Apple Crisp

Apple Crisp

4 oz applejack

4 oz lemon juice

1 oz Cointreau

crab apple for garnish

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the ingredients and shake vigorously. Pour into a tall glass with ice and garnish with a speared half crab apple.

Snow Cosmo

Snow Cosmo

3 oz Smirnoff Citrus Twist vodka

2 oz Cointreau or Patron Citronge   

1 oz  white cranberry juice

squeeze of lime

cranberries for garnish

Add all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake. Then strain into a stemmed glass and garnish with skewered cranberries.

The Fresh Sunrise

The Fresh Sunrise

3 lemon wedges

1 tsp sugar

4 oz Alize Bleu

sparkling wine 

Put lemon wedges in a shaker with sugar and muddle. Pour in Alize Bleu, top with ice, and shake vigorously. Then strain into a champagne flute and top with sparkling wine.

         Stolen From:

http://drinksfordrinkers.tumblr.com/post/9908716024/the-fresh-sunrise-3-lemon-wedges-1-tsp-sugar-4

Strawberry Vice

    Strawberry Vice

1 1/2 oz Remy Martin VSOP

1/2 oz vanilla syrup

2 strawberries, halved

Piper Heidsieck champagne

strawberry to garnish

Muddle ingredients and shake over ice.

Strain into champagne flute and top with champagne. Garnish with a strawberry.

*Stolen from
http://drinksfordrinkers.tumblr.com/post/9946334181/strawberry-vice-1-1-2-oz-remy-martin-vsop-1-2-oz 

Shit People Say To Bartenders

Seriously funny video about all the SHIT people say to bartenders. 

Blood Orange Margaritas

Blood Orange Margarita

• 3 oz fresh Blood Orange Juice
• 2 oz Tequila
• 1 oz  Triple Sec
• splash of agave nectar 

1. Rub the rim of an old fashioned glass (or other preferred glass) with an edge of a blood orange slice.  Swirl the rim through a small pile of kosher or sea salt to salt the rim.

2. Combine all ingredients into a cocktail shaker, add ice and shake for 15 seconds.

3. Put a few cubes of ice in your glass.  Strain the cocktail into the glass and enjoy.

French 75

French 75 

1 1/2 oz gin

2 oz lemon juice

champagne

2 tsp sugar

garnish of cherry

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, except the champagne. Strain into a champagne flute. Top with champagne and a cherry.

Stolen From 
http://drinksfordrinkers.tumblr.com/post/9946260388/french-75-1-1-2-oz-gin-2-oz-lemon-juice 

Ginger Shandies

Ginger Shandies

3 bottles chilled Hoegaarden beer

1 bottle chilled ginger beer 

 1 thinly sliced lemon

mint sprigs for garnish

In a large pitcher, combine Hoegaarden with ginger beer. Stir in most lemon slices and mint sprigs. Fill 6 rocks glasses with ice. Add remaining lemon slices to glasses and pour in shandy. Garnish each drink with a mint sprig and serve.

     Stolen From: 

http://drinksfordrinkers.tumblr.com/post/9909188552

Cuervo Tradicional El Diablo

Cuervo Tradicional El Diablo

1 1/2 oz Jose Cuervo Tradicional

1 oz cranberry juice

1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice

1/2 oz simple syrup

1 splash ginger ale

lime wedge

Mix all ingredients in a highball or rocks glass. Top off with ginger ale. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Stolen From:

http://drinksfordrinkers.tumblr.com/post/9908964232/cuervo-tradicional-el-diablo-1-1-2-oz-jose-cuervo 

Rangpur Strawberry Crush

Rangpur Strawberry Crush

4 strawberries, sliced

1 1/2 oz Tanqueray Rangpur

1 1/2 oz Sprite

Prepare strawberries in a highball glass. Add crushed ice and Tanqueray Rangpur. Top with Sprite.

