Espresso-Tini #2

Espresso-Tini

Shot of Espresso

1/2 oz Three Olives Chocolate Vodka

1/2 oz Godiva Dark Chocolate Liqueur

1/4 oz Amaretto

1/4 oz Kahlua

Dash of Bailey's

Shake all ingredients with ice. Rime the glass with shaved chocolate. Strain cocktail and top with Bailey's, whip cream, and cocoa powder. 

Essenital Bourbon Cocktails: Manhattan

The Manhattan

3/4 oz. Sweet Vermout

2 1/2 oz Bourbon Whiskey

1 Dash Angostura Bitters

1 Marashino Cherry

Combine the vermouth, bourbon whiskey, and bitters with 2 - 3 ice cubes in a mixing glass. Stir gently, don't bruise the spirits and cloud the drink. Place the cherry in a chilled cocktail glass and strain the whiskey mixture over the cherry. Rub the cut edge of the orange peel over the rim of the glass and twist it over the drink to release the oils but don't drop it in. 

Lavender Mimosa's and a Fathers Day Suprise

Per usual, mid June rolled around this year and I still had no idea what to do for Fathers Day. Not that this is a new issue....every year, despite a good two decades of practice, I spend two or three days in a panic over what to get my father. I hate being repetitive. OR obvious, hence all the panicking.

This year though, an interesting idea sparked in my mind, brought on by an old memory and a fairly common garden plant.

Lavender. Or as I chose for my fathers day gift, lavender simple syrup. My fathers always had a love of Mimosas. And before you roll your eyes too much at the idea of a grown man drinking sparkling wine and orange juice out of a champagne flute, keep in mind that champagne is a classic drink and my father, despite some of his shortcomings, has always been a classy man. Over the years, as we would head out on weekends to get lunch or dinner together, he was always on the quest for the pefect mimosa. And about six years back, he found it at a local eatery known as Caseys Caffe. The caffe itself I have very little to say about, but the mimosas  are another story.

Casey's caffe is one of the only places that i've seen do Lavender mimosas. Lavender you say? As in the plant, the garden plant? The one people use in perfume, and bathsalts, and in sachets under pillows and in your underwear drawer? Yep. That would be the one. Despite what a lot of people think, lavender is not simply a fantastic fragrance. It also offers a very unique taste to many food dishes. Take for example, lavender tiramisu.....a unique twist on a classic dessert by far. Lavender often mixes well with chocolate but is also known to mix well  with lemon, honey, and vanilla flavors as well. In this case, the lavender mimosas are an interesting balance of sweet, bubbly and a spicy-herbal taste that really jazzes things up. The champagne offers a crisp and fruity flavor which is enhanced by the somewhat sweet taste of the lavender.

For father's day, I decided to replicate my Dad's favorite drink by ordering Lavender syrup from a company called Monin Syrups. I had the whole thing planned out to a tee. Dinner out, followed by Mimosas while we sat and smoked cigars together. Yes, a woman who smokes cigars.....hell will freeze over and penguins will learn to fly shortly after I complete this blog post. But anyway, back to what I was saying.....My game plan was simple, a nice Dinner withDrinks afterwards. Not too complicated. Lots of room for improvisation. But seriously, imagine my suprise when Amazon sent me an email letting me know it would take an additional week for my syrup to arrive. However 'if I wanted to upgrade to super saver shipping for an additional $93' I could get my syrup on time. Seriously? $93 freakin bucks? I dont think so. Amazon can dam well suck it.

Obviously with that set back, I didnt have too many options for coming up with a new Fathers day suprise last minute. So instead I went with the simple approach: Dinner as planned, with drinks in the resturaunt bar instead. And a cute little card that promised lavender mimosas in the near future. All in all the evening was great, with wonderful food, some quality company, and great drinks. Dad was happy. And I was perfectly content with the alternative.

To cut myself off before I continue with my long winded dialogue about Father's Day Traditions, and Amazons crappy shipping policy, I'm going to go ahead with the long awaited Lavender Mimosa Recipe.

The Simplistic Version

1oz. Lavender Syrup
3/4 of a glass of champagne or Prosecco

Pour lavender syrup into the bottom of a champagne flute. Fill the remainder of the glass with champagne or sparkling wine of choice. Garnish with a sprig of fresh lavender.



The Red Carpet Version



Ingredients:

• 1 Bottle of Sparking extra dry wine, chilled½ Cup Ultimat Vodka
• ¾ cup of green grapes, halved
• 11/2 cups white grape juice, chilled
• 2 tablespoons elderflower cordial
• 2 tablespoons of fresh lavender sprigs for garnish

*Serves 8 people

Borrowed From: http://heidiklum.aol.com/category/lifestyle/red-carpet-cocktails/

Happy Hour and the Inevitable Call For Shots

Its Five in the bloody morning, and for whatever reason I can't sleep.

So.....here's a blog post about shots.

Liquid Cocaine 

 1/2 oz. 151 Proof Rum

1/2 oz. Jagermeister

1/2 oz. Rumple Minze

Chill liquor. Shake over ice and strain into a chilled shot glass.

