Cielo Gold: San Francisco Bartender

Retired?

2011-07-05T17:32:00.000-07:00

Retired (re·tired/riˈtīī(ə)rd) is defined by the dictionary as being an adjective that means having left one's job and ceased to work.

"Once a bartender, always a bartender." That's what a friend of mine had told me back in March when I broke the news to her and all of the rest of my friends that I had worked my last official shift as a bartender earlier this year. I told everyone that I had thrown in my bar towel for good this time. I had moved on to the corporate world as a licensed esthetician, working as a Beauty Advisor. No more working nights. No more working weekends. What's up steady paycheck? Hello health and dental insurance! How you doing 401K?

Her response? "Yeah right. You'll be back."

My schedule is now completely opposite of what it used to be for the past eight years. Instead of getting off work at 3 am, I'm now getting up at 3 am to get ready for work for the East Coast clients. Its extremely hard going from being a night owl to a morning person. Even though I have had my "new" schedule for the past nine months, I am still struggling to get used to the early mornings. I'm just not a morning person.

For the most part, I enjoy what I do. I learn something new everyday. I'm constantly challenged on the training and education I have received thus far in my industry. I am a closet nerd so I love researching the answers to questions clients ask me that I don't have a solid answer for. The gratis I receive working as a Beauty Advisor is a definite perk to the job. Plus, clients always manage to keep things interesting with their comments, questions, suggestions and/or vents. Even though I no longer sling drinks behind the bar, I'm still working in a customer service position. Just this time, it's mainly with sober people.

I recently came across a letter I wrote to myself on the night of my last official shift working as a bartender. Even though it's more than four months old, I thought it be appropriate to post here:

"Tonight is my last night of bartending. I'm finally retiring and getting out from behind the bar. Can I get a moment of silence?

No, seriously. I am finally leaving the world of bartending behind for good. I first started as a bartender over eight years ago as a way to pay the rent through college. I've had so many amazing (and not so amazing) experiences. I've met an incredible amount of people, both sober and not so sober, along the way. The time has finally come where I set down my bar key and take the bar rag out of my back pocket for the last time.

As many of you may know, I've been in the midst of switching over from the bar/restaurant industry into the beauty/skin care industry. I received my esthetician license last year and have been working full-time as a Beauty Advisor ever since while still managing to bartender a few nights a week. I'm tired. I'm cranky. My heart is no longer into crafting cocktails for a thirsty public well into the wee hours of the night, especially since now I have to get up at 4 am for my day job. Getting up early really takes the magic out of everything.

I leave the world of bartending with no regrets. I've worked behind the bar at a variety of places, each one teaching me a thing or two about myself and mankind in general. I cherish all of my stories, both good and bad. I loved the flexible schedule bartending gave me to pursue my dreams and hobbies. I appreciated always having cash in my hand. I enjoyed teaching people my craft during my stint as a bartending school instructor. Most importantly, I've loved sharing all of my stories, experiences and advice with my loyal blog readers.

In my true fashion of seeing things through the glass is half-full perspective, I have jotted down a few reasons why retiring from bartending is going to be so awesome:

1. More sleep means less wrinkles.
2. My manicures will last longer.
3. No more late night snacking. Something about bartending late night always made me hungry.
4. There will be more time for working out in the gym so I can work off all of those years of late night snacking.
5. My social life will start existing again.
6. There wont be so many old men trying to hit on me on a nightly basis.
7. I will have more time and energy to dive headfirst into my new career.

So join me in raising a shot glass to my eight, solid years of service working behind the bar."

I've tried this "retired" thing once before. You think I'll last? I guess time will tell.

Give the gift of drinking for only $1

2011-03-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

A night out drinking with friends can get pretty costly, pretty quickly. You saddle up to the bar. She buys the first round of drinks. You buy the second round of drinks. Somewhere after the fourth or fifth round, you've lost count of whose turn it is to buy drinks. With a little liquid courage, you catch yourself saying "screw it" and now you're buying everyone in your group a round of drinks. If it's happy hour prices, then your generosity wont hurt your wallet too bad. But happy hour only lasts for a couple of hours until the drinks go back to full price.

What if there was a way where you could buy your friends cheap drinks at anytime of the night for prices even cheaper than what you'd pay during happy hour? The new app called Bartab is the self-proclaimed "Home of the $1 drinks" and allows you to buy drinks for yourself and your friends from any mobile device using Facebook, for only $1. That's right. You can buy your real friends, real drinks for only a dollar.

The basic concept behind Bartab is that you pay $1 to send a friend a drink. Your friend then claims the drink at the bar and pays $1 for their drink, plus tip. Please, for the love of God, do not stiff your bartender. This would be as bad as stiffing a bartender at an Open Bar.

Just signing up for the app, you receive a $5 bar tab that allows you to send out five drinks to either your friends or yourself for free. If any of your friends signs up for the app, you instantly receive a $10 bar tab. If you need to add money to your bar tab, just visit the "My Account" tab on the webpage. Bartab accepts Visa or MasterCard.

The app is a win-win for everyone involved. You get to buy cheap drinks for your friends. Your friends get to enjoy drinks on the cheap. The app brings new customers into the bar.

Here is how to app works. You install the free Bartab app from the app store, onto your mobile device. You then log into your Facebook account from the Bartab app. Once you're connected, pick a bar, the drink you want to purchase and choose your lucky Facebook friend. The drink is then sent to your Facebook friend via a posting on their wall and through a text message on their phone, giving them specific instructions on how to claim their drink. Once the drink is sent to the lucky Facebook friend, they then have 90 days to claim their drink. Recipients can claim their drink by showing the bartender their digital drink ticket. Once the drink recipient accepts their digital drink ticket, they have five minutes to claim their drink from the bartender.

You don't have to have an iPhone in order to use this app. Any sort of mobile device will do. There's the iPhone app, the Android app and there's also a mobile website that works with any phone that has an internet browser. If you're super old school, you can always redeem your drinks through SMS (good old text messaging.)

There are currently 14 different markets that contain over 600 bars in the network already. If you live in San Francisco, you can send a drink to your friend who lives in New York. A friend of mine who first introduced me to this app lives down in Los Angeles and was able to send me a drink that I could redeem here in San Francisco.

Please keep in mind that you can only claim one drink per hour and only one drink per bar a day. This app is perfect for bar hopping and pub crawls. Already redeemed your digital drink ticket at the bar? No problem. Wait an hour. Then visit another bar in the network to redeem a digital drink ticket from the next bar.

Also, just in case it wasn't already obvious, because we are buying alcoholic drinks here, you must be at least 21 years of age to buy and redeem drinks using the app.

Download the Bartab app and start being the fancy pants friend who buys the first round of drinks. Chances are, the more friends you have on the network, the more chance they'll buy you a drink right back.

Please drink and redeem your digital drink tickets responsibly. Tip your bartenders generously.

Coffee? Really?

2011-03-17T12:37:00.000-07:00

The first guests that sit at your bar will sometimes determine which way your night will go. You may get the tourists who show up an hour before opening and can't understand why you won't serve them drinks while they wait for the restaurant to be open and get seated at their table. If I clocked-in and started serving people drinks before I had a chance to set up my bar, not only would it take way longer than needed to make those first drinks, but I would be setting myself up to be running behind for the rest of the night. I appreciate customers and their enthusiasm to patronize our business, but we have a specific "opening" time for a reason.

Then you may have the first reservation of the night for the business party of 15 who slowly trickles in. Since it's not our restaurant's policy to seat a party until most of the guests have arrived, the hostess will direct them to the bar to have a drink while they wait. One by one, they show up straight from work. They're thirsty and ready to unwind. They're usually happy to see me (the bartender) as they have a seat and order drinks. Having a party like this as first guests of the night are great. Not only is it a steady pace of making drinks, but they usually all want it on one tab, pay using a company credit card and generally always tip a little more than 20%.

Solo diners are another nice way of starting off the night. They're not only thirsty, but hungry. They wont monopolize your bar space. They usually already know what they want to eat and drink. A couple glasses of wine and a steak later and they're on their way.

And then there are the people who come in at the beginning of the night who just want coffee. That's right, coffee. These people mistake our restaurant sign outside for a cafe or a Starbucks.

We had just opened for the evening. My bar was all set up, I was in a great mood and ready to make some drinks. I had the first four people who were part of a larger business party reservation sitting at the bar drinking beer and wine as they waited for the rest of their party to show up. A party of three tourists came in and headed for one of my bar tables in the corner. I thought about telling them that I couldn't have a party of three sit at a table clearly only big enough for two, but they were tucked back in the corner and made it very clear to me that they were not having dinner, just drinks.

