House Plans: Bartending School Sacramento

Bartending School Sacramento

Jackson Cannon has always lived to exacting standards. Son and brother of renowned award- winning journalists Lou and Carl Cannon, Jackson grew up immersed in a world of travel, politics and literature. As the longest tenured reporter assigned to cover Ronald Regan, the senior Cannon kept his family on the move, from Southern California to Sacramento to the nation’s capital.

In his twenties Jackson dedicated himself to a career in music, traveling the world in support of such dynamic acts as Eddie Kirkland, Gatemouth Brown, Dennis Brennan and The Tarbox Ramblers. A stint booking music acts at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, Massachusetts provided the fortuitous introduction to the craft of bartending and Cannon seized the stage. Settling in Boston, Jackson transitioned out of music and found mixology to be the perfect profession for his diverse interests. One part performer, one part philosopher, and a healthy splash of cocktail historian, Cannon has since single-handedly elevated the craft of bartending in Boston.

Together with three esteemed colleagues, Cannon formed the Jack Rose Society. Dedicated to preserving the legacy of the art of the American cocktail, the Society’s mission is to right the wrongs of misunderstood classic cocktails. As opening Bar Manager at Eastern Standard his cocktail program, offering more than 60 classic and new creations, has received national attention. USA Today named Eastern Standard one of the country’s Top 10 Hotel Bars and Boston magazine awarded it “Best Restaurant Bar” in 2006 and Esquire magazine included it in it’s 2008 list of “Best Bars in America.”

The wanderlust of youth has been channeled into the passion of a true craftsman, leading Jackson to travel in furthering his first-hand knowledge to Turin, Italy in the study of vermouth, London, to explore the world of Plymouth Gin and Fe Camp, France in search of the monks of Benedictine. When he’s not traveling, Jackson can be found behind the bar at Eastern Standard, molding the next generation of bartenders and inspiring the next devotee to the rich tradition of hand-crafted cocktails.