Stolen from:

http://drinksfordrinkers.tumblr.com/post/9909232215/rangpur-strawberry-crush-4-strawberries-sliced 

Cayuse Cherry Bomb

Cayuse Cherry Bomb

1 peeled orange section

ice

1 1/2 oz gin

1 oz sweetened cherry juice

1 1/2 tsp simple syrup

2 dashes bitters

sparkling wine

orange twist for garnish

Mash the orange section in a cocktail shaker. Fill the shaker with ice. Add the gin, cherry juice, simple syrup, and bitters and shake well. Strain into a martini glass and top with sparkling wine. Garnish with the orange twist.

Recipe and picture stolen from:

Drinks for Drinkers @ Tumblr
http://drinksfordrinkers.tumblr.com/post/9909098480/cayuse-cherry-bomb-1-peeled-orange-section-ice 

Behind the stick

Bartending Lingo

• Back - a 'back' is a small glass of something (like water or cola) which accompanies a drink.
  Eg. "Scotch on the rocks with a water back."

• Bar Spoon - a long mixing spoon which often has a lemon zester or something similar on the other end. 

• Bitters - a herbal alcoholic blend which is meant to be added to other cocktails to enhance flavour (e.g a Manhattan is rye, sweet vermouth and a couple dashes of bitters). Angostura Bitters is one of the most popular brands and was first invented by a German physician for stomach maladies in 1824.
  
  
• Blend - To mix up ingredients and ice in an electric blender. Depending on where you live, these could be called frozen drinks or blended drinks.
  
  
• Build - A bar terms meaning to make a drink - starting with ice and then 'building' the drink by adding the other ingredients (i.e. alcohol, juice, garnish etc).
  
  
• Call Drink - Refers to when the customer orders a drink by giving both the specific name of the liquor and the name of the mixer.

• Chaser - In bar terms, anything that is consumed quickly after a shooter or straight (neat) shot of alcohol. Meant to ease the strength of the original shooter and / or to mask its taste.
  
  
• Chill - To chill a glass add ice and then water to any glass and let sit for a minute or two (while mixing the drink in a shaker). Pour out the contents of the glass and strain the drink into the chilled glass. This bar terminology is often used for martinis.
• Cocktail - A mix of alcohol and / or liqueurs combined with a mixer (like soda or juice) and often shaken.
  
  
• Cooler - An alcoholic-based bottled beverage offered in a variety of different alcohols - vodka, rum, wine - which comes in a variety of flavours. (E.g. Smirnoff Ice, Wildberry cooler, Mike's Hard Lemonade).
  
  
• Dash - A few drops or a very small amount of an ingredient.
  
  
• Dirty - Adding olive juice to a martini which makes it a Dirty Martini. The more olive juice, the dirtier the martini. It's a dirty bar terms.
  
  
• Dry - Very little vermouth added to a martini. Extra dry martini is a drop of scotch swirled around the martini glass and then poured out before adding the gin.

• Flame - Setting a drink on fire. Sambucca is often lit on fire to heat it up before putting the flame out and drinking it. Another common method is to use 151-proof rum which is very flammable. It's not recommended to flame drinks unless you are VERY skilled. Bad things can happen!

• Float - when one alcohol sits on top of another alcohol
  in a shooter glass. (E.g. a B-52 shooter contains Kahlua, Irish Cream and Grand Marnier. Kahlua is heavier than Irish Cream which is heavier than GM so each one floats on the other. This can be done by pouring very carefully down the side of the glass or pouring the floated alcohol over an inverted spoon, allowing the alcohol to trickle off the spoon in many directions).
  
  
• Free Pour - To make and mix drinks without using a measuring device like a jigger or measured pour spout. To pour free of an measuring device.
  
  
• Frost - To frost a glass, dip it in water, let it drain and then put it in the freezer. This creates a layer of frost around the glass and works especially well for beer mugs.
  
