Sunday, October 14, 2012

Endless Summer (a.k.a) MxMo LXVI: Bein' Green

Oh...hey there, everyone!  It's been a little while, hasn't it?  I've been off having all sorts of incredible adventures this summer.  We had dinner at Alinea in Chicago for my 30th birthday, I went to Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, I went on a trip with the S. Ohio USBG to some stops along the Bourbon Trail, we went to a family wedding that ended up in (started out with?) a little trip onto Wrigley Field:


...well...you get the idea.  Basically, I spent all my spare income this summer drinking cocktails rather than concocting them, so I've been a little off the radar.  I'd say I'm sorry, but...just look at that photo!   I figured the October Mixology Monday, hosted by Ed over at Wordsmithing Pantagruel would be a perfect time to jump back in the game.  In his own words

With the warm days of summer now fading off into the distance in our rear view mirrors, let's pay one last tribute to the greens of summer before the frosts come and our outdoor herb gardens give up the ghost for the winter. [...] Limes are green. So is green tea. Don't forget the herb garden: mint, basil, cilantro, you name it - all fair game. There's also the veritable cornucopia from the farmers market: green apples, grapes, peppers, olives, celery, cucumbers...you get the idea. Like I said, wide berth. Base, mixer, and or garnish; if it's green it's good. Surprise me. Use at least one, but the more the merrier. 

When I read that, I was a little disappointed I had already posted my Bombay Sapphire cocktail, The Garden Path (cilantro, red bell pepper, pineapple...perfect!), but then I realized I hadn't yet posted my finalized recipe for another, previously unnamed, summer cocktail...so...here we go!

 Endless Summer



Glass:  Large Cocktail
Method: Muddle, Shake and Strain
Garnish:  Cucumber and Watermelon pick

Muddle:
6 cubes Fresh Watermelon
3 leaves Fresh Basil
1 tsp Balsamic syrup

Add:
2 oz Effen Cucumber vodka
.5 oz Fresh Lime juice
.5 oz Rich Simple syrup 

Shake all ingredients well with ice and strain into a large cocktail glass. 
Garnish with a light sprinkling of freshly cracked sea salt.

P.S.  My husband has also decided this summer that Effen Cucumber and Pimm's is a tasty combination.  Maybe something to play with later...

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Bombay Sapphire Most Inspired Bartender Entry

Every year, GQ and Bombay Sapphire team up for the annual Most Inspired Bartender competition.  This year, there were two events in Ohio--one in Cleveland and one in Columbus.  I competed in Columbus, at the Franklin Botanical Center, and had a fantastic time!  I didn't win, but had an amazing amount of positive feedback from the attendees ("I've had at least three people tell me I had to come outside and try the one with red pepper!" and "Yours was definitely the best one in there!" and "One of the bartenders over there told me I needed to come try this one," and even an "I'm so glad that yours is the last one I've tried and that I have in my mouth right now."), so I consider the night a tremendous success. Even more-so of a success for those that were unsure that they actually wanted to try it ("Cilantro?  Really?"), had a friend convince them to, and then went back for a second sample.

I really wanted to play off the rich, peppery notes from the Grains of Paradise (one of the botanicals present in Sapphire), and the citrus notes from the lemon peel (also a botanical).  Bombay Sapphire is a very intense gin, and I wanted intense flavor profiles to match and balance.  I'm very pleased with the final result.  

As for the name, I chose to reference "garden path" sentences.  The mind processes and develops visuals one word at a time.  In garden path sentences, the structure leads you start constructing one meaning of the sentence, and then a word comes along that forces you to reconfigure the meaning.  This cocktail, prior to being named, had many people say just those sorts of things about it.  We eat and drink with our eyes first, our nose second, and our mouths third.  On first glance, you see a pink drink in a "martini" glass.  Next, you see pineapple and red pepper in the garnish.  As you go to drink you smell the aromatic cilantro.  Once you drink, all of those elements come together into something unexpected and lovely.