As I walked out from behind the bar and around the group of people drinking at the bar to approach the table with three menus, the old man (clearly in-charge of the table) shooed away the menus. In his broken English, he told me that they would just be having coffee. I immediately regretted not having them sit at the bar in the first place. If I had known all they wanted was coffee, I would've saved the table for actual diners and made the three of them sit at the bar. Judging from the man's broken English, I knew that he wasn't from a country where servers and bartenders relied on their tips as a living wage. No matter how much energy I put into this table, I knew that my tip wasn't going to be anywhere near 20%.

Knowing that I had an upcoming rush of people coming in for drinks and dinner, I set up their table so that I wouldn't have to keep coming back to visit. I brought to the table three pots of coffee, plenty of cream and sugar and their bar tab. I had a rush scheduled to come in over the next half hour. I wanted to be sure I had plenty of time to serve all of those drinks and not have to worry about fighting through the crowd just to serve a measly cup of coffee.

My bar quickly filled up to capacity with the rest of the large business party reservation along with a couple of bar diners and a few other drinkers who were waiting to be seated at their table. Physically, I was no longer able to come out from behind the bar. My server drink tickets had started to coming in. There were too many people to navigate through the crowd. There were too many drinks that needed to be made. At this point, I barely had time to spare with taking care of the drink orders and the people actually sitting at the bar.

Once the large party had been seated and the diners at the bar had received their main entree, the business at the bar had died down considerably. I had enough time to start polishing glasses and prepare myself for the next rush. The man from my coffee table turned around and dropped the tab on the bar with just enough cash to cover the tab, along with a two dollar tip.

Yup, just as I had originally called it. I'm glad that I made the decision to take care of the rest of the bar and my servers who I knew would properly take care of me right back instead of going out of my way for the coffee party.

Breakups Make For Awkward Bar Moments

2011-03-12T20:04:00.000-08:00

Breaking up with someone is hard enough to do in the privacy of your own home. So why would someone ever want to do it at a public place like a restaurant or bar? Besides the fact that its embarrassing behavior on the feuding couple's part, it puts the people serving the pair in an uncomfortable spot. If a couple is in the midst of a heated argument, when is it really the right time to ask if they want another round or if they're ready to order dinner?

One of my servers had a couple sitting in her section that had come into the restaurant to celebrate their anniversary. The woman had arranged ahead of time for the server to have a chilled bottle of champagne waiting on their table. All the man had to do was show up, smile, drink the champagne with his partner and enjoy a nice, steak dinner. According to server, only after fifteen minutes of sitting at the table, they got into an argument and were requesting the food they had ordered to be doggy-bagged and the bottle of wine they ordered to be corked.

Watching a breakup is almost as uncomfortable as being part of the breakup. At least if you're a server, you can excuse yourself from the table and watch from afar to gauge when a good time to approach the table would be. As a bartender, you have nowhere to go, giving you front row tickets to Heartbreak Hotel, even if you didn't want to catch the show. All you can do is polish glasses and wipe down the bar, hoping that one of heated parties will be kind enough to close out their tab and take the fight somewhere else.

I'll never forget the time I witnessed a couple breakup at my bar. A woman had come into the restaurant and sat at the bar by herself. I poured her a glass of wine and asked if she would be dining at the bar. She told me that she was a half-hour early for her reservation and was waiting for her dinner date. Forty-five minutes and three glasses of wine later, the woman's date walked through the door. Before he could have a seat at the bar and set his stuff down, the woman began yelling at him for being late. Awkward. Especially since these were the only two people I had at the bar.

At first, I thought the woman was overacting. The man was technically only 15 minutes late for the dinner reservation and she was early. From what I could gather from the argument, this was not the first time the man had been late. Apparently this would be his last because as soon as she finished saying her piece, she asked me to close out her check and then left the restaurant in a huff. The guy paced in the bar area a couple of times before leaving the restaurant himself.

The next time you foresee a breakup in your future, please pay special attention to your surroundings. Bartenders and servers have enough crap to deal with from the dining public already. The last thing they should have to deal with is playing referee in a love spat. If there's no way around making a scene and having the breakup in the middle of a bar or restaurant, then the LEAST you can do is leave a 20% tip.

Can you believe...

2011-03-11T22:04:00.000-08:00

As I watched one of my server's snack on the green olives while she helped me stock my garnish tray one night last week, I came to the realization that out of all my years of bartending, I've never tried a green olive. Not once. Not ever.

Green olives are the staple garnish at any bar. All bars have some sort of variation of a green olive. Somehow I've managed to avoid snacking on green olives for the past eight years. I don't think it's anything against green olives. I've just never been tempted to eat anything out of a garnish tray. Maybe it's from all of the dirty, filthy hands I've seen reach into the garnish tray throughout a shift. Or maybe its the fact that garnishes aren't always as fresh as we'd like to believe them to be. You don't know want to know what some of those garnishes look like by the end of the night, when the lights are turned on, after hours.

Have you ever wondered what olive juice really is? I'll give you a hint. It's not really juice at all: Bartending 101: What is olive juice?

Things I've Learned Bartending in a Strip Club #10

2011-03-03T15:54:00.000-08:00

#10: The customer is not always right, especially in a strip club.

Working in a bar is completely different than working in an office or working in any type of retail position. Granted, bartenders are still in the business of customer service and catering to the needs of the customer. When alcohol is added to the mix, it changes the playing field entirely. Most customers don't have a problem controlling their alcohol intake. It's the people who can't control themselves after consuming alcohol that makes the job interesting.

I always managed to work the whole "the customer is not always right" to my advantage whenever I worked behind the bar. Granted, only the most awful customers would ever experience the wrath of my "the customer is not always right" bartender attitude. Nice customers always received my best customer service. I was always considered one of the nicer bartenders behind the bar at the club I worked at. As glamorous and fun as bartending in a strip club may seem, if you work behind the bar long enough in one of those places, it eventually starts to eat at your soul and make you bitter. The bitterness eventually comes out in the form of a "take no shit" attitude towards the customers.

Tell, Don't Ask

In a regular bar or restaurant, if a customer becomes overly intoxicated and starts bothering other paying customers, they will probably be given a warning or two and eventually be asked nicely to close out their bill and leave. It doesn't quite happen like that in a strip club. Sometimes customers might be given a warning or two for their bad behavior. If the customer fails to comply with the rules consistently, no one will ask the customer to leave. They will tell the customer to leave.

When you have a club full of scantily dressed women and drunk men, it makes perfect sense why there are strict rules in place. If a customer wants to stay, the customer has to play by the club's rules. When it comes to club management, there is no room for discussion. You either follow the rules or you leave.

Non-Tippers

My philosophy when bartending in a strip club was if you're there, you're there to spend money. If you had money to buy a lapdance, you had enough money to tip the bartender a dollar or two for your drinks. It always irritates me whenever I get stiffed, but it really got under my skin when I was bartending in a strip club. I would always give customers two chances (two rounds) to redeem themselves. If they stiffed me on the first round, I figured they were probably short on cash and would hook me up on the second round after they paid a visit to the ATM machine. If the customer stiffed me on the second round, I'd give them a dirty look. On the third round, I'd avoid the stiffing customer as long as I could. I would make sure to help everyone else around them. Sometimes the customer would catch on to my passive scolding and put money on the bar. As soon as that would happen, all would be forgiven. If the customer still didn't have a clue and asked me why I wasn't helping them, I'd kindly explain to them that since they had chosen to stiff me two times in a row, I'd no longer be serving them for the rest of the night.

The Snappers, Whistlers and Wavers

If you want to piss off a bartender, try snapping your fingers or whistling at them. It's the fastest way to either get kicked out of a place or to not be served at all. In the strip club, if a customer snapped their fingers or whistled to get my attention, I'd be sure to stop whatever I was doing and inform them in front of the entire bar that I wasn't a dog and I refused to be treated like one. This was always quite effective on a Friday or Saturday night when the bar would be packed. The public scolding would work twofold. First, the Snapper/Whistler knew right away that his bad behavior would not be tolerated at the bar. If he wanted to be served, he had to be polite and wait his turn, at the end of the line. Secondly, the rest of the bar would shame the Snapper/Whistler on his outrageous behavior.

