Being in the industry I get requests for many drinks, but rarely are they unique requests. Most of the time it is for a list of classic drinks that doesn't seem to change. Why is this the case? Well of course I have an opinion and you maybe surprised why a list of old and tired drinks rarely changes. Is it that these drinks are so good that there is no possible way that a new drink could taste better? Is it because people only care about getting alcohol and creativity doesn't matter anymore? Or is it that the average brain size of a bartender only allows us to memorize a dozen or so drinks?

In the first article on energy drinks I looked at the effects of sugar and caffeine when combined with alcohol. This time I’m going to take a look at the role of an amino acid called L-Carnitine, which is in many of the energy drinks. It is usually in the amount of 250 mg per serving. The reason this ingredient peeked my interest is that in the United States, L-Carnitine is a supplement, which is available to anyone and in Canada it is a drug which requires a doctors prescription to obtain. So the question is; what effect does L-Carnitine have when consumed with alcohol?

Where I work, Moxie's, they have two house beers, that are only available at Moxie's restaurants, on draught. They are Big Life Euro and Big Life Amber. These two beers are brewed by Big Rock Brewery in western Canada, who also make Grasshopper Wheat Ale and a number of other standard beers like pale ale and lager and a traditional ale. Since Moxie's restaurants are poping up all over the place, I figured it was time to take a look at their house beers and see if they lived up to the claims they make about them.

Tequila is a schizophrenic spirit. On one hand, it is some people’s worst nightmare, on the other hand it can be regarded as a super premium spirit, to be savoured and enjoyed like the finest of scotches. Patron 100% agave tequila falls into the later category. This tequila is not the one from your college nightmares and doesn’t have any relationship to paint remover what so ever. If you are looking for a smooth tequila, to broaden your horizons, or you want to make amends for your college days, Patron Anejo might be for you.

As part of my attitude that you should use your liquors in any way you see fit, I have been know to add expensive spirits (scotch and single malt Irish Whiskey). Depending on the recipe, whisky can add an additional level of flavour or it can compliment the existing ingredients. Usually I’ll buy stuff pre-flavour, such as Canadian Club barbeque sauce or Buffalo Trace BBQ sauce. Sometimes these things just don’t exist, so using whisky in the recipe is the only way to go. Now I prefer to cook with quality ingredients, so using a quality whisky is the way to go. I find malt whisky or full flavoured blends are an excellent choice, depending on my needs. Here is a recipe that might peek your interest, or cause you to gasp in horror.

Another St. Patrick’s day has come and gone. As a bartender it is always interesting to watch how people enjoy this event. The majority of people just want a lot of cold green beer. Others take in an Irish coffee, even though some do confuse a Bailey’s and coffee as an Irish coffee. But then you get people asking for an St. Patrick’s day cocktail, and not surprisingly they want it to be green. So what is a true Irish cocktail? Probably a pint of Guinness and a shot of Powers Irish whiskey in Ireland, but how about the rest of the world?

Well it was one of those days. I started at 10:30AM and finished at 9:30PM with a 30 minute break at 4PM. For those of you who don't work behind a bar, that is a long day (11 hours) . Basically, it was too busy to stop moving and now I'm dizzie. Actually it may be the bottle of Steam Whistle pilsner that I just finished off. Anyway, it seems I have a love hate relationship with my job. I love helping the customers, introducing them to new drinks and recommending food to go along with them, or just in general. On the other hand, we are still sorting out how to work behind this new bar. I have my ways, and they work great for me, others have their way and of course I don't necessarily like those ways. And then there are people who are brand new and have no particular knowledge about some things. Generally, because they are inefficient and lead to confusion. As a bartender, unless you are absolutely in the weeds, if you need something you, should get it yourself. Do not ask another bartender, especially me, to do it for you. If someone places an order, fill it, don't pass it off, I'm already busy enough. If the fridge needs stocking, don't look at me and ask if I will do it, because I won't, I'm busy enough already. On the other hand, if the fridge is low on a particular beer, and I need it, I will get a case from the back. If the keg blows, I will change it. Also, don't switch people from the service bar to the "wood" in the middle of a rush because you think one bartender can make drinks fasters. When twenty chits pop up in a 20 seconds, no bartender is going to succeed, especially when it takes exactly 12 seconds to pour a proper pint. It's called a limiting factor. And the managers shouldn't call me "sport", I look young but I'm 34 and I'll put you over my knee!