The Garden Path

Glass: Medium Cocktail
Method: Muddle, Shake and Fine Strain
Garnish: Pineapple, Red pepper, Cilantro

Muddle:
1 large cube Fresh Pineapple
5 large pieces Red Bell Pepper
.5 oz Madhava Light Agave Nectar

Add:
10 leaves Fresh Cilantro
.25 oz Fresh Lime juice
1.5 oz Bombay Sapphire 

Make sure to muddle the red pepper very well to get maximum flavor (we're not worried about bruising or breaking mint here, guys!).  Shake ingredients well with ice. Double-strain into a medium-sized cocktail glass (around 6oz) and garnish.

Friday, May 25, 2012

Cincinnati Area Bartenders' Guild Meetup/Informational

Just wanted to take a minute to post about the informal meetup/informational the Cincinnati area of the United States Bartenders' Guild is going to be hosting on June 4th at Milton's, from 4p-6p.  

Stop by for a few drinks and to learn more about how you can be a part of the great things we want to do!  More information below on our blog:

http://cincinnatiusbg.blogspot.com/2012/05/cincinnati-area-meetup-and.html

Saturday, May 12, 2012

The Glass Project: The Burning Heart

The recent Drambuie contest got me working with Drambuie for my first time, and as this drink has some heat to it I started thinking of names that invoked that.  Dante's Inferno came to mind, which led to thoughts of La Vita Nuova, and thus Il Cuore Ardente (The Burning Heart) was born.


Il Cuore Ardente (aka The Burning Heart)
Glass: Small Cocktail
Method: Stir and Fine Strain
Garnish:  Flamed orange twist

Ingredients:
1 oz Appleton Estate Reserve rum
.75 oz Drambuie
3 heavy dashes Fee Brothers Black Walnut bitters
1/8 tsp Ground Red Cayenne Pepper

Build ingredients in glass with ice and stir well to incorporate the cayenne pepper.  Strain depending on heat preference (normal strain for higher heat, fine/double strain for lower heat).  Garnish with a flamed orange twist and enjoy!
 

Thursday, May 3, 2012

The Glass Project: Myrrah's Passion

So on Tuesday I drove the 4+ hours up to Cleveland to volunteer at/attend the first annual Ohio Tequila Festival.  I had a lovely time pouring Don Julio samples and sampling various other tequilas that were sponsoring.  I thought this was an excellent first-year event, and I look forward to seeing it grow in the future!  One other thing I finally saw for the first time while there were the Tequilador booklets with our recipes (although on the image they wrote lemon instead of lime...oops...lol)!  The QR codes were in the beginning of the booklet:



That night I stayed with my friend Emily (also in the booklet!) in Columbus.  I wanted to purchase a specific gin I hadn't been able to find around here, but I knew they had up there, so I went to Weiland's Gourmet Grocery in the morning to pick it up.  While waiting for the store to open I grudgingly stopped into the neighboring thrift store that Emily had told me about and picked up these ten little treasures for less than $6 (this is why I don't allow myself to go to thrift stores.  I would overwhelm my apt with bar tools and glassware that I don't actually have room for):



 When I got home I decided that I needed to come up with a recipe specifically for each glass, and decided to make that my goal this summer.  This will also force me to work with some different proportions (more classic ones) than I've been used to at the places I've been working.  First up was the pretty little one second from the left in the back.  That glass insisted on Creme de Violette and the fantastic new Aphrodite Bitters (from the makers of Bokers Bitters, and crafted from aphrodisiac spices and herbs) that I had also just scored at Weiland's (phenominal little bitters selection, and you can even sample most of them!)...and out came Myrrah's Passion (name story after the recipe):





Myrrah's Passion
Glassware:  Small cocktail glass
Method:  Shake and Strain
Garnish:  Egg white foam* and dash of Aphrodite Bitters

Ingredients:
1.25 oz Buffalo Trace bourbon
.5 oz  Creme de violette
.75 oz Fresh lemon juice
.25 oz Rich simple syrup (or just a dash, if you prefer more sour cocktails)
2 dashes Aphrodite Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into small cocktail glass.  Top with foam and a few drops of Aphrodite Bitters for aromatics.