The Wavers just get on my nerves. Wavers are always the people whom you know have never worked a day of their life in either a bar or restaurant. They have no clue as to how bar etiquette works. To them, they think as soon as they approach the bar, someone should be willing and able to serve them right away, never mind the rest of the people who were at the bar before them. The Wavers always seem to be the leader of their group. As soon as they approach the bar, they wave at you and then turn around to ask all of their buddies what they want to drink. Whenever I had a Waver come into the strip club, I'd mock them by waving right back at them and then purposely help the person right next to them. I knew I could always get away with going out of my way to piss off the Wavers in a strip club. My mocking them and their self-righteous attitude always taught them a valuable lesson in bar etiquette: if you want to be served at a bar, don't wave at the bartender and have your drink order ready.

Rude People

Most times in a customer service situation, if a customer is rude to you, you have to be nice back. It's the nature of the business. Working in a restaurant, I constantly have to bite my tongue and have a completely different conversation with a rude customer than the one I have in my head. That didn't seem to be the case in a strip club. If a customer was rude to me, I was always rude right back to them. I refused to take any of their crap. Management always backed us up too. I guess they figured with all of the crap we already had to put up with all of the sleazy dudes trying to pull one over, if someone got postal on us, management had no problems yelling at them as they kicked their rude ass out.

Whiners

Bartending in a strip club, it was a requirement that we had to measure out all of the alcohol for every single drink we poured. This rule was definetly not up for discussion between the management and staff. People would get fired for not using their jiggers to pour alcohol into drinks. There were cameras everywhere watching our every move. The club made a lot of money on alcohol sales. In the management's minds, if a bartender wasn't properly measuring out the alcohol for a drink, the bartender was stealing. Stealing is always the quickest and easiest way for any bartender to get fired, at any bar.

So if a customer ever complained about there not being enough alcohol in their drink, I'd snatch the drink right out of their hands and look them dead in the eye as I poured their drink down the sink. I would then grab the glass, set it on the bar and have the customer watch me remake their drink using the jigger. I'd inform them that it was the club's rules that every drink have a specific measure of alcohol in them. If they had problems tasting the alcohol, they could either order a double and pay for a double or drink somewhere else.

I have found in my experience as a bartender that whenever a customer complains about not being able to taste the alcohol in their drink, they're being cheap and trying to pull a fast one by getting more alcohol without having to pay for it. This customer probably even stiffed me on the first round. And then there's the customer who orders a drink that is loaded with sugar and mixer and complains when they can't taste the alcohol. If you want to taste the alcohol, then order alcohol, not a drink that is loaded with sugar and mixer.

Do You Suffer From Dry, Cracked Hands?

2011-02-27T23:50:00.000-08:00

Many of my fellow bartenders and I always seem to be comparing just who has the ugliest, driest and cracked hands. It's a painful badge of honor. Most bartenders don't have pretty hands. It's impossible. With all of the hand washing, constant submersion in water and exposure to citrus juice, its enough to leave one's hands extremely dry and cracked on a regular basis.

Some people call it Bar Rot. Some call it Eczema. Some just call it an occupational hazard.

I have tried prescription strength ointments, but nothing works as effective as my all-time favorite OTC treatment: Eucerin's Aquaphor Healing Ointment.

Things I've Learned Bartending in a Strip Club #18

2011-02-25T18:54:00.000-08:00

#18: The drunker a customer gets, the more generous the customer gets with their money.

I've worked in a variety of bars over the past 8 years such as nightclubs, college bars, lounges, restaurants, private parties, a strip club and live music venues. Whenever there is alcohol involved, people tend to get more generous the more they drink.

Out of all of the bars I have worked at during my bartending career, I'd never seen money flowing so freely like it did in the strip club. First, you have to pay to get in the door. Once you're inside, you have to pay for drinks. Then you have to pay for the company you keep while enjoying those drinks. When guys came into the strip club, they anticipated on spending some cash. Guys generally weren't there for the food or the beer. They were there to have their egos stroked and for some one-on-one attention with a pretty girl that normally wouldn't give him the time of day outside of the club. Those girls weren't there for fun. They were there to work. Just like the saying goes, "No money, no honey"

I noticed a common trend when I worked behind the bar at the strip club. Guys would come into the club sober. It would take them a few rounds before I could get them to start warming up to me. Once they got enough liquid courage, they would leave the bar and hit the floor looking for company. It wasn't until these guys were comfortable (and loaded up with liquor) that they would show me the love too. What would start off as tipping a dollar a drink would quickly turn into 2 or 3 dollars per drink. If they were sitting with a girl, the tips would increase even more. Who wants to look like a cheapskate in front of a pretty girl in her underwear?

Later on in the evening, I was not only a bartender, but I was also a change machine and a tour guide. Guys would approach the bar needing singles for tipping at the stage. The drunker they were, the more likely that they were to tip me for giving them change. Also, guys would run up to the bar frantically in search of the nearest ATM machine. I was always there to point out the machine or show them in the direction of where they could purchase funny money with their credit card. Once they had cash and approached the bar for another round, they'd tip me extra for all of my help.

Liquor courage in the strip club proved to be quite profitable for me.

We Reserve The Right To Refuse Service To Anyone

2011-02-20T20:44:00.000-08:00

Customers come in all different forms, shapes and sizes. I have my typical local customer that comes in every week, wanting to sit in the same spot, order the same drink and order the same meal. I have my business customers who come in anytime they are in town. I have the non-English speaking tourists who are annoying and don't tip well. I have my tourists who are cool and tip very well. I have my regulars. I have people whom I've ever seen before. And then there are the customers who get 86ed.

It takes a lot for a business to "86" a customer. In today's economy, no one can really afford to pick and choose their customers. Customers keep the lights on and the paychecks coming each week. So when a customer gets 86ed from a restaurant/bar, its for good reason.

I have seen a handful of customers get 86ed from the bars I have worked at over the years. There are many reasons why a customer would be 86ed from a bar like refusing to pay their tab, annoying other customers, stalking employees, getting smashed and destroying private property, threatening employees or other customers or using the bar as a public restroom.

We used to have this one customer who would sit at the bar by himself while eating his salad and drinking his beer while listening to headphones. Sure, he was a little odd, but he always seemed to keep to himself and pay his tab. That is until he started having his girlfriend join him at the bar. Whenever these two would come in together, they would always fight and cause a scene. One of the last times these two came into the bar, they not only got into a fight, but the woman stormed out of the restaurant. The guy announced that he would not be paying for the tab. We pointed out to him that he was essentially stealing from the restaurant and that he was not allowed to come back.

When he tried coming back into the restaurant a couple of weeks later, we had to politely remind him that we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone. Especially people who publicly skip out on their tab whenever their girlfriends storm out of the restaurant during a fight.

We had another customer who had frequented our bar for far too long. Each time the customer would come in, the entire staff would dread it and avoid her if they could. With each glass of wine she drank, the louder and more obnoxious she would get. Eventually it got to the point where her conversation topics and the volume of her voice were just too inappropriate for our restaurant environment. We had to draw the line when she started inflicting her bad behavior on a poor, unsuspecting couple who was celebrating their anniversary.

Months later this this customer stumbled into our restaurant after hours, saddled up to the bar and couldn't even see straight. Instead of wasting our time explaining to her why her business was no longer welcomed at our bar, we just offered to call her a cab.

Then there was that crackhead who had wandered into our restaurant. It only took her an hour to get 86ed from our restaurant permanently.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 explicitly prohibits restaurants from refusing service to patrons on the basis of race, color, religion, or natural origin. We do reserve the right to refuse service to anyone who acts like a fool and bothers all of the other paying customers around them.

Things I've Learned Bartending in a Strip Club #24

2011-02-19T21:16:00.000-08:00

#24: It's never a good idea to bring your significant other to a strip club.

95% of the customers who come into a strip club are male. The few female customers who come into a strip club usually come in with their significant other. I understand why couples come into a strip club. Some of them want to rev up their sex life. Others are curious. Let's be honest, what guy wouldn't want to jump all over the chance to watch his girl be smothered by another female? But at what price? I'm not talking about the nominal fee that you have to pay for the attention, but the emotionally charged insecurities that a strip club can bring out of that significant other.

Most of the time whenever couples came into the club, they would be pretty low key. They would either stop by the bar on their way in for a drink or two before finding a table out on the main floor. Some would skip the bar all together and hide in a corner, scouting out all of the girls and build up their liquor courage with each round the cocktail waitresses would bring them.

One couple stood out in particular as being the worse case scenario couple to have ever come into a strip club. When this couple first started their adventure at our club that night, their first stop was the bar.