OK, now I feel better. This seems to be my first rant. If there are other bartenders who want to chime in, I would love to hear your opinion about any of my little pet peeves.

Bitters have been popular in Europe for hundreds of years, but in North America, they haven’t quite stayed as popular since the introduction of refined sugar. However, there seems to be a rekindled interest in bitter liqueurs and cocktail bitters. This could partially be caused by the Jagermeister shot phenomenon. Or, it could be that people just get bored and need to try new things. Either way, bitters are on a small, but growing, come back. Currently there are a number of cocktail bitters on the market including Peychaud, Angostura and Fee’s bitters. Gary Regan has also recently formulated and release, for sale, his orange bitters. Jerry Thomas had his own house bitters too, and I’ll explore a little about bitters in this article.

Every year, in the months of March and April, a stock market like event occurs in the Bordeaux region of France. This is of course the time to buy your Bordeaux wine futures. So what exactly is a wine future? Well, in simple terms it is an investment. You are buying wine in the very early stages of development in the hopes that it will gain in value over time. That value can be cold hard cash, if you decide to resell the wine. Or it can be for personal enjoyment, and as the wine ages it will turn out to be a magnificent vintage. How do you get involved, and what are the things you should know? I’ll give a brief rundown, but remember, if you truly enjoy wine, there isn’t much of a downside.

This is one of those spirits that either gets rave reviews or boo's and hisses. Some people think that the price point of Blue Label is a rip off, while others see that it represents something more than just the liquid in the bottle. It is true that Johnnie Walker Blue Label is a blended scotch, which automatically nix's this spirit from single malt snobs list of drinkable scotch. That's fine, too each their own, I say. But, if you keep an open mind, you might see more to this scotch than the price and grain spirit. Let's take a look at this from a neutral aspect and see if there really is value to this scotch.

The subject of whisky is one of those topics that can go on forever. There are magazines and websites dedicated to just one particular whisky region, there are zealots who defend their brand with the same heart one would defend a country. Then there are those who scream blasphemy at the thought of adding anything to a single malt scotch, since it would “ruin” it. Then there are people like me, who appreciate everything for what it is and wouldn’t hesitate to make a Rusty Nail using single malt scotch. Why not, there will always be more whisky and who knows, it may just be the best thing I ever tasted. If I don’t try, I will never know, so expanding one’s mind, by trying new and different things, is good. So what’s my point? Well, this is some history on how I developed a taste for whisky.

The grapefruit is one of those fruits that you either love or couldn’t be bothered with. The grapefruit is a tart and tangy tasting citrus fruits, with a slight sweetness. It isn’t as popular as its cousin, the orange, but it is still quite popular, probably due to a 1930's dieting fad, called the Hollywood Diet, but eventually became the grapefruit diet plan. There are a number of cocktails that use this fruit including the ubiquitous Grey Hound and Salty Dog, but there are better drinks that express and compliment the character of this fruit. If you are not a fan of the grapefruit maybe a good cocktail will change your mind, and if you are a fan, then hopefully this will give you some more options! As a side note, there are a great number of health benefits associated with the grapefruit which I’ll touch on briefly.

After doing a review of Lochan Ora, I decided I should compare it to the mainstay Scotch liqueur, Drambuie. With a quick trip to the liquor store to pick up a bottle of Drambuie, I sat down and did a head to head comparison. In my previous Lochan Ora post, it was brought up that Lochan Ora may be out of production. If anyone can verify this, please post a comment or email me and let me know. If no-one knows I’ll make a couple of phone calls to see if this is true. In Ontario, there is still a good number of bottles at local LCBO stores.

I'm often torn between a crafty cocktail or a good cold beer. Both are great, and both have a time and place. If I'm hitting a bar, at the beach with friends, it's beer. If I'm going out for a fine dinner, it's usually a cocktail and wine. Manhattans, or a properly made Mai Tai, seem to hit the spot. After dinner, a good cup of coffee is always welcome. But even more appealing is a coffee flavour beer, which gives you the best of both worlds. Luckily, there is a company called Mill Street Brewery, out of Toronto, brewing this beer. Is it possible to bring two distinct flavours, like coffee and beer, together and make it taste good?

A couple of days ago I received a package at my front door, and in it was a sample of Kleiner Feigling fig flavoured vodka. I had previously not heard of this vodka, but the idea of fig vodka peaked my interest. Flavoured spirits are a staple in the cocktail world, but you can only be as creative as the flavours / ingredients you have. New flavours are a great way to make new creations and new creations are what fuel the cocktail renaissance.