* Egg White Foam:
Separate the egg white from yolk, and discard yolk.  In a clean shaker, dry shake egg white (i.e. without ice) until a bit frothy.  Add 1/2 tsp granulated or superfine sugar to shaker and continue to dry shake until desired density.

On the Name:
Greek mythology tends to color a lot of what I do, and likes to find its way into some of my cocktails--call it the spiritual aspect of the "Alcohol Alchemy" title, if you will.  Myrrah's story is a prime example of the wrath the gods could inflict when provoked.  The story varies depending on the source, but I have to say I'm rather enamoured with Mary Zimmerman's retelling of Ovid's Metamorphoses.  Ovid gives no reason as to why Aphrodite inflicted a passion for her father on Myrrah--just that she had lines of suitors and no apparent interest in any of them, and Powell later says it was to punish her mother for hubris (ego and arrogance) against the goddess in saying that her daughter was more beautiful than Aphrodite Herself.  Mary Zimmerman expounded on the original as that it went further than no interest--that she wouldn't fall in love and was insistent against marriage and love, etc.  Aphrodite took offense to this (of course, since She's the goddess of sexual love and passion) and cursed her with a passion for her father:

You can shut yourself in a room, bolt the door,
but love will come through the window.
Draw the curtains, lock the casement,
but love will seep through the walls.
Never think, never think that you can be safe from love.
--Aphrodite in Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses: a play

The story goes from there, and essentially ends in Myrrah fleeing and the gods taking pity on her when she asks to neither live nor die, and she transforms into a Myrrh tree.  After the transformation she also gave birth to Adonis, and eventually the sap from the tree was offered at the altars of Aphrodite.

P.S.  If you're on Facebook and want to keep up with my blog updates, 
please like my blog page! http://facebook.com/AlcoholAlchemy

ETA, 1/28/2013:  I submitted this recipe for consideration to the 101 Best New Cocktails 2013 about a week ago, and I got notification today that it's made it to Round Two for taste testing. 

ETA, 8/4/2013:  And Myrrah's Passion has officially made Gaz Regan's 2013 list of 101 Best New Cocktails!  Hooray!  I'm so honored to be featured with such a fantastic collection of bartenders and cocktails!

Friday, April 20, 2012

Playing with the Classics: Aperol 75

One key thing those of us who create cocktails like to tell new bartenders who are just starting to learn how to mix is to start with the classics and modify.  Classics are classic for a reason, of course, and it's a great way to get a feel for ratios and balance.  One of my personal favorite classics is the French 75.  In preparation for Mother's Day brunch at work, I thought I'd work out some potential cocktails to feature, and anything with sparkling wine is a natural choice.

Since I work at an Italian restaurant I've been using that as an excuse to familiarize myself with Italian liqueurs/amaros/etc. that I've never had much reason to learn before.  Aperol, though an amaro, is pretty tame and I thought it might have great potential to introduce to people who might otherwise be frightened of something new.  The best way to introduce people to something new?  Blend it with something old and familiar...in my case, the lovely French 75.
  
 Pretty, no?  The cocktail glass was actually a lovely gift from 
one of my sisters-in-law and her husband for Christmas :-)

Aperol 75
Glassware:  Large cocktail glass or large champagne flute
Garnish:  Lemon twist
Method:  Shake and Strain

Ingredients:
1 oz Plymouth gin
.5 oz Aperol
1.5 oz Fresh lemon juice
.75 oz Rich simple syrup

Shake with ice and strain into glass.  Top with prosecco (about three ounces) and garnish.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Stagger Lee

This cocktail came from a restaurant guest who had heard from her daughter about a black cherry cocktail with bourbon.  I was lost for a second, as we'd never had anything like that before, but then I realized that she was probably talking about Jim Beam's Red Stag, which is a black cherry bourbon.  She asked how people usually enjoyed it, and I asked her a few questions, and bounced off to create a cocktail for her.  I enjoyed the outcome so much that I tweaked it just a touch and eventually added it as a staple to the menu.