The woman was clearly uncomfortable. The first thing the woman had told me was that coming into the strip club had not been her idea and that she didn't want to be there. I couldn't blame her. My heart went out to her. Her husband was clearly trying to fulfill some selfish sexual fantasy of his at his wife's expense. She warmed up to me almost instantly, probably because out of all of the girls in the club, I was wearing the most clothes.

As the husband excused himself to the restroom, the woman confided in me that she had never been in a strip club. I made it my mission to make this woman feel as comfortable as possible. I quickly assisted my cocktail waitresses and random customers that were ordering drinks at the bar while I still maintained my full attention on my conversation with this woman. I quickly gained her trust as I gave her the "ins" and "outs" of the club. I gave her a full layout of the land. I pointed out where things were in the club like the dj booth, restrooms and champagne rooms. I even made a point to show her the entertainers who I thought were cool and "girl friendly."

When her husband finally came back to join us at the bar, I could tell that the restroom hadn't been his only stop. Apparently he had made a few friends along the way and had been doing a little scouting for him and his wife. He started a tab with me and told me that for each round he ordered, he wanted his drink to be a double and to go light on the alcohol for his lady. I didn't really understand where he was going with his request, but I obliged. I decided to make a mental note to keep a close eye on the couple. I had a strange feeling about these two.

The first couple of rounds the husband and wife had at the bar seemed pretty harmless. One by one, the entertainers made their introductions to the couple. With each girl that came by, the wife would turn around to me and seek my approval. I gave her a wink for the girls I thought were cool and a little shrug for the girls I thought she should steer clear of. She appreciated my nonverbal clues and gave me a secret thumbs up for when she agreed with my taste.

Eventually one of the girls whom I had given the woman a wink about made her way into the champagne room with the couple. The hour they spent in the champagne room went by without a hitch. Once their time was up, the couple and their entertainer of choice emerged from the champagne room with smiles on their faces and saddled up at the bar together. It was clear that the wife no longer felt insecure or uncomfortable even though she was amongst girls half her age, running around in their underwear.

It wasn't until half way through the couple's next round at the bar that things started to take a turn for the worse. While the woman had been involved in a conversation with the entertainer who had joined the couple in the champagne room, her husband had managed to strike up a conversation with another entertainer. As soon as the wife realized that her husband was talking to another woman, something inside her snapped. She got up from the bar abruptly and stormed off to the restroom. The entertainer who had been talking to her followed her into the restroom to make sure she was okay.

The husband remained at the bar, unfazed that his wife was upset with the fact that he was talking with another woman. It wasn't until the man had decided that he wanted to go back into the champagne room with his new friend that he noticed his wife was no longer at the bar.

For the next two hours, I had to watch the wife trying to be coaxed out of the restroom in tears by a group of entertainers while her husband told me how crazy his wife was. According to the husband, it was the alcohol that made his wife crazy and insecure, never mind the wife's the realization that her husband loved spending time in strip clubs on a regular basis without her. Ouch!

I felt sorry for the wife. The first thing she had told me when the two of them had come in that night was how she didn't want to be in the strip club in the first place. It was obvious that she was insecure. She knew deep down inside that her husband frequented strip clubs. His insistence of her being in the club with him that night only solidified that insecurity. She could only play along for so long before the alcohol kicked in and her insecurities came rushing out.

Do yourself a favor. If your significant other tells you that they don't want to go to a strip club because it makes them feel uncomfortable, don't take that as an opportunity to get her drunk and force her to live out your girl-on-girl fantasy. Nothing says buzz kill like having the girls who are suppose to be creating a sexy fantasy for you, trying to calm down your girl who can't stop crying in the restroom.

Cool things come from San Francisco

2011-02-18T11:53:00.000-08:00

Cool things come from San Francisco such as the Golden Gate bridge, Cable Cars, Anchor Steam beer, Twitter and Drink Me Magazine.

Drink Me Magazine is a local print magazine that features 64-full color, glossy pages of San Francisco's bar and drinking culture every other month. The magazine is distributed FREE to its readers all over the city in local watering holes, liquor stores and at alcohol-related events.

This March will mark Drink Me Magazine's second year in print. Quite impressive especially since print publications seem to be a dying breed with everything going online lately.

Drink Me Magazine has no plans to slow down their growth spurt. Since they started publishing the magazine almost two years ago, the pages have doubled. The magazine is now up to 12 published issues. They just revamped their entire website and relaunched it this week. There is also word that the magazine is expanding to include New York in the near future.

Like I said, cool things come from San Francisco.

Be sure to check out the interview I did with Daniel Yaffe, the editor and publisher of Drink Me Magazine on my National Bartender page.

The Odd Couple

2011-02-13T15:52:00.000-08:00

I can't help it. I'm human. In the back of my mind, I always try to figure out the background story of the customers who sit at my bar. Who are they? Why are they here together? How do they know each other? I blame it on my minor in Sociology. I always want to know why people are the people they are and why they do the things they do.

Don't get me wrong. It's not like I am going out of my way to hear what the customers at my bar are saying to one another. I am fortunate enough to work behind a very small, intimate bar and have the opportunity of hearing everything that is discussed. Nine times out of ten, I am not even really listening because I am too busy making drinks and having conversations in my own head. Most of the time, I hear bits and pieces of a story or the tail end of a punch line. But every now and then, I can't help but tune in.

A couple of years ago, I had a couple come into the bar to have dinner. At first, I thought they were just friends. They weren't being the least bit romantic with one another. I could tell that they worked with each other because they were discussing day-to-day activities at the office and talking about various co-workers.

Once I opened a bottle of wine for these two, their conversation got very interesting. From what I could gather, they not only worked together, but the man was the woman's boss and they were having an affair. They were in the middle of discussing the man's wife and his kids. It sounded like they were planning on coming clean with their affair with his wife. The tricky part was not only did the man have kids, but the wife was a friend of the woman sitting at the bar.

Awkward. Not exactly restaurant dinner conversation. This certainly wasn't a conversation appropriate to have at such a small bar either. It's not like I could go anywhere else. I was there working, making drinks for the servers in the restaurant. The couple had come in at the later part of the evening. These two were the only people sitting at the bar. I was within arm's reach of them for their entire conversation. I guess they either didn't care or didn't realize that I was stuck having to listen to their soap opera life.

As if the situation couldn't get anymore uncomfortable or worse, the conversation switched from how the man was going to leave his wife to how he needed to check himself into rehab for his drinking and drug use. By this point of the conversation, our restaurant had already been officially closed for 45 minutes. These two were the only people in the restaurant, besides the closing staff. I was cleaning and closing up the bar around them. Apparently, they were too wrapped up in their conversation to realize that we had closed.

I eventually ran out of things to clean while waiting for these two to finish up. Up until this point, I had been escaping to the kitchen to fill in the closing server on what was going on with the outrageous and unassuming couple sitting at the bar. Now that the closing server was going home, I had no one else to share the crazy experience with.

Finally the couple finished their bottle of wine, took a look around and asked me if they were the only ones left in the restaurant. I smiled and said yes. When they asked me if we were closed, I smiled again and told them that we had been closed for an hour and a half. They looked at each other and their watches. Finally they had stopped talking to each other long enough for me to drop their check.

They didn't tip anything spectacular. At least not enough to make it worth my while to keep me long after closing and for having to hear all about their personal lives. They certainly did earn the title as the "Oddest Couple" to have ever sat at my bar.

***And wouldn't you know it, this same couple came back into my bar a year later. This time, the woman was pregnant and wearing a wedding ring.

Things I've Learned Bartending in a Strip Club #2

2011-02-04T17:23:00.000-08:00

#2: Two lime garnishes = no alcohol

This rule isn't so much for the customers. It's more like an unspoken rule between the staff such as the dancer, the cocktail waitress and the bartender. It's the easiest way for a dancer to communicate to the bar that she doesn't want alcohol in her drink without letting her paying customer know.

Why would a dancer not want her paying customer to know that she doesn't want to drink alcohol? Its the same idea as when a customer wants to buy the bartender a shot. If a bartender accepted shots from every customer who offered, it's highly unlikely that the bartender would be able to finish out their shift on their own two feet. Trust me, I've tried. Even in my prime time of drinking behind the bar while bartending, I was always more careless and sloppy when I drank with my customers than if I was sober. So could you imagine if a dancer drank with every customer she sat with in a given night? The poor girl would be stumbling around the club and crawling onstage, slurring her speech in her underwear and plastic high heels.

Now that I bartend in a restaurant, I just tell my customers that it is against company policy for me to drink on the clock. I thank them profusely for the offer and then blame the no-drinking policy on the bosses. If the customer pushes back, I say something along the lines of "Hey, you don't want me to lose my job, do you?" while flashing them a big, fat smile. That usually does the trick and they stop trying to make me feel guilty for not accepting their drink offer.