  
• Garnish - A garnish is something added to a drink after the ingredients to enhance the presentation. Common garnishes are lemon slices or lime wedges, cherries, olives etc. Some garnishes are purely for looks and some are to add to the flavour of the drink.

• Highball - Any liquor mixed with soda, served in a tall glass (often called a highball).
  
  Jigger - A jigger is an hour-glass shaped steel measuring device - where one side measures 1 ounce (30ml) and the other measures 1½ ounces (45ml). However, jiggers come in many different sizes.

• Layer - Layering a shot or drink is done the same way as floating. The heavier alcohol goes on the bottom and the next, lighter alcohol gets floated on top using a careful pour down the side of the glass or a pour over an inverted spoon.
  
  
• Mixer - Mixers are the non-alcoholic 'mixes' that accompany alcohol in drinks. Mixers can be water, soda, juice, energy drinks etc (i.e. in the drink Rum & Coke, the mixer is Coke).
  
• Muddle - To crush up ingredients with a special tool called a muddler. This is done for drinks such as the Mojito - where the muddling process extracts essential oils and flavours (from the mint leaves in case of the Mojito).
  
  
• Neat - This ones important to know in bar terms. If someone asks for a whiskey neat, they are asking for a shot straight out of the bottle. Neat means no ice. Of course that shot must be in a whiskey glass. Whiskey drinkers are picky!
  
  
• Pony - A pony or pony shot is equal to 1 ounce.
  
  
• Premium - Premium refers to premium alcohol or top shelf liquor (E.g. the well or bar rail gin is Beefeater and the premium is Tanqueray)

• Rim - To rim a glass, first wet the rim with a lime, or the lime juice in a rimmer, then gently press the rim of the glass into a saucer of salt (for margaritas and Bloody Marys), celery salt (for Bloody Caesars) or sugar (for specialty coffees and cocktails). Be creative with your rim jobs - try to look for alternatives like crushed candy cane, flavoured salts or other more exotic spices that match well with your drink's ingredients.

• Rocks (On the) - On the rocks simply refers to a drink with ice. Eg. Scotch on the rocks.
  
  
• Roll (aka Box) - Not heard all to often in bar terms. To roll or box a drink, first build the drink then pour it once into and out of a shaker tin. This gently mixes the drink.
  
  
• Sangria - A wine-based cocktail that contains wine, triple sec, orange juice and fruit. Many variations exist and some recipes may call for the addition of a different juice or may not contain triple sec but the basis of this drink is wine and juice.

• Shaker Tin - A shaker tin is usually metal while the mixing glass is made from, well, glass. Used to mix cocktails, first ice and ingredients are added to the shaker tin, then the mixing glass placed on top (creating a seal) and shaken.

• Shake - Fill a glass with ice, build the ingredients, then pour everything into a shaker tin and shake. Pour everything back into the original glass. Or, if you are an experienced bartender then you will be able to fill the shaker with ice and ingredients in perfect proportions.
  
  
• Shake and Strain - Put ice and ingredients into a shaker tin, shake and strain into a glass. Often used for shooters and martinis.
  
  
• Shooter - a shooter or shot is a 1-2 ounce serving of either straight liquor (like Tequila) or a mixture of alcohol (like a B-52 Shooter - Irish Cream, Kahlua and Grand Marnier) that is meant to be drank (or shot) in one gulp.
  
  
• Sour - the term 'sour' refers to the sourness of sour bar mix, bar lime mix, lime bar mix or margarita mix (all different names for what are essentially the same thing), which are used in many cocktails (such as a Margarita). If someone orders a Vodka Sour, they want vodka and bar lime mix.
  
  
• Speed Rail - This bar terminology typically means the long stainless steel shelf connected to the front of the sinks and ice well at bartender stations behind the bar. It holds the most commonly ordered liquor eg. rum, vodka, gin and whiskey, and possibly other popular liqueurs or mixes.
  
