Working behind a busy commercial bar has often been compared to
being in a fishbowl. Every action is magnified and splayed open for public
scrutiny. Short of having a gun shoved in your face, about the last thing you
need in that kind of environment is someone publicly castigating you for being
educationally deficient. Few of our egos can withstand being so instantaneously
deflated. Even worse, the establishment and all of those you work with will be
sullied as well.
September 2006 Archives
Even though he is my friend
and a fellow correspondent, if you're a restaurant owner in the Washington,
D.C. area, please do not HIRE career mixologist Nick Wineriter. I personally
assure you that he is a product of the "Old School," someone who believes in
precise drink-making and attends to his guests' needs with impeccable care. The
formalized training he's received has been of the highest caliber, doled out by
venerable and well-seasoned bartenders and managers. And while still a
relatively young man, Nick has learned his trade well.
As
anyone who knows me will gladly attest, I am slightly askew of the norm. My odd
assortment of foibles and disorders has led me to be indelibly labeled as
defective. Not surprisingly, my patchwork personality followed me behind the
bar lo those many years.
Why on Earth are there so
many flavored vodkas? Really. You've wondered the same thing. Liquor companies
seem to be releasing a new one weekly. Sure, I appreciate the vibrancy of the
cocktail culture, but is there really marketing research that validates
producing a flavored vodka for every known fruit, vegetable and confection? Can
cottage cheese flavored vodka be too far off?