Working in a strip club or any kind of nightclub environment for that matter, it's not as easy to turn down a customer who REALLY wants their dancer, cocktail waitress or bartender to drink with them. It's a loud, party environment. If a customer wants to buy a staff member a drink and the staff member turns them down, they will take it personal. Money talks in a strip club. The customer will take their money to someone who WILL drink with them. Trust me, I've seen it a million times. Drunk people are not rational, remember?

So here come in the two limes...

If a dancer doesn't feel like drinking or if she legally can't drink (she's not quite 21), the easiest way to not turn off her drinking customer is to order a drink and request it with two limes, along with a little wink. That way the customer THINKS she's really drinking with him and she doesn't have to worry about getting wasted or breaking any rules.

For us bartenders, it's easy for us to get out of a drinking situation in a dark environment like a strip club or nightclub. A splash of Sprite, Coke or a mixture of juice make for great, fake cocktails. Customers never know unless they reach for the glass and take a sip. ;)

Things I've Learned Bartending in a Strip Club #15

2011-01-20T10:24:00.000-08:00

#15: You don't always get what you pay for in a strip club.

In strip clubs, customers believe that they get what they pay for. The more expensive the dancer, the better she'll be. The more expensive the alcohol, the classier it is.

I'm here to tell you that it's a big, fat MYTH. You do not get what you pay for in a strip club. In fact, the more you spend on something in a strip club, the bigger a loser you are. You better believe that the entire staff is watching you and snickering behind your back.

It would always crack me up when young guys (just barely past legal drinking age) would come into the club and make a big deal about ordering chilled shots of anything ("Goose", Patron, Belevedere) with pineapple backs, "Henney" and cokes or request Hennessey mixed with apple juice. Seriously? Take the bottle out of your mouth. We don't even carry apple juice. No legit bar does.

Real drinkers understand that top shelf alcohol (the expensive stuff that is so good, it has to sit on the back shelf of a bar and not in the well) is meant to be enjoyed on its own. It's not made to shoot back. It's not made to mix with soda, juice or any type of mixer. It's really not even meant to muddle with fresh fruit.

Bartending in a strip club, I recognized my place. I wasn't there to educate my clueless customers. I was there to sell drinks. My sole purpose was to make money for the club and fill my tip jar. There were plenty of times during a shift when all of us bartenders would share plenty of rolled eyes and "You're never going to believe what this asshole did..." type of stories. This is part of the reason why bartending in a strip club was the easiest type of bartending I had ever done. Certainly not the proudest moments of my bartending career, but it paid the bills and was a lot of fun.

Things I've Learned Bartending in a Strip Club #30

2011-01-17T18:12:00.000-08:00

#30: Every strip club needs a bar.

Let's face it. Strip clubs ooze sex. They are filled with desire and hope. Customers desire the attention of the dancers. The dancers hope the customers will give them money for their time and attention. Bartenders hope to make a drink and tips off any customer that comes to their bar, whether it be an actual customer or a dancer.

It's rare that a customer will patronize a strip club without having some sort of alcohol in his system. When a customer comes into a strip club, the first place he usually stops at (besides the ATM machine right outside the club) is the bar. It's a transition for the customer. He is mentally adapting from the outside world to the inside of his carnal desires. The bar gives the customer a chance to take a breath, relax and form some sort of game plan in his head before venturing out to the floor filled with plastic shoes, glitter and g-strings.

Bars are the social epicenter in any strip club. Dancers use the bar to seek out potential customers. Dancers can smell money all the way from the dressing room. Dancers know that all the fresh meat in the place (the guys who still have cash in their pocket) will be sitting at the bar. Customers might think they are the only ones who are sizing up the inventory. Little do they know, the dancer has already decided on which guy at the bar has the most money. This assessment will determine which guy she will introduce herself to first.

Throwing a bartender in the mix acts as a buffer for both the customer and the dancer. The bartender acts as the middleman, the innocent party if you will. While the customer and dancer are busy sizing each other up, the bartender is busy lubricating the newly acquainted couple with alcohol. The customer knows that the odds are in his favor. His wallet can have any girl he desires in the strip club. But he knows that the one girl he doesn't stand a chance of being able to have an intimate, one-on-one interaction with is the female bartender. If the female bartender plays her cards right by flashing a few smiles and having a friendly chat with the customer, the customer's desire is more likely to leave her a bigger tip.

A strip club is a social circus where the traditional roles are reversed. Men come inside for the attention and become the prey for the women who come inside for the money (and sometimes attention). When you add alcohol to the mix, everything gets a little easier for everyone involved. The customer relaxes. The dancers generally make more money. The bartender walks away with a healthy tip bucket. It's one of the only triangles where everyone involved walks away a winner.

Two Things That Drive Me Crazy

2011-01-15T21:49:00.000-08:00

There are two things that really drive me crazy whenever I am working behind the bar:

1. People who try to come in before we're open for business

I spend the hour before we open up for business setting up the bar. I cut fruit. I stock fresh garnishes. I bring out the mixers. I fill my well with ice. I stock up my juices. I make espresso drinks for the kitchen. I make fruit punch drinks for the runners. I count my drawer. I use this hour to not only physically prepare my bar for the evening, but I prepare myself mentally for the night as well.

It irritates me to no end when we get customers who come in before we open and demand a drink. Are you kidding me? If I take the time to serve you before I have a chance to set up my bar, I risk falling behind for the rest of the night. It might not be such a big deal on a slower night. If its a busy night, your stupid drink might set me back so far that I never quite get the chance to get caught up for the rest of the night. No one wants to start off their night already being behind. The bar and restaurant industry appreciates the business it receives from its customers. Please try to patronize the business during its set business hours. There's a reason why we open at 5 and not 4:30.

2. People who try to come in 5-10 minutes before closing

Slow nights suck. Slow nights are painful because the time drags by as you watch the clock and then watch the door, hoping and waiting for customers to come in. Now picture this. You've just spent the last 5-6 hours watching the clock tick by. You had a couple of customers here and there, but no one has come in over the last hour. Since closing time is officially less than 20 minutes away, you start to close down the bar because there's no one there. You've just tossed out the rest of your lemons, limes and fruit garnishes when the door opens and a customer walks in. Are you serious? There's no one in the bar or restaurant and it's now five minutes to closing. That sucks.

It's painful to keep a kitchen open long after closing for the one person who decides to come in right before closing. That means the kitchen staff, server, bartender and manager on duty all have to wait patiently and watch (in vain) as the customer enjoys their meal because none of us can go home until the customer does.

The next time you dine out, please reconsider when you walk into a bar or restaurant before opening or near closing and don't expect to be welcomed with open arms. Chances are if you were in the restaurant/bar staff's shoes, you would be just as annoyed if either one of these scenarios happened to you.

And don't even get me started on the customers who sit and chat at their table well past closing time.

If you ever find yourself in the position where you just can't resist patronizing a business outside of it's designated business hours, make it worth the staff's while by being a generous tipper.

Bloody Mary: The Meatloaf of Cocktails

2011-01-09T20:10:00.001-08:00

Just in case you missed it my dearest readers. Here is my article that was published in Drink Me Magazine last year featuring one of my all-time, personal favorite cocktails, the Bloody Mary.

I was just Googling myself and found this article which was posted in Issue Six of the magazine back in February 2010. I almost forgot I had written it. I sure did have a ton of fun doing the research for the article.

Drink Me Magazine: Something About Mary by Kathleen Neves (aka Cielo Gold)

What's Good?

2011-01-08T18:20:00.000-08:00

"What would you like to drink?"

This is how I typically start every single one of my bar transactions with a customer.

Every now and then I get a customer who responds to my question, "Well, what's good?"

It's fine. I get it. People like this are trying hard to be funny in front of their friends. If it's slow enough at the bar, I might humor the customer and ask them what types of drinks they normally drink or what spirit they would like their cocktail to be based on. But in most of my experiences, the wisecracking customer always seems to ask this question at the wrong time...when I am knee deep in drink orders from servers and have a packed house at the bar. I'm talking standing room only. It's at times like these when all I can say in response to the customer is "Well, EVERYTHING is good", just as I take the drink order of the person standing next to the wise guy.

That's right. People who try to be funny when a bartender is busy generally get skipped. It's not that we are trying to be rude. We are just trying to be efficient. If not only for the tip jar, but for the bar.