Stagger Lee
Glass:  Large cocktail
Garnish:   Long lemon twist
Method:   Shake and Strain

Ingredients:
2 oz Jim Beam Red Stag bourbon
.5 oz Cointreau
.5 oz Rich simple syrup (this can honestly range anywhere from .25oz-.75oz depending on your personal taste and how sweet you like things)
1 oz Fresh lemon juice
2 dashes Regan's orange bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a large cocktail glass.  Garnish with a long twist of lemon.


Note on the Name:  I struggled hard to name this one, as I wanted something very appropriate to a restaurant that focused on southern cuisine and assorted styles of barbecue.  Ultimately, think I had listened to Nick Cave's "Henry Lee" recently before naming the cocktail, and that put me in mind of his version of "Stagger Lee" (my brain works in bizarre ways).  For those who are unfamiliar with the song (or the story behind any of the variations of the song), here is the Wikipedia entry for the song.  At its core, it is a folk song written about the murder of a specific person by a man from St. Louis.  Red Stag, St. Louis...I realized I'd found my name.  While St. Louis isn't really known for a style of barbecue, they do have a cut style of ribs named after them (pork spare ribs cut into a more uniform rack-style), and they were named "America's Top Grilling City" in an annual list by Kingston charcoal last year.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Lavender Honeybee

I don't really have any entertaining stories behind this cocktail--just the thought that I wanted to do a lavender and honey cocktail, and I thought rosemary would be a nice accent to the mix.  This is honestly probably in my top five favorite recipes of my own...the balance of flavors is really beautiful.

Also, while I have your attention:  I know some of you follow my personal Facebook, but I've started a page to move much of my bar rambling away from that.  If you're interested in keeping up with my blog updates, contests and events I'm involved with (or you might like to be involved with), and just interesting news in the bar world in general, you should head over and "Like" the Alcohol Alchemy Facebook page.



Lavender Honeybee
Glassware:  Large cocktail glass
Garnish:  Burned rosemary sprig
Method:  Shake and Strain

Ingredients:
2 oz Plymouth gin
.25 oz Simple syrup
.5 oz Lavender syrup
2 oz Fresh lemon juice
2 sprigs Fresh rosemary
.5 oz Smoked honey */**

Add ingredients in a mixing glass with ice.  Shake well and strain into glass.  Garnish with a burned rosemary sprig.

* I smoked the honey for around an hour using hickory wood.  If you're using a smoking gun you'll probably want to have the honey spread out as thinly as possible on a baking sheet or something to make sure all the honey gets the chance to catch the smoke since it's so viscous.

** I generally add the honey as the final ingredient, and give it a little stir before I add the ice so that it doesn't end up A) stuck to the bottom of the glass or B) as a cold clump attached to the ice in the tin after shaking.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Herbal Summer Lemonade

This lemonade recipe is actually not one of my own.  Someone I know tried it last spring at a food show up in Cleveland, and I had a lot of fun adding an alcoholic twist to it.  I haven't attempted to figure out the ratios of liquor to make a large batch, but it's delicious with or without, and leaving it non-alcoholic makes it appropriate for gatherings with kids, too.


To make the lemonade
Yield:  About 2.5 gallons

Build:
24 oz Fresh squeezed lemon juice
24 oz POM Wonderful pomegranate juice
4 cups sugar*
144 oz Cold water

Add:
4 oz Fresh Dill
4 oz Fresh Mint
4 oz Fresh Basil
2 oz Fresh Rosemary 

Let steep to desired strength**.

* I've discovered that dissolving the sugar in the lemon and pomegranate juices before adding the water seems to work best to dissolve it as entirely as possible.  After that, I add the water, stir to blend, and add the herbs.

