Bartending - Tumblr Posts
BenDeLaCreme in 'CAMPTINI...WITH A TWIST!' (2021)
Bartending version 🍸✨
Bartending.
(always remember to dress appropriately when bartending)
So I'm not a bartender,but I play one when I go to parties. And this past weekend I was at a friend's house for burgers,music,and of course cocktails. He enlisted me to be his bartender,and I did two drinks batched style in pitchers for the guests.
As per usual,my drinks got rave reviews. Here's what we served:
Mix #166 Don's Special Daiquiri
1oz gold rum 1/2oz light rum 1/2oz passion fruit syrup 1/2oz honey syrup 1/2oz lime juice
Shake with ice and strain into chilled glass.
Sweet,but no too sweet,with a honey finish. This is the '70's version of Don's 1934 Mona Daiquiri. His used a special thirty year old rum,but it works just fine with regular rum.
Mix #22 Remixed Zombie
1.5oz gold rum 1.5oz dark rum 1oz 151 Demerara rum 3/4oz lime juice 1/2oz Don's mix * 1/2oz falernum 1tsp grenadine 6 drops absinthe dash Angostura bitters 6oz crushed ice
Blend at high speed for 5 seconds. Pour into tall glass and add ice to fill.
*Don's Mix is 2 parts white grapefruit juice to 1 part cinnamon syrup,I've used regular grapefruit juice with good results.
Spicy,cinnamon-y,citrus-y,this drink is legendary for its kick. With four ounces of rum,one of which is 151,there's a reason Don would only serve you two of these. More than two and you'll feel like the walking dead the next morning. We did small cups that were about equal to a triple shot,and limited the guests to two since our host didn't want to hurt them.
On the subject of bartending,here are some of the tools I use for my mixings.
The Difford's Easy Jigger is great for mixing cocktails due to the markings in many sizes and measurements. It does ounces,milliliters,and even tea and table spoons. It goes up to two ounces and all the way down to 1/24. It allows you to get precise measurements to ensure your cocktails turn out right.
Bee Chill ice cube trays. Tiki drinks are best made with pebble or cracked ice,but ice makers are expensive and a pain to clean. These silicon trays make hex cubes about as big around as a nickle. You can find them for cheap at TJMaxx or Marshalls. They also have these mini trays:
These make proper pebble ice,but are a pain to use. I bust these out when I'm feeling fancy.
A jelly jar. What's Tiki about a jelly jar? Well back in 2020 Trader Vic's did a jar for Mai Tai day. The idea was to pour the ingredients into the jar with ice,screw on the top and shake,then remove the top and drink from the jar. Brilliant! A shaker and glass in one,so you only have to clean two things(jigger,jar) instead of three(jigger,shaker,glass/mug). This appeals to the bachelor in me. And it's classy as long as you hold up your pinkie while drinking. That jar is in my collection,but for a user I picked up a fancy Italian one at the Container Store.
So if you need a bartender for your party,I only charge in food and rum.
Bartending as Daoism
So one of my day jobs is that I work as a bartender for a nice local wine and beer lounge in the city. I had to miss last week's shift because of a meeting I had to attend, and coming back today I felt incredibly clumsy and awkward from just that little break.
But as I got back into the swing of things, I found myself floating through the bar almost instinctively. My hands knew where all the bottles were, how we were doing on snacks, how often to check on patrons, and so on. It was pretty busy for a Sunday night, but somewhere during the shift I came to the realization that bartending is a rather perfect example of Daoism in action. It requires a pretty focused mindfulness of the present moment as the bar fills up. You can't plan too far ahead and you can't focus much on past mistakes. You've got to keep your attention on the patrons you have in front of you, and making sure they're happy at that exact moment. The "now" moment is constantly there, and without proper training or perspective, it can be pretty overwhelming to deal with everything. But with the right mindset and practice, I felt like I was just able to move and flow with everyone in the bar at the same time. Making sure drinks are going there, bills are going here, glasses ready to be dried, tables to be cleaned, on and on there's always something to do. And with a sort of effortless effort (I can speak in paradoxes too!), you're able to just surrender yourself to the moment and keep the pace.
I have a feeling at least a few of you also have had this sort of experience with your own work. I think it's a mistake when people call this sort of thing "mindless," as anything that requires your hands to move or your brain to function must involve your mind being active on some level. Feel free to submit your own stories about being within the present moment at work, I'm sure we could all learn from each other's experiences.
My friend and I went to a bar last night, and it is a new bar in the city and it was pretty awesome.
The bar had some loud music with the base turned all the way up and there were fancy lights and lazers and glow in the dark cups.
The bartender there had little to no idea how to do bartending and was looking up drinks, we had a shot together, she was all over the place and increasing the vibe all together.
I want more bartenders who have no idea what they are doing it's so fun to watch and help. I want to ask for a drink and watch the bartender be so confused while also not giving any shits.