When a bar is busy and there is only one bartender taking the drink orders and making the drinks, there isn't a whole lot of time to have a discussion about what "good" drink a customer should have. If a bartender does stop in the middle of a rush to have this type of conversation, you better believe the rest of the bar will be watching angrily and slapping their fists full of cash on the bar.

Do yourself a favor potentially wisecracking customer. Be mindful of the bar and save your funny comments and responses for the slower portions of the evening. Trust me, you will be better off annoying the poor bartender who has to pretend to laugh and strain to find humor in your comments than having to deal with the wrath of countless thirsty bar patrons who already know what's "good" and are ready to order.

Thanks for featuring my blog College Crunch!

2011-01-07T10:05:00.000-08:00

It was just brought to my attention yesterday that my Cielo Gold: San Francisco Bartender blog was featured by College Crunch as one of the 50 Best Blogs for the Home Bartender, specifically under The Bartending Experience section.

I know I haven't been active updating my blog this past year, but it always brightens my day when people discover my blog and love it. If that isn't inspiration to make this blog active again, I don't know what is.

Speaking of active, look at who finally posted something on her National Bartender Examiner page yesterday:

Kara Newman finds the balance in creating a spicy cocktail

*Kara Newman is the author of Spice & Ice: 60-Tongue Tingling Cocktails, an awesome book featuring hot, spicy and perfectly balanced cocktails categorized by the seasons. All of the recipes feature, fresh and seasonal ingredients.

Even though I am still in the midst of switching careers/industries, I still manage to find the time to work two nights a week behind the bar. Here's to plenty more bar stories and drink recipes in the near future.

Happy New Year 2011 everyone!

The dumb things customers say

2010-09-29T12:28:00.000-07:00

In the service industry, you're nothing without your customers. So bless them for saddling up at the bar and helping me pay my rent. But sometimes, the things customers say really crack me up. To the point where I question their thinking process. I mean really, it's just a drink.

It's interesting to see how some guy will react to certain cocktails and the glasses they're served in. I had a group of three guys sitting at my bar one night. Guy Number One ordered a specialty cocktail featured on our menu that is served in a martini glass. He took a sip of the cocktail and exclaimed how delicious it was. A satisfied customer. Guy Number Two ordered a beer. Bless him. So easy and fast. Guy Number Three looked at Guy Number One's cocktail in a martini glass and then at Guy Number Three's beer, looked at the menu, looked at me and then asked me if "said specialty cocktail on our menu" was a "girlie" drink? I asked him what about the drink he thought made it "girlie?" Then I asked him what makes any drink gender specific really. If he wanted to try the drink, then he should try it. A drink wasn't going to make him anymore of a man or anymore of a woman. He quickly apologized because he thought he had offended me. He didn't offend me. I just thought his question was stupid.

Then there was the lady who picked out the sweetest cocktail on our cocktail menu, easily dessert in a glass. When the lady ordered her cocktail, she proceeded to request that her drink have Amaretto omitted from it. The reason why? She thought the Amaretto would make her drink too sweet. The ingredients for the cocktail she ordered included: Kahlua, Frangelico, Amaretto, Baileys, a shot of espresso, half and half, chocolate sprinkled rim and Chantilly cream on top. Trust me, the subtraction of Amaretto would not have made the drink any less sweet. I made the drink per her request, minus the Amaretto, but I couldn't help but think how her request was just plain stupid. If you don't want a sweet drink then don't order a sweet drink.

Customers not only help me pay my rent on a regular basis, but they are quite entertaining in the process.

Making the Transition...

2010-07-12T11:04:00.000-07:00

from bartending to skincare and makeup

My Life as a Esthetician

Little Time For......

2010-07-11T23:37:00.000-07:00

blogging these days, obviously. My last entry was on May 2nd and here it's now July 11th. Sorry guys. I really miss writing in my blog. So much in my life has been happening and I have no time to dump it out on the internet. I have just been swamped with school, work, facials, waxing, makeup, sleeping, studying and trying to keep my sanity in the process. The good news? I have less than two months left of school. The bad news? Well, there really isn't any except that I have very little spare time for anything that doesn't pertain to school or work these days.

I'm really digging the makeup aspect of school. Perhaps I will start putting together some how-to makeup videos, showcasing various looks. Is anyone out there interested?

As you can see, my heart is no longer in bartending. It's moved on into a new and exciting industry. Skin, skin care and makeup!!!

People Turn Mean at Last Call

2010-05-02T11:51:00.001-07:00

Why is it that people turn mean at the announcement of Last Call?

Case in point: one Saturday night I was having a rather smooth and painless evening behind the bar. The bar was fairly busy, people were tipping and we hadn't ran out of glassware (yet). As soon as the DJ announced Last Call, the night instantly turned from peace into total chaos in a matter of seconds. It seems that whenever the DJ calls Last Lall, people rush the bar to get in their last minute drink orders. I love inflated crowd. The more people ordering drinks means the more tips the bar will make.

On this particular night everything that went wrong did. One of the signed credit card slips went missing so I had to put on a pair of rubber gloves and dig through the trash for it. Since I had to dig through the trash, it took me away from making drinks temporarily. Some customers didn't understand this. Even though there was another bartender behind the bar making drinks, people still yelled at me. One guy even whistled. Did I mention how much I hate it when customers whistle?

After the credit card slip was found, I was able to hop back into the game and quickly make drinks for customers. The first guy I went up to griped at me about how he had waited 20 minutes. I called him out and told him it hadn't been 20 minutes. I asked him if he wanted to order a drink or and argue with me. He told me to shut up. The friend he was with looked mortified and quickly apologized on his friend's behalf. It was too late. I already had a bouncer waiting behind him to escort both of the guys out.

Then I had the guy who, when he originally placed his order with me, ordered four drinks. I confirmed his drink order, repeating it back to him (just like I do with all of my customers) before leaving him to make the drinks. When I came back with the four drinks, he then decided he only wanted two of them, even though he had ordered four. What a waste of time. Now I had to scold him for ordering drinks and changing his mind about them after they were made and then explain to him why he still had to pay for all four drinks.

After that, I had to have two separate detailed conversations with customers about why we call Last Call and stop serving drinks before two o'clock. Of course in this case with these types of customers it's always my fault, even though not serving alcoholic beverages after 2 am in the state of California is a STATE LAW. Explaining a state law to a drunk person is usually a waste of time. They only hear the word "NO" and not the logical rationale behind it. Eventually you just have to walk away from those types of customers.

The best part about Last Call is when the time comes when the alcohol has been locked up for the night and that there are absolutely no more alcoholic drinks to be served, I get to say "no" to the lame jerks who were mean and rude in the first place. That's when I just point to the locked up alcohol, shrug my shoulders, smile and say "Sorry about your luck."

I especially love doing this to the lousy or non-tippers.

Switching Gears

2010-04-30T23:25:00.000-07:00

This week marks my first week at beauty school. I am now enrolled in a 17-week program to get my esthetician's license. So far I have learned about microorganisms, good bacteria versus bad bacteria and that bar soap manifests bacteria because bacteria loves living in warm, dark and damp environments. I have since switched to using liquid soap. We have even already shadowed other student estheticians giving treatments (facials and waxing) on real clients.

I think the hardest part of going back to school so far is adjusting to the grueling schedule: Tuesday thru Saturday, 8:30am to 4:30pm. Add in four shifts of working behind the bar a week and I've got myself a loaded schedule.

So don't be surprised if some of my upcoming entries in the blog are esthetically focused instead of bar related. I'm learning so many new things, I want to share the new knowledge. I'm also starting to really get excited about my new career. Now that I am in school, becoming an esthetician is quickly becoming a reality to me.

You Drink Em, You Bought Em.

2010-04-23T10:33:00.000-07:00

I had a guy come into the bar once who repeatedly accused me of taking his drinks. Sure, there are times when I have thrown out someone's drink on accident. It's pretty common: you see a near empty drink on the bar, there's no one around drinking the drink and there isn't a napkin over the drink (the universal sign for "Hey Bartender, I'm coming back so don't dump my drink out.") So in an effort to keep a tidy bar, I throw the abandoned drinks out.

In this particular case, the customer would come sit down at the bar, order a drink, drink the entire drink and then leave the bar area. Naturally, I toss empty glasses by default. When the customer would return back to the bar, he would ask where his drink went and then accuse me of throwing out his drink that he hadn't yet finished. The first time this happened, I comped his drink. Even though I knew that his glass was empty, I'm still in the business of customer service. I just wanted to shut this guy up and make him happy.

