose the Knickerbocker to give a new life?

So I’ve got a couple of reasons. First of all, with all of my competition entries, I always look for something kind of relatable so I can connect to it a bit more. So looking into my heritage, my background’s Dutch. So I had that kind of connection to it. And then also many moons ago, back in the day, a bar that I worked at had a Knickerbocker riff on the menu. And it was when I just started bartending. I thought this was the greatest drink ever.

And then ever since then, no one’s really ordered it in a bar. I haven’t seen anyone really put any riffs or anything out there. So I thought this is a good one to kind of bring back.

So I’m still trying to learn as much as I can. I want to try and push myself.

Why do you like hospitality? Why are you in the bar industry?

So I never kind of planned to be in the hospitality industry. was fresh 18 studying finance and marketing and then I was playing basketball and one of my good mates said, we’ve got a glassy position opened up. So I started doing that for a bit of money on the side. Then the hospitality bug kind of bit me and and I just love it — I love the interaction, I love the community, if you’re not careful I can talk your ear off. And I’ve never been much of a morning person.

New Jalisco Knickerbocker recipe

60ml Espolòn Reposado Tequila
10ml Grand Marnier
30ml Tepache
20ml Raspberry Agua Fresca
10 Salted Pineapple Syrup
Milk Clarified

For the Sal De Gusano Hard Candy :
50ml Filtered Water
100g Caster Sugar
50g Glucose Syrup

Add all ingredients into a small pot and combine over medium heat.
Prepare a sheet of baking paper, sprinkle Sal De Gusano salt covering a lare section in the middle. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches 150 degrees celsius, take off the heat. Once the mixture cools to 130 degrees, pour directly into the middle of the prepared sheet of baking paper, where the salt is. Using another sheet of baking paper, cover the hot mixture and use something flat and firm to press down, flattening the mixture to the desired thickness. After the candy has set, strike the middle with a knife to crack the candy into shards.

For the tepache:
8 Cups Filtered Water
1 Ripe pineapple
250g Piloncilo
20g Ginger
2 x Birds Eye Chilli Pepper
1 x Jalapeno
2 x Cinnamon Sticks
4 x Cloves

Cut the top and bottom off the pineapple. Remove the peel, leaving some extra fruit on the peel. Set the Flesh aside for our pineapple syrup later. Dissolve the piloncilo in water and add all of the loose ingredients. Making sure that all of the ingredients are submerged in water, cover the top of the jar with a cheese cloth or chux. Leave in a dry cool place for 5 days. Strain the tapche into bottles and refrigerate.

For the Raspberry Agua Fresca :
120g Fresh Raspberries 
75ml Fresh Lime Juice
50g Lime Zest
50g Agave Syrup
250ml Filtered Water

Zest and juice the limes. Place all the ingredients into a blender and put on high until well combines. Pour through a fine mesh strainer.

For the Salted Pineapple Syrup:
150ml Fresh Pineapple Juice
150 Sugar
50g Sea Salt

Add all of the ingredients into a medium sized mixing bowl and stir until combined.

For the Milk Clarification:
(To make 8 serves)

Prepare a large jug or mixing bowl. Add 480ml Espolon Reposado Tequila Into the jug. Add 80ml Grand Marnier into the jug. Add 240ml Tepache into the jug.
Add 160ml Raspberry Agua Fresca into the jug. Add 80 Ml Salted Pineapple syrup into the jug. In a seperate container or mixing bowl, add 260g whole milk. Slowly pour the contents of the jug to the milk, stirring slowly. Leave for 30minutes - 1 hour. After that time has passed, begin pouring the cocktail/milk curd mixture through a cheese cloth. Leave to strain overnight.