Scoobie Snack 

1/3 oz. Midori Melon Liqueur

1/3 oz. Vodka

1/3 oz. Half n' Half (or Milk)

Pour over ice and strain into a shot glass.

*Note - The vodka can be switched out for  1/3 oz. of Malibu  Rum to give the shot an even sweeter and more tropical flavor instead.

Kamikaze

1/2 oz. Vodka

1/2 oz. Triple Sec (or Cointreau Orange Liqueur)

1/2 oz. Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice (A dash of sweet and sour mix works too)

Shake over ice and serve into a large shot glass. Garnish with Lime wedge.

*Note - Muddling fresh limes in the bottom of the shaker instead of using freshly squeezed limes adds less intensity to the drink, but still gives the perfect amount of flavor.





Blow Job

3/4 oz. Bailey's Irish Cream
3/4 oz.  Kahlua
Whipped Cream

Combine Bailey's Irish Cream and Kahlua in a chilled shot glass. Top off with whipped cream.





Sex On the Beach

1/2 oz. Vodka
1/2 oz. Midori
1/2 oz. Chambord Raspberry Liqueur
1/4 oz. Pineapple Juice

Shake ingredients with ice, and pour into a shot glass.









Orgasm

1/3 oz. Amaretto
1/3 oz. Bailey's Irish Cream
1/3 oz. Kahlua

Layer in order (kahlua at the bottom) in a shot glass.

Jolly Rancher

1/4 oz. Amaretto

1/4 oz. Melon Liqueur

1/4 oz. Grenadine

1/4 oz. Sprite

Mix Amaretto, Melon Liqueur, and Grenadine. Top with sprite. Serve in a shot glass. 

*there are more than 8 different recipes for Jolly Rancher shots/ shooters. 

When In Doubt, Follow The Rules...

#True Shit

Stolen from Mind of A Ghetto Genius.
Originally from sexcigarsbooze.com

Tequila Art

TEQUILA 1800 ART LINE

Anyone who's every truly had a passion for tequila, or atleast spent enough time in a bar, has probably come across Tequila 1800. Produced by the Beckmann family, who also own Jose Cuervo, 1800 tequila is a blue agave tequila and is bottled in Jalisco, Mexico. Known for its exceptional quality,  Tequila 1800 hundred is also known for its unique bottle style, which has a bottle stopper that fills itself (if the bottle is turned upside down), and is the precise amount of a single shot of tequila. Pretty darn cool right??!?!

Tequila 1800 recently promoted three consecutive lines of uniquely designed tequila bottles, all designed by select artists and art firms. The most current line consists of Lucha Libre inspired tequila bottles. Practical and artsy, Tequila 1800 is worth picking up at your local liquor store, even if its just for the awesome bottle art.


LINE Number II

LINE Number III

The Ladies Auxillary

One of the perks of working in a bar that I discovered very early on is getting to witness all the outrageously crazy things that people do when under the influence. Not all of it is pleasant, believe me....but most of it is atleast entertaining.

Earlier this afternoon, one of my co-workers and I got to talking about a particularly funny group of ladies who came in one afternoon to partake of the bar. This group of ladies, or the Ladies Auxillary (from hell), as I prefer to call them, came into the bar around 3:30 in the afternoon and proceeded to order round after round of Cosmos and Lemon Drops. After two rounds, all thirteen ladies in the group had started a resounding chorus of 'shots, shots, shots'. Needless to say the shots came next, followed more girlie drinks and AGAIN more shots.

After an hour or so of this going on, two of the more Sober ladies in the group suggested they all head outside to our patio to continue their drinks and give the rest of the bar some peace and quiet. Believe me when I say we were all grateful to have them gone. The noise level in the bar shrank down to its normal pitch, and both the bartender and I could finally feel our ears stop ringing. I was somewhat distressed however when not even fifteen minutes later, the two semi-sober ladies came back again in again to ask for a few pitchers of water for the other gals outside. Nonetheless, I went out with pitcher in hand to do my job.

Dont get me wrong, when I say I was less than thrilled it doesnt have anything to do with having to serve people drinks; That is my job after all. Its just that drunk people....especially drunk women get really, really loud and obnoxious. Combining thirteen of them together at one table is a servers worst nightmare. And more importantly, it can almost garuntee trouble of some kind.....

And speaking of trouble....as soon as I got outside, I was greeted by a overabundance of giggling and a resounding chorus of "oh look...its the bartender...she's bringing us water...she must want to quiet us down....and sober us up". This was of course punctuated by more giggles. It wasnt until this point that I realized that more than half of the ladies were missing from the table and were instead posing against our heart shaped fence towards the far side of the deck posing topless. Yes, topless.....as in 'no bras- no shirts-no service' topless.

Standing there for a moment, first in shock, and then in deep contemplation about what I should do about the whole thing, I asked one of the topless ladies who was staring at me rather intently "so what are you ladies up to? I mean other than the obvious". My question was followed by a round of uncomfortable giggles, and an immediate shuffle of ladies bumping into each other as they searched around the corner of the deck for their shirts and bras. The only clothed woman out of the whole group, a cute little blonde woman, came over and nervously asked me ' so are you um...going to call the cops on us?' I just laughed and told her that as long as no one complained and as long as I didnt "see it", I didnt   particularly care.  She laughed and looked relieved.