The second time this same scenario happened, I had actually watched the customer leave the bar entirely. The glass was empty and I figured he was leaving the bar for the night. Of course the customer came back and demanded to know where his drink went. I became suspicious. Instead of just comping him another drink, I explained to the customer that I took the glass away because it was EMPTY. The guy had the nerve to tell me that his drink was half full. I told him that I was more than happy to make him another drink, but he would have to pay for it. He didn't like that answer. Then he told me that he was a server. Well, if he was indeed a server, he should know better to appreciate the first drink that I comped him (which he did not tip on) and if he didn't want me to touch his glass then leave a napkin over it whenever he walked away from it. I firmly stood my ground and he bought another drink.

Throughout the course of the night, he would "leave" his drink in magical places around the bar and complain that someone was taking his drinks. Each time he complained that someone took his drink and wanted another one (which he did for the next three rounds), he would be upset that I would charge him.

Sorry buddy, but if you drink the drink then you have to pay for it. Be sure to ALWAYS tip your bartenders and waitstaff. :)

Whenever You Have A Moment...

2010-04-22T12:55:00.000-07:00

Why is it that whenever I am at my busiest behind the bar (server tickets printing out of control and standing room only at the bar full of thirsty customers), people will sometimes try to get my attention by uttering, "Whenever you have a moment..."

Whenever I have a moment? Why don't you hop in line behind all the people who have been waiting at the bar before you along with my servers who also need their drinks for their tables. It's not like I'm sitting back here picking my nose. Whenever I have a moment. Sheesh!

Also, screaming "Hey Bartender!" at me will only get you ignored and keep you at the end of the line. Just be patient like everyone else. Don't worry, I know who's next in line and I'm moving just as fast as I can to get to everybody because I want your money too. :)

Things I've Learned Bartending in a Strip Club #7

2010-04-15T12:52:00.000-07:00

#7: The bar is the bartender's stage.

So bartending in a strip club has its perks. The money is good. It's great for people watching. The "scenery" isn't too shabby. Working in a strip club, its obvious that the dominant clientele is going to be male. There are many reasons why men frequent strip clubs. Where else can a guy grab a beer and look at women running around in their underwear, willing to talk to them? This attention comes with a price, but that's what the men come for and they're willing to pay for it.

Believe it or not, there are strip club customers out there who come in for the bar staff and don't get lap dances. I didn't believe it until I started meeting regular customers who would come in and not once ever leave the bar area. That's right. Not everyone coming into a strip club is looking for a lap dance. I have guys who come in during my shifts every week who chat it up with me at the bar and candidly tell me that they have no interest in the ladies performing on stage.

Which brings me to the question I get asked every night:

"So when do YOU go on stage?"

I have customers all the time, at least once a night, ask me if I dance or when it will be my turn to get onstage. My reaction is always the same. I smile and laugh while pointing at the bar and say "This is my stage and I'll be performing here all night." It seems to be working because the customers always come back to saddle up at my bar, each week.

It doesn't matter what type of bar you bartend at. Having a sense of humor and a good personality will always help you build up a regular clientele base, even when you are competing with half naked girls running around all over the place.

Reflection: 2009

2010-01-09T01:26:00.000-08:00

2009 was a whirlwind of a year. I feel like I started it off on the right foot, was doing alright, took a chance, fell behind and by the year's end, picked myself back up and started it all over again. I'm still working just as hard as I have always been, but this year (2010), I want to work smarter instead of harder.

I bartended my whole way through 2009. I even dabbled a bit in bar managing. I also started writing for Examiner.com in 2009. Writing for Examiner.com is something that I still do on a consistent basis. I am just as passionate about writing as the Bartender Examiner as the first day I started. Now that I have myself pretty established on my Examiner page, I'd like to focus on getting my writing out there in the print form such as in magazine articles and maybe, possibly start working on that book I've always wanted to write.

Before moving full-speed ahead onto 2010, let's look back at my ten most popular articles posted on my Examiner.com page this past year:

#10: George Dickel, the other Tennessee whiskey
#9: Busting bar myths: Why Corona is garnished with a lime
#8: Bartending 101: What is a barback?
#7: Busting bar myths: Food does not sober a person up
#6: Find a bartender job: Interview
#5: Redhook Brewery
#4: Bartending 101: What is triple sec?
#3: 11 factors that affect a person’s BAC
#2: Bartending 101: What is rye whiskey?
#1: Find a bartender job: Resume

There is a lot of hope for 2010. I can feel it. There is power is positive thinking. I am bound and determine to finish what I've started and to get it right once and for all this year. I promise to continue to bring educational and entertaining content throughout the new year on both my blog and Examiner.com page.

Thanks for reading!

When a customer repeatedly stiffs you

2010-01-07T10:20:00.000-08:00

It's bad enough when a customer stiffs you on a tip for a round or two, but what if a customer repeatedly stiffs you on every single round that they order? How I handle the situation all depends on the bar I am working at. Sometimes bars and restaurants have a strict policy about customer service. They fumble over themselves doing whatever it takes to make the customer happy. That means that when a customer doesn't tip, there isn't much you can do or say. You just have to accept it and hope that the next customer does tip.

Then there are places where providing good customer service isn't as much of a priority as it is to pour an accurate shot amount. When customer service in general goes by the wayside, you have a little bit more flexibility in how you handle the stiffers. I'm the type of bartender that feels it is important to always provide good customer service. My philosophy? The better the service, the better the tip. It also increases the chances of return business.

When some bartenders call out a customer right after the first or second round, I give the customer three chances (just like three strikes). After the third round of being stiffed, I pull the customer aside and check in with them. I ask them if the drinks and the service being provided is okay. If they answer yes with a smile, I then let them know that when a customer doesn't tip, it makes the bartender think that there is a problem with the drinks or service and because they haven't tipped me on any of the rounds that they've ordered, it leads me to believe that there might be a problem.

Now this conversation can go a few ways and you have to be prepared to deal with the repurcussions. Either the customer will "get it", apologize and grab whatever cash is in their pocket and leave it on the bar as a tip. Or the customer could just be a complete jerk who doesn't tip and just walks away. Then there are the customers who don't speak a lick of English and don't understand what you're saying so they just smile and walk away.

With the non-English speaking customers, I've had the best luck when they come in groups because there's always one person in the group who does speak English. The English speaking group member will see that a conversation is taking place at the bar, come up to the bar to make sure that everything is okay and when they realize what we're talking about, they'll leave some sort of tip.

Most importantly, as a bartender you have to pick and choose your battles. You don't want to be the whiny, rude bartender, but then again you work for tips and don't want to be constantly ran over by the cheap customers. In the big picture, the tips all even out at the end of the shift anyways. For the one person who doesn't tip, there will be someone who over tips. So don't get upset over the one person who stiffs you on a round. It happens. But when a customer does it each and every time they order a drink (even more so if their order is complicated and their high maintenance), then having the conversation might be a good idea.

Simple Questions Always Have Complex Answers

2010-01-06T22:05:00.000-08:00

Why does it seem like when customers are asked the most simple questions, they respond with the most complex answers?

How are you today?
What would you like to drink?
Would you like your beer in a chilled glass?
Is everything okay?

It might be hard to imagine that simple questions like these lead to exhaustive answers from certain customers. Like when you ask a customer if they want their bottled beer served in a chilled glass and instead of answering yes or no, they look at you like you've just asked them how to solve global warming.

Or when you ask a customer what they want to drink they respond with, "I don't know. What's good?" Then you have to spend the next ten to fifteen minutes trying to figure out what spirits and cocktails the customer normally only to have them order a beer or a glass of house wine.

Even the "How are you today?" can lead into a long winded discussion involving a customer's number of ailments and personal woes, making you sorry that you asked in the first place.

Simple questions should always have simple answers.

Are you listening or just dumb?

2010-01-05T20:42:00.000-08:00

In the state of California, the ABC has a strict policy about not serving alcoholic drinks past 2AM. Most bars will close at 2AM, but there are a few "after hours" bars that remain open well past 2. Even though a bar might be open past 2, it can only serve non-alcoholic drinks. Chances are those bottled waters, cans of Red Bull and sodas will be more expensive in an after hours club, after hours, than during normal hours. It's just the nature of the business. Business is business.

It's a hard transition to make when 2AM comes around. The booze have to be locked up and put away and there is still a club full of thirsty customers. Bartenders work for tips and therefore generally hate having to tell a customer no. Sometimes customers can't understand why a club will remain open and not serve alcohol. Customers who get upset about not having access to alcohol past 2AM either aren't familiar with the ABC and its statewide liquor laws or they are from a state that serves alcohol after two.