  
• Straight up - Refers to a drink, like a martini, which is shaken in a shaker and strained into a glass. In some areas, straight up is used interchangeably with 'neat'.
  
  
• Strain - To drain the liquid out of a shaker tin

• Toddy -A sweetened drink of liquor and hot water, often with spices and served in a tall glass. 

• Twist - The rind of a lemon which is peeled using a special peeler. The resulting lemon twist is thin and long.
  
  
• Virgin - refers to a non-alcoholic drink. Used to order common cocktails minus the alcohol. Eg. Virgin Bloody Mary, Virgin Pina Colada.
  
  
• Well Drink - Last but not least for bar terms, Unlike a Call Drink, a well drink is a drink where neither the brand of the liquor or brand of the mix is mentioned (E.g Gin & Tonic, Rum & Coke).

Essential Bourbon Cocktails: The Derby

The Derby 

• 1 1/2 ounces Bulleit Bourbon
• 1 ounce Bénédictine D.O.M.
• 2 dashes angostura bitters

Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Add bourbon, Bénédictine D.O.M., and bitters and shake vigorously until well chilled, about 20 seconds.

Strain into a chilled cocktail or coupe glass.

Bourbon A History (Article link)

Really interesting article on Bourbon. It discusses origin, production, history, styles, and some well known bourbons worth trying.

Check it out!

http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2012/03/serious-eats-guide-to-bourbon-what-is-bourbon-history-whiskey-cocktails.html?ref=obinsite

Essential Bourbon Cocktails: Boulevardier

The Boulevardier

1 1/2 oz. bourbon
1 oz. Campari

1 oz. sweet vermouth

Ice cubes

Garnish: orange slice, lemon twist or cherry.

Stir long and well with ice in a mixing glass and strain into a cocktail glass.

Essential Bourbon Cocktails: Mint Julep

Mint Julep    

4 fresh mint sprigs
2 1/2 oz bourbon whiskey
1 tsp powdered sugar
2 tsp water

Muddle mint leaves, powdered sugar, and water in a collins glass. Fill the glass with shaved or crushed ice and add bourbon. Top with more ice and garnish with a mint sprig. Serve with a straw.

Essential Bourbon Cocktails: Whiskey Sour

Whiskey Sour

2 oz blended whiskey
 juice of 1/2 lemons
 1/2 tsp powdered sugar
 1 cherry
 1/2 slice lemon

 Shake blended whiskey, juice of lemon, and powdered sugar with ice and strain into a whiskey sour glass. Decorate with the half-slice of lemon, top with the cherry, and serve.

Essential Burbon Cocktails: Old Fashioned

 Old fashioned

2 oz bourbon whiskey
2 dashes Angostura® bitters
1 splash water
1 tsp sugar
1 maraschino cherry
1 orange wedge

 Mix sugar, water and angostura bitters in an old-fashioned glass. Drop in a cherry and an orange wedge. Muddle into a paste using a muddler or the back end of a spoon. Pour in bourbon, fill with ice cubes, and stir.

Introductions

I'm not so great with intro's. Suffice to say, i've started about fifteen blogs in the last few years and only one of them has survived my busy schedule and hectic life. I started my first blogger account about four years ago, and am only now coming back to use it again. To give a little intro: The purpose of this blog is to offer insight into bartending, barbacking, and resturaunt life. I plan on throwing in fun anecdotes, terribly (embarassing) funny situations that I, and my co-workers have experienced, as well as interesting tips and cocktail recipes that are worth perusing. As a new barback and server myself, I thought it would interesting to compile what im learning into a blog that others can take a look at and maybe learn something from. If not, it will hopefully atleast be a good laugh. Given that this is also a personal blog, be aware that shoes, handbags, and other interests of mine are sure to get thrown in. After all, its hard to work in a bar and not have an interesting sense of fashion. ;) Anyway, as I said before, im not great with introductions so I'll leave it at that. -E