"bartending" news and stories

If you're a bartender, you should know how to make these drinks

by Bob Sassone, Posted May 21st 2007 @ 2:44PM

Aviation Cocktail I don't know if I could ever be a bartender. I like the idea of being one, but it seems to me it's like the ultimate pop quiz in a very intense situation. People come in off the street and ask you for a Tequila Sunrise or a Negroni or A Slow Comfortable Screw Up Against The Wall, and you immediately have to know how to do them. Sure, you can stop and look in a book (I did that when I was a sorta-bartender at a restaurant), but a real bartender has to know how to make these drinks immediately, especially if it's a Friday or Saturday night. Though I guess it's like any other skill, you learn through practice.

Esquire has the four obscure drinks that every bartender should know how to make. I've heard of (but never had) The Aviation Cocktail, but I've never heard of the other three.

Filed under: Magazines, Drink Recipes

Second Annual Cl�ment Rhum NYC Cocktail Challenge: Part Two- The Semi-Finals

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by Jonathan M. Forester, Posted May 17th 2007 @ 12:35PM

This is part two of my journey in the Second Annual Clément Rhum NYC Cocktail Challenge, the semi-finals. As you may know I was invited to compete in the cocktail event by Clément Rhum which I wrote about in Part One of this series.. My entrant, The St. Clémentine Sour was part of several weeks of development playing around with various ingredients. Since I was coming from out of town to the event I didn't have a NYC bar to sponsor me. After much emailing and phone calls it was arranged that I would be at The Waterfront Ale House to make and show my cocktail for the semi-finals.

I spent several days before hand putting together a mixologist tool kit since it was required that I bring all my own tools and ingredients, except for the Clément Rhum products which would be provided. I bought a beautiful aluminum sided tool box from Home Depot for $20, with black painted sides and brushed aluminum edges. I filled it with cocktail shakers, juice squeezers and reamers, measuring spoons and cups, jigger measures, ice tongs, muddlers, bar knives and spoons, cutting boards, pouring spouts, strainers, and other utensils.

I was a little nervous since it has been quite a few years since I was last on the working side of a bar. By now it was the first week of May and clementines aren't really in season or available. I found a few cases at a local produce place but when I tried them I realized they were useless. They were overripe and getting nasty tasting.

Filed under: Lush Life, Trends, Liquor Cabinet, Drink Recipes, Drinks

No more free drinks: device keeps tabs on bartenders

COMMENTS 1

by Nicole Weston, Posted Jun 29th 2006 @ 5:04PM

Studies have shown that the size of the glass can influence the size of the drink a bartender pours, and many people will swear that certain outfits and/or leaving big tips can get you stronger drinks at a bar, too. The only ones who don't seem to like it when this happens are the bar and nightclub owners, who collectively lose $7 billion each year due to overpouring and undercharging.

A new technology, brought to our attention by the hard-working Engadget crew, called the Beverage Tracker, has been invented by a San Francisco company to alleviate the problem. The device is an RFID-enabled liquor spout that attaches to bottles and keeps track of how much is poured for each drink. The data includes "not only the unique identification number of its microchip, but also the brand and size of liquor bottle to which it is attached, as well as the amount of liquor poured" and it is transmitted directly to the bar/club's computer system. Data collected helps with inventory management, as well as identifying bartenders who chronically overpour/undercharge. The whole system can cost from $10,000-20,000, depending on the size of the bar, but the return on the investment can take as little as 6 weeks.

Currently, the system is being used at the bars at Las Vegas's Treasure Island Hotel and Casino, as well as at about 100 other bars/clubs.

Filed under: On the Blogs, Drink Recipes, Chefs & Restaurants, Books, Restaurants

Don't upset the bartender

COMMENTS 61

by Nick Vagnoni, Posted Apr 17th 2006 @ 5:08PM

The San Francisco Chronicle recently queried several SF bartenders about the drinks they hate to make. As you might imagine, it's the laborious, time consuming cocktails that can really get on your mixologist's nerves when he or she is slammed with thirsty customers. The sugar-rimmed lemon drop made the list, as did the Manhattan, because, according to one bartender, people are very picky about how they want their Manhattans made. The same goes for cosmopolitans, apparently. Muddling and shaking also put the mojito on the list of loathed drinks. Last on the list of pet peeves were concoctions specific to certain bars. I personally know of one bar where all the blenders magically seem to break once the night shift arrives...

[Via DrunkNewsBlog]

Filed under: Newspapers, Drink Recipes

Help Uptown Kevin Find A Job

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by Deidre Woollard, Posted Sep 3rd 2005 @ 12:17PM

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, I've been checking in one some New Orleans food blogs to see how the bloggers are doing. Kevin who blogs at Notes From A New Orleans Foodie has ended up in Chicago. He's safe and sound but since he can't get home anytime soon he's looking for a bartending job in Chicago. He's staying in Berwyn but wants to find a job downtown. If you'd like a bartender with New Orleans flavor he can be contacted on his blog.

Source

Filed under: On the Blogs