It's hard enough having to tell a customer no. It's even harder to have to tell a customer no, multiple times. Here is a typical conversation that takes place between a bartender and a customer in an "after hours" club, after 2AM:

Customer: "Can I get a Corona?"
Bartender: "We aren't serving alcohol."
Customer: "Can I get a Stella?"
Bartender: "I'm sorry, but we stopped serving alcohol at 2AM."
Customer: "Can I get a Heineken?"
Bartender: "No! I'm sorry, but it is California law that I can't serve alcohol past 2AM."
Customer: "What time is it?"

At this point, the bartender usually slaps their hand on their forehead and moves on to the next customer only to have a similar conversation.

I always find it entertaining when a customer tries to get me to serve them an alcoholic beverage well after last call. It's even funnier when they try to bribe me. If a customer honestly thinks I am willing to risk my job and bartending career just so I can serve them a drink for a couple hundred bucks, than the joke's on them. All of the bribing, whining and pleading wont get them anywhere with me.

The Stiffer Who Got Stiffed

2010-01-03T03:41:00.000-08:00

The Stiffers. There's always a couple each shift. These are the people who leave a big fat zero for a tip. If a customer stiffs me once, it sucks, but it isn't the end of the world. If a customer stiffs me multiple times in a row or on a large tab, chances are the next time they approach my bar, I wont help them right away and when I do, the drink they order will be on the weak side.

Every time this one customer would come up to the bar, he would order one beer at a time. Each time he would order a beer, he would give me his credit card and have me close him out. On every round he ordered, he would only sign the slip and not leave me a tip. Talk about a pain in the ass. This guy was not only stiffing me, but having to run his card for one beer each time instead of running his card once at the end of the night was a bit time consuming.

By the fourth time the Stiffer approached the bar, last call had been announced. I knew that the Stiffer wanted another beer, but I also knew that he wasn't going to tip me. I had plenty of other customers to take care of so it was easy to make myself look busy and not get to the Stiffer right away.

When I finally did get around to helping the Stiffer, last call had come and gone and we weren't serving any more alcohol for the night. Whoops! When I explained to the Stiffer that I couldn't serve him a beer passed two (Hey, it's the law!), he told me that he had been waiting for someone to help him. That's when I smiled, looked him in the ye and told him, "Maybe you shouldn't have stiffed me three times. If you would have tipped, you might have been helped faster."

The Stiffer had nothing to say. He knew that I was right. Maybe next time he will reconsider stiffing a bartender multiple times a night.

The Change Thrower

2010-01-01T11:30:00.000-08:00

Some bars use change. Others only use paper money. When working at a bar that deals with change, often times customers will leave their tip in the form of the actual change. The change itself isn't a big deal. You can cash it all in at the end of the night for bills. What's a big deal is when customers decide to literally throw their change on the bar. I don't know about you, but I don't like to have anything thrown at me, even if it's change.

I once had a customer come up to the bar and order a beer. There was no "please" or "thank you" involved with his request. He quickly approached the bar, grunted the name of the beer he wanted and refused to make any sort of eye contact with me. Not exactly the nicest guy, but whatever. He was just ordering a beer. The sooner I helped him, the sooner I could get him out of my face.

I set the beer down in front of him and said "$6.50 please." He threw a twenty on the bar. I brought him back his change and watched him throw the two quarters on the bar towards me along with a couple bucks. For as rude as he was, he left a pretty decent tip for his beer. It wasn't until he walked away that I picked up the change and noticed the five dollar bill underneath the singles. Score. The rude customer was so busy giving me attitude that he didn't even notice that he left me a tip that was more than the beer itself.

NYE is for Amateurs

2009-12-31T11:22:00.000-08:00

For some, New Years Eve is the biggest and most celebrated party night of the year. For the rest of us, its just another night at work. When I tell customers that I have to work on NYE, they feel sorry for me that I can't be out celebrating. Don't cry for me Argentina. I'd rather work NYE than be out with all of the amateurs. Here's why:

Everything is Expensive and Overpriced
Think about it. You can go out to any club or bar any night of the week. When NYE comes around, suddenly everyone else wants to go out too. Bars, clubs and restaurants capitalize on this notion by increasing the price on everything. Drinks are more expensive. Prix fixe menus are everywhere. Cover charges are outrageous. All of a sudden, it costs three times the normal amount to eat out and booze it up just because it's the last night of the year.

Long Waits
Going out on NYE means waiting. You have to wait in line to get into the party/bar/club/restaurant. You have to wait at the bar for your drinks. You have to wait for your cocktails server to bring you your bottle service. You have to wait for a cab in order to go to the next party or to go home. The extreme wait times are due to the fact that there are a whole lot more people out on the town than on any normal night. Most of the people whom are out probably don't normally go out all year long. Most people have New Years Day off (unless you work in the service or retail industry) so they go out all night long on NYE and then spend the day after NYE at home, in bed, with a hangover. Which leads me to my next point...

Amateurs
With the dramatic increase in people out on the town, you're bound to run into a lot of amateurs. I'm not referring to the newly turned 21-year-old-types either. I'm referring to the people who only go out and drink once a year (NYE). Amateurs don't understand the concept of moderation. They get excited. Hey, it's their big night out of the year. Amateurs arrive early to their parties, take advantage of and often abuse the open/hosted bars and are usually found passed out in a corner somewhere well before the countdown. The amateurs are the best and worse part of NYE for bartenders. Amateurs are great for people watching and provide many entertaining stories to share with the rest of the staff at the end of the shift. Amateurs can also be a headache, not being aware of proper bar etiquette and therefore almost always slow down service at the bar.

Make Money Instead of Spending Money
Let's face it. With the increase of drinkers out on the town, it just makes more financial sense for me as a bartender to work behind the bar on NYE. Sure, I might miss the countdown and a New Years kiss at midnight because I'm in the middle of making drinks for a thirsty customer or pouring countless glasses of champagne just so my customers can have something in their hands for the midnight toast. On the flip side, I'm making money off the amateurs and not spending my money on inflated cover charges and overpriced cocktails.

Besides, the real players know that the really fun parties aren't until New Years Day anyways, long after all the amateurs have gone home and tucked themselves into bed or passed out in a gutter somewhere.

Happy New Year everybody. Thanks for reading.

New Frontier

2009-12-22T12:25:00.000-08:00

I am about to start a new chapter in my bartending career. I officially started training to bartend at a gentleman's club this week. I am really excited for the opportunity. I have bartended in all sorts of bar: live music venues, restaurants, nightclubs, lounges, dive bars and even a few private parties, but never a gentleman's club.

I can't imagine working in a bar like this would be much more different than working behind any other bar. Customers and servers order drinks, you make the drinks. You accept payment, ring payment into the register and thank the customers. Show up on time, do your J-O-B and its easy-breezy.

Each bar has its own special lure to get customers through the door like specialty cocktails, live music, amazing food or topless ladies. In the big scheme of things, it doesn't matter what type of bar I work in because wherever I go, I always bring my hardworking, bubbly personality, tasty cocktail making and superb customer skills with me. For this particular experience, it doesn't look like the focus will be so much on my award winning cocktails as it will be on my charming personality and also perhaps the low cut shirt I am wearing during my shift. Hey, its a gentleman's club. You have to play the part.

Wish me luck!

Hot Toddy Weather

2009-12-10T12:21:00.000-08:00

It's been really cold over the last couple of weeks here in San Francisco. So it's no surprise that there has been a surge in the amount of Hot Toddy's ordered at the bar lately. Due to the drink's recent rise in popularity at my bar, I give you my own Hot Toddy recipe and a small variation for those feeling a little under the weather:

My Traditional Hot Toddy Recipe:

2 oz bourbon
1 sugar cube
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
hot water

In a heat-resistant glass, add bourbon, sugar cube, lemon juice and fill the remainder of the glass with hot water. Stir until the sugar cube is fully dissolved. Serve with a lemon wedge.

Feeling-Under-The-Weather Hot Toddy Recipe:

2 oz bourbon
1 sugar cube
1/2 fresh lemon juice
a pinch of fresh ginger
hot water

In a heat-resistant glass, add ginger and muddle. Add bourbon, sugar cube, lemon juice and fill the remainder of the glass with hot water. Stir until the sugar cube is fully dissolved. Let the drink sit for a minute or two so that the ginger can infuse itself into the drink. Before serving, be sure to strain out the ginger. Serve with a lemon wedge.

Stay warm!

You're cutting me off?

2009-12-09T02:29:00.000-08:00

It's never easy cutting off a drunk person. No