** Personally, I think about 24 hours is perfect, though you can generally start serving it after just a few hours of steeping, and you're not going to want the herbs in there much past a day and a half or so.

Alcoholic Version:
Method: Build
Glassware: 10oz Collins
Garnish: Edible orchid bloom

Ingredients:
1 oz Hendricks gin
.5 oz St-Germain elderflower liqueur

Add ice, fill with steeped herbal lemonade, and garnish.   

Friday, March 30, 2012

Tiki! Kiwi Mango Colada

So I recently met the blogger of The Pegu Blog, Doug, at the Don Q competition in Columbus this past weekend.  Looking at his blog reminded me that I sadly missed the February MxMo: Tiki! roundup.  I've not been super into Tiki previously, but last summer I had a bit of fun exploring, and while I'm spending way too much time in front of my computer with a broken ankle I thought I'd pour through some old photos and post recipes I hadn't yet had a chance to.  With the glorious temperatures around here lately, and my sadness at missing out on that last MxMo, I felt this entry quite apropos.

A bit of a sidetrack for a moment:  this recipe is, I suppose, officially a Swizzle.  It uses crushed ice and  a baton lele to froth and mix everything together.  My baton lele is a plastic tool that I procured as a giveaway at Tales two summers ago from St. Croix rum.  It is sadly missing a leg (this is what I get for taking my tools into work...ha).  They are IMPOSSIBLE to find.  If you happen to know where I can procure a wooden or metal one, I would be terribly indebted to you...or even if you're from St. Croix rum and could send a few of the plastic ones my way ;-)  I have attached a link to an excellent description of how to swizzle from Summit Sips in my recipe.



Kiwi-Mango Colada
Glassware:  I used a pint glass. It's tiki...there are many awesome options.
Garnish:  Cherry/Pineapple/Orange on a pick. Pineapple leaf to finish.
Method:  Muddle and Swizzle (crushed ice and baton lele)

Ingredients:
Muddle:
2 chunks Fresh Mango
1 slice Fresh Kiwi
6 chunks Fresh Pineapple
1 oz Coco Real (my preference for creamy coconut goodness)

Add:
.75 oz Gosling's Black Seal rum
.75 oz Cruzan Coconut rum
1 oz Pineapple juice

Swizzle to mix, add crushed ice, and then swizzle to dilute and chill.  Top with more crushed ice and garnish.

 

Friday, March 23, 2012

Don Q: Flor de Encanto

Don Q annually hosts a cocktail competition in conjunction with the USBG, and this is my first year participating (I joined too late to participate last year).  Our competition is on Sunday, and so I thought I'd share my entry.  Don Q rum is from Puerto Rico, and they ask competitors to showcase the spirit of the island in their cocktail in some way.  The state flower of Puerto Rico is a type of hibiscus, so I used that as my base idea.  Once I nailed down the recipe, I was lost on a name.  I thought a great idea might be to look into some of the folklore, and I came across the legend of Guanina--a star-crossed lovers sort of story.  I decided on "The Enchanted Flower" (also fitting, as the nickname of Puerto Rico is "Isle of Enchantment").  Then, seeing as how I work with a girl from Puerto Rico, she helped me translate the name.  The dash of cinnamon is a nod to the Spanish history linked with the island, as the Spanish were (of course) quite into the spice trade.


Flor de Encanto
Glass:  Large cocktail
Garnish: Dash of ground cinnamon
Method:  Shake and Strain

Ingredients
1.5 oz Don Q Gold rum
.25 oz Fruitlab Organic Hibiscus liqueur
1.5 oz Fresh Orange juice
.25 oz Fresh Lime juice
.75 oz Simple Syrup (1:1 ratio)

Shake with ice and strain into a large cocktail glass.  Garnish with a dash of cinnamon over top and enjoy! 


And, as a little bonus, some photos from the competition:



 

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Campari: Stars In Our Eyes

This past Monday I helped put together the Campari/USBG Cincinnati regional event for their national Best Campari Aperitivo competition.  I also created the passing cocktail.  The passing cocktails don't generally need to follow the competition rules, so mine involved homemade ingredients while the competitors' did not.

