Filip Pletes Shares His Thoughts on Whiskey and The Industry Trends
This week we spoke to Filip Pletes, a 29-year-old Croatian Brand Advocacy Manager at Brown Forman. Previously he held a position as Regional Brand Ambassador under the Coca-Cola Company.
Despite those two roles, his experience in the hospitality industry is quite impressive. He worked as a bartender for New York’s Employees Only, as a senior bartender for Royal Caribbean Cruise, and as a mixologist for Dean Hotel Dublin. Also, Filip Pletes worked as an operations manager for Nikki Beach, Marbella Spain.
Hi Filip, whiskey is a big part of your life at the moment, share with us the meaning, types of whiskey, and why you love this spirit.
Hello to all readers of Drink Pattern, and first of all thank you for the opportunity to speak about something I have dedicated my whole life to – Spirits.
I am a fan of all types of whisk(e)y, but I somehow fell in love with US Whiskey first.
Nowadays, I also like to explore new categories of spirits, especially whiskey that comes from the Asian continent since the flavor is a lot different from the European ones.
Why is Jack Daniel’s a Tennessee and not bourbon?
Tennessee whiskey is a special type of whiskey that goes through a special process which is called – the Lincoln County process. This is a process that is unique to our brands since we were the first ones who implemented this process in whiskey making.
The whiskey goes through charcoal filtration of the distillation, to make it extra smooth and extra drinkable.
Our other brand Gentleman Jack goes through the filtration twice. Once after distillation and the other time after the aging process in our new oak barrels made in our cooperage.
What food goes well with whiskey?
In my opinion, any type of food goes great with different types of whiskey. When I do pairings I always tend to pair whiskey with some ingredients that we can find in the flavor of the whiskey.
Sometimes even unusual ingredients like blue cheese and sushi can make wonders to your whiskey-tasting experience.
…” nature made a perfect base, and then we just had to dry the tobacco, distill our whiskey and make a match made in heaven”…
Your other huge passion is cigars. Do they also go well with whiskey?
It’s hard to separate cigars from whiskey since they come as a natural pairing to each other.
In my humble opinion, nature made a perfect base. So, we just had to dry the tobacco, distill our whiskey and make a match made in heaven.
I am a huge fan of Cuban cigars, and if I had to pick a cigar I had to smoke until the rest of my life that would be Hoyo De Monterrey Epicure 2.
Brown-Forman marked its a 150th-anniversary last year. Tell us more about the company you are representing.
At this point, we are one of the biggest producers of Whiskey in the world, constantly trying to innovate our product but staying true to our heritage.
After 150 years I must admit it’s hard to always stay on top, but I am quite happy that we can reach the top year after year.
What would you identify as your biggest achievement in your time at Brown-Forman?
Oh…There were quite a lot of those, but I would say the organization of the “Make it Count” in Rovinj and Poreč, where we were able to gather 94 bartenders from the whole region.
It was amazing to connect all these people the main reason being our whiskey, which was presented by our special guest from London.
After this event, there were a lot of collaborations, guest shifts, and get-togethers. That was the main idea behind the event which was an amazing success.
What skills do you perceive to be in high demand in the hospitality industry currently?
I believe nowadays people like to see an effort. Back in the day, it was quite hard to reach the knowledge and information about the brands.
But thankfully now with the brand ambassadors and brand advocacy managers I believe information is available, the only thing you need to do is to put in the effort and the knowledge will come.
…” I believe nowadays people like to see an effort”…
In general, what’s your opinion on how the drink industry is evolving (new trends, demands)?
Well, I believe the industry is catching up with all the other segments of the hospitality world (Coffee, Desserts, Cooking, Molecular Mixology, etc.).
We are top-notch at performing miracles for our guests at any bar counter you can find.
Is there any particular drink you are proud of creating? Your favorite cocktail?
Not really. All the drinks I have created are just like my kids, so I love them all equally. My favorite cocktail is a hard one because they usually tend to change depending on the occasion or the venue.
But if I had to choose then I would say a good Hemingway Daiquiri or a well-made Old Pal would take me a long way.
Would you like to share with us some of your favorite secret ingredients?
If I share them they won’t be so secret now, will they?
Just kidding, I love to use local ingredients that will represent me, and my region in Croatia. My favorite ones are the following; cuttlefish ink, sea salt, rosemary, and figs!
…”My favorite ones are the following; cuttlefish ink, sea salt, rosemary, and figs!”…
What is your life motto, which words give you direction?
I don’t have one, to be honest. I always try to do my best and push forward since that is the only direction I like to go.
Thank you Filip Pletes for your time! It was a pleasure to talk to you as always!
