Opinion

There is an interesting post over at the Bartending Magazine blog about the new complex nature of cocktails. To summarize the post, the author laments the fact that progress is interfering with “classic cocktails”, like the Rum & Coke and Screwdrivers, because these newfangled cocktails… [Continue]

The Margarita is most likely the number one requested summer cocktail. The problem is that very few people actually enjoy a genuine Margarita. Early in its history it was a simple drink--related to the Daisy class of alcoholic drinks--which consisted of tequila, triple sec, lime and salt. Sadly, over the last… [Continue]

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… [Continue]

Why do people order dry vodka martini's? Is it because they don't know what else to order? Is it the herding effect? Or do people actually think they taste good? This is as much a study in psychology as it is in drinking trends. Remember the term "monkey see, monkey do", that's… [Continue]

This is an article from the San Francisco Chronicle that's been making the rounds in the blogosphere. As a bartender, and a customer of bars, I have an opinion on this list of drinks and more specifically the responses of these so called 'bartenders'. This article is the specific reason bartenders… [Continue]

Every once in a while I get a comment that rubs me the wrong way. I usually ignore them and press the "junk comment" button, sending the offending comment down the proverbial data toilet. But this comment is epic. When dumb people speak, or type, the truth can be found… [Continue]

As I was perusing the Liquid Muse’s blog, Natalie had a great topic in one of her posts. During an interview she called Rick, from Martini Groove, a “mixologist”… [Continue]

When you think Tiki, you think tropical drinks from exotic locations like Polynesia, and people such as Donn the Beachcomber. You may also know that the tiki fad didn't begin until 1934. So, if Don the Beachcomber started the tiki fad, what were his influences? Obviously, the Caribbean and south pacific were big influences, but what exactly were these people drinking in those countries,… [Continue]

The idiom “jumping the shark” is defined as the moment in time when a creative effort moves beyond the essential qualities that initially defined its success and progresses into absurdity. The publication of “The Sorcerer of Shaken & Stirred” by the New York Times is a perfect example… [Continue]

For some reason bartenders are drawn to the idea of infusing spirits with tobacco. After my post on the Bar Sorcerer, where I made a statement that “tobacco infusions are a bad idea” I’ve had a number of people ask why? The simple answer is toxicity, but that answer doesn’t provide the details intelligent bartenders are looking for, so in this post I’ve expanded on… [Continue]

Recently there has been a lot of blog posts (Waiter Rant, Boozenews.ca, etc.) about tipping, and I figure I should throw my two cents into the ring. In general, tipping or providing gratuities, for a job well done by a server or bartender is a given in the food and beverage business. But it is always a crap shoot from the servers point of view. Sometimes we get stiffed even though we provided exceptional… [Continue]

When you write a blog, you try to keep things interesting by writing about a bunch of different subjects. Most of the time I write about cocktails and drinks I like, or what’s popular. That can get old. So I decided that I should occasionally write about things… [Continue]

When you work behind a bar, there are many things that the customers / guest don't get to see or don't understand. Sometimes we don't want you to see things, it is part of the magic, other times we would like to let you know about something. Here's one… [Continue]

What is it about High Fructose Corn Syrup that makes it different from other sugars, like common table sugar? Obviously, the sugars come from two different plants corn and sugar cane / sugar beets. But the key factor, and the one that causes the most discussion, is that the sugars produced from corn are a products of a multi-stage enzymatic process that breaks down corn starch into simple sugars.… [Continue]