Aperitivos are are liquors/liqueurs/cocktails designed to stimulate the appetite and get your tastebuds working.  To break my cocktail down, Campari is an aperitivo liqueur, anise is a spice that is known to be an appetite stimulant, and prosecco is commonly a first-ordered drink before dinner.  I tried to make this as textbook aperitivo as possible.  I also tried to make it as light as possible, and not use the full ounce of Campari that the competitors were using, as I didn't want to overwhelm anybody's palates before the main show.

I thought the name thoroughly appropriate, as the phrase generally refers to beginnings of many kinds (relationships, business endeavors, etc.), and the use of garnish, and the cocktail's style as a "beginning" before a meal...very multifaceted meaning.


Stars in Our Eyes
Glass:  Champagne Flute
Garnish:  Long twist of blood orange and Star Anise
Method: Shake and Double Strain

Ingredients:
.5 oz Campari
.25 oz Fresh blood orange juice (I used Moro blood oranges)
.5 oz Anise simple syrup (2 parts sugar, 1 part water, 1 tsp anise seeds)
1/4 tsp Anise seeds

Shake well with ice, double strain into champagne flute, and top with 3-4oz of Brut Prosecco. Garnish with long blood orange twist and star anise.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

On Mixology and Mixologists

Sorry for the severe lack of posts the past monthish.  I've got recipes, and I've tried new liquors...I just have been slacking on posting them.

On to the post:  My amazing 13-year-old cousin goes to this really cool arts and sciences school--I imagine kind of like the high school we visited while I was in the Gifted/Talented program when I lived in Oklahoma and wished I could someday attend.  Anyway, they did a project where they chose a profession and interviewed somebody about said profession.  Her choice was Mixologist, and while those of you who know me know my general distaste for the term "mixologist" I am all for the movement to view bartending as a viable career path and option once again, and if putting a label like that on it helps, well...I'll suck up my distaste.  Bottom line, I was thrilled to get to answer her questions.  I had a great time answering, and I'd love to give insight to some others who might wonder just what it is people like me do, and why we do it.  I've altered the question re: pay.  I feel awkward putting hard numbers out on the web like that, so instead of exploring potential pay rates of various potential mixological careers, I'll just mention the various potential careers.



1. What is your favorite part of your job?
Every day is different than the one before—I meet different people, create different drinks and menus, and do different things. I also get to take care of people—welcome them into my “home” and hopefully make their days something more than they otherwise might have been. I get to introduce people and watch friendships develop. I get to make bad days better for people. I get to compete in competitions and be creative, and there are a number of different roads I could take within my profession if I wanted to.

2. How much do people in your profession usually make?
That can vary quite a lot. There are many different roads that mixologists can take, and that leads to different salaries. You have the ones who bartend and/or manage in cocktail bars or restaurants. If you work in a corporate restaurant environment you could become a corporate mixologist/Beverage Director for a company like TGI Friday, or Applebee's, or Outback, or something along those lines.  You could decide to do consulting work on the side—or even open your own consulting firm (helping create menus for other bars/restaurants, helping others with cost-controls and systems like inventory and ordering and training, etc.).  If you're VERY talented, and like the idea of lots of travel and publicity, you could get the opportunity as a Brand Ambassador/Global Brand Ambassador for a big liquor brand like Tanqueray or Absolut, or any other number of brands. You could also choose to open your own cocktail bar/restaurant. That salary, of course, will vary depending on how successful your venture is.

3. Do you like your job?
I love my job. I never stop learning, and creating, and there are so many things I can do with it throughout my lifetime if I so choose. I never get bored.