As I was heading back inside I briefly asked her the question I had been dying to know, and which no one had answered. "So seriously though, whats up with the topless pics? Are you guys working on a body friendly collage or something?"

Her response it what keeps killing me, even a few weeks later: "well, we decided to all take pictures of our breasts so that one of my girlfriends could send them to her boyfriend to see if he could tell her breasts apart from the rest of us". Laughing hysterically, I walked back inside.

Its days like that when I love doing my job. 

Before I Get Ahead of Myself....Again

I have this amazing ability to get ahead of myself mentally. I started this blog no more than a few weeks ago and other than recipes and an introductory blog post I havent really taken the time to post anything substantial.


Ok, ok....in my defense I have like seven unfinished blog posts that I havent gotten around to finishing. But regardless, I realized that at no point in any of those unfinished rambles have I ever actually discussed my job, and what it is exactly that I do.


I'm a barback.
Bar + Back: As in I back up the bartender, and assist them with whatever they need assistance with.
To throw out a more complete deffinition, a Barback is a bartenders assistant. They generally work in nightclubs, bars and resturaunts. A Barback is generally responsible for restocking the bar with garnishes, liquor, beer, changing kegs, cutting or preparing garnishes, refilling ice for the ice wells, and cleaning tables or other parts of the bar. Occasionally, barbacks are responsible for helping the bartender to serve drinks. For example, in the case of bars located within resturaunts, because all alcohol is handled in the bar for both the bar patrons and patrons of the resturaunt, a barback may be responsible for pouring wine or beers, or less complicated cocktails to help out the bartender.


One of the other reasons barbacks exist is to learn how to bartend. In the same way that dishwashers move up in the food chain to become bussers/runners, and eventually are promoted again to either a hostessing or serving position, the same goes for barbacking to bartending. Its an eventual progression. Starting off barbacking gives someone the chance to learn all the basics, and allows them to grow comfortable behind the bar without overwhelming them with too much at one time.


Despite what many people say, barbacking (and bartending), are not simple or easy job. Sure, theres very little logic or effort to pouring a glass of wine or pouring a pint of beer but rest assured its everything else that tires you out. Lugging ice, and kegs alone keeps you in great shape. Restocking helps too. For whatever reason though, people seem to have this misconception that bar staff dont do anything. Or as a lovely, smart-ass bar patron said this morning "Jesus, what have you guys been doing the last 15 minutes? Sitting on your asses? I swear to god i've never had a mojito take this long. I mean seriously, I could have made my own in the same amount of time, WITH freshly picked mint!" I was tempted to tell her that I actually did go out to our back garden to pick fresh mint leaves since we were out but I decided not to bother. Some people, no matter what facts or logic you present them with, will never be happy. But again I emphasize the point that bartending and barbacking is hard work. In the two months that ive been at my current job, i've watched my biceps double in size and have lost 16 1bs despite the fact that I feel like im always hungry from working all the time. Best workout i've ever had, hands down.


Mentally bartending is also challenging because of the sheer number of situations and drink orders they can be presented with. Unlike a server, who has a set menu, a bartender has a full bar to work with and a myriad of possibilities. A customer can walk in the door and ask for just about anything, and its the bartenders job to make their request happen to the best of their ability. Not every bartender is going to know whats in a drink a customer requests, and given that in most cases the customer doesnt know either, one has to simply adlib or tell the customer to order something else. Which in the long run, makes work a whole hell of a lot more complicated. Unlike the 'waiter' who can fall back on the menu or wine list, the bartender has to always be on his toes. A seasoned bartender knows most popular drinks/ shots, and picks up the less common classics over time. But what makes a truly great bartender stand out from the rest is being able to handle a fully packed bar, and to keep up with their customers regardless of varying requests.


Think of it this way: A bartender must make drinks, while processing tabs, taking cards or cash, keeping customers entertained, restocking the bar when it gets low, making sure the kegs arent out for the beer on tap, is clean glasses, cutting garnishes, refilling the wells with ice, keeping really drunk customers from drinking even more (a.k.a cutting them off before they get into stupid situations such as bar fights or drunken orgies in the womens bathroom, or god forbid, driving). Throw all of those factors into a 6-8 hour shift and tell me your not just a little bit sympathetic....or hell, even tired, just thinking about it.


Obviously, this is why barbacks....A.K.A, me, exist. We make life just a little bit easier for everyone involved. Having someone to watch your back, and erm....grab your ice for you, makes it possible for bartenders to bring class A service to customers, instead of gin and tonic simplicity to the table every night.


Hence all the reasons I love doing my job. 

All Curves, and NO excuses

Here's the deal, if your so skinny you can't carry your own kegs, restock the bar, or kick drunk people out on their ass when they start a fight, you probably should go find a new job ASAP.

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 

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 

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 

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.