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 in-between the lines. Hell, some of it is spelled out […]
Month: February 2011
Dueling Bartenders
It seems a post from the past (April 2006) has jumped to the forefront again and has brought with it more interesting comments, courtesy of Fark. The post was about an article published in the San Francisco Chronicle, about drinks bartenders hate to make. I basically responded to the article (Five Drinks Bartenders Hate to Make) in a way that […]
Five Drinks Bartenders Hate To Make
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 will remain on the bottom of the pile and never […]
What It Takes to be a Bartender
In many conversations I’ve had with people, the perception of a bartender is rather simple. The fact is that being a bartender can be fairly hard, if you take the job seriously. It’s not so much the obvious, such as pouring a pint that is hard, it is dealing with people that presents a challenge. Not only dealing with customers, […]
Havana Club 7 Year Old Rum
When you think Cuba, you either think Castro, cigars or rum. Well skip the first two and focus on the rum. Havana Club is the main rum producer on this tropical island, and they have been producing great rum since the late 1800s. The most widely available aged rum is the Havana Club 7 Year version, which is my preferred […]
Pusser’s Navy Rum
Here is a rum with a long history in the Commonwealth navies of the world. Only in the last few decades has Pusser’s Navy Rum been available to us commoners, because it was exclusively made for the navy fleets of the world. After the British navy stopped issuing tots in 1970 and the Canadian Navy in 1973, Pusser’s eventually made […]
Mount Gay Extra Old Rum
Here is a rum that is a popular call brand at the bar. Mount Gay Extra Old is a premium rum from Barbados which is aged for 17 years in charred oak barrels. Like the label says, it is an extra old rum which gives it the character and smoothness many people appreciate. Most of the time people want the […]
English Harbour Rum
On a sweltering day, what spirit is the spirit you enjoy most? If you said rum, then I like you already. If you said Tequila, I still like you, but not as much. The Tiki crazed people know it, and I doubt there are any vodka bars in the Caribbean, so rum must be the spirit of summer. That is […]
Don Eduardo Tequila
Sometimes described as “white lightning”, tequila has developed a reputation of being a spirit that’s harsh and unsophisticated. Maybe many years ago the production standards were not what they are today, or maybe the really good tequila just didn’t get past the local population. If you had a source of great tequila, would you share it? Luckily times have changed […]
Forty Creek Barrel Select Whisky
There are very few independent Canadian whisky distillers left, but Forty Creek is one of them, and a good one at that. The Forty Creek Distillery is located between Toronto and Niagara Falls, Ontario. It is operated by John Hall who has been a wine producer for over 20 years, and to scratch an itch, he began making whisky in […]
Maker’s Mark Bourbon
One of my favourite bourbons is Maker’s Mark, plain and simple. This whisky is big, bold and surprisingly smooth. The main thing I like about it is the moderation of the corn aromas in the nose. Being a bourbon it is obviously going to have some corn characteristics, but unlike some cheaper bourbons, Makers Mark has created a wonderful balance. […]
Woodford Reserve 1838 Sweet Mash
Bourbon is a whiskey with a long history of tradition and craftsmanship. Very few spirits, let alone other whiskies, have bourbons well-defined production specifications. The laws, on bourbon production, create a very flavourful spirit, but with such well-defined specifications, some companies lose interest in creativity. Not Woodford Reserve, and their Master Distiller Chris Morris. For the past few years they […]