4. What led you to become a mixologist?
I went to school initially for theatre performance. The plan was, all stage actors move to New York and wait tables or bartend until they get their break, so my best bet was to get some restaurant experience before I made a move like that. I started serving, and ended up falling in love with hospitality—and getting my degree in Anthropology with a focus on Archaeology—nothing even close to what I do now. I started working for a company where I got the chance to learn every position in the restaurant—paperwork, kitchen, management, bar, etc. I also helped open other restaurants in other cities. The restaurant I managed for had subscriptions to various industry magazines, and I started learning that there was more to the bar world than just making drinks—there was a whole creative and imaginative process, and so many technical aspects—how to shake cocktails properly, how to muddle fruits and herbs properly so the drink isn't bitter, how to balance flavors...I also started learning the different profiles and production styles of various liquors and beers and wines. I became obsessed, and after a lot of books and magazines and websites, I eventually started trying it out myself. I made (and sometimes still do) some SPECTACULARLY terrible combinations in the beginning. I learned, though, and now I can usually come up with a rough recipe for a drink before I even touch the ingredients I want to use.

5. How many years have you done this profession?
I've been in hospitality for about ten years now. The bar side, about four.

6. What exactly do you do?
I think the shorter answer might be what DON'T I do? I create recipes, I study wines and beers (and am studying to take the tests to gain my Levels I and II Sommelier certification—certified wine professional—and Levels 1 and 2 Cicerone certification—certified beer professional), I try to keep up with laws and regulations and potential legal issues affecting my profession, I follow and work to predict trends for liquors and flavors and bar “stuff” in general, I try to keep abreast of new liquor releases, I work on training and education programs for my restaurants and my bartenders, I study restaurant marketing and try to work out relevant promotions for the restaurants/bars I work for, and much more. As far as daily, I keep inventory of and do orders for the liquor/beer/wine I stock, I work out the cost of products and drinks I order and create, I come up with ideas for new menus and promotions, I make flavored syrups from fresh ingredients to use in my cocktails, I mix drinks for people, pour beers and wines, and I play what we jokingly refer to as the “typical” bartender roles—hostess, therapist, friend, alchemist/mad scientist, entertainer, babysitter, matchmaker, mind-reader, and others depending on what any given individual sitting at my bar needs. Different people come to bars and restaurants looking for different reasons and experiences. My job is to help accommodate what they are looking for, within possibility and within reason.

7. What is a bad day for your profession?
Having to cut people off or throw them out. Fights are not actually common, but I've witnessed a few. Computer systems going out due to weather or faulty equipment, forgetting to order something really important...or when you're just having an off day and feel like you can't remember any recipes or keep dropping your equipment, etc. Oh! And when something goes screwy in the computer, or an employee typed a number in wrong and it throws off your paperwork and takes a lot longer to finish your evening because you have to figure out where the problem happened.

8. What kind of benefits do you receive?
Benefits depend on where you work. Some companies offer excellent medical benefits and things like retirement funds (especially corporate restaurants and hotels), and some offer nothing besides food discounts and the like. I am a member of the United States Bartenders' Guild (the US branch of the International Bartenders' Guild—an internationally recognized group of cocktail enthusiasts and bar professionals), and we recently gained access to some very nice health benefits and rates since we're such a large organization. We also have many special educational opportunities to learn more about various aspects of our field. If you choose to involve yourself in the competition circuits, the payoffs can also be incredible at the top levels.

9. What is a good day for your job?
Creating a new drink, discovering a delicious new product, running great numbers on inventory, making people happy, discovering/mastering a new technique.

10. How long do you have to stay in this in this profession before you can retire?
Depends on who you are. Most of us don't keep retirement funds, but I think that's because many of us don't ever see ourselves retiring, per se. I aim to always be involved in some way—even if it means just as an owner and no longer a manager, or running a consulting company and not being as physical as I once was. I don't see myself ever wanting to stop because what I do can be so richly rewarding. I live, eat, drink, and breathe what I do. The hospitality industry is more than just a profession—it's really a way of life. If you do find yourself wanting to retire and you've had some jobs like outlined above and have been smart about stashing money in your own private retirement fund, I don't see why you couldn't retire in the same amount of time that a lot of more “traditional” 30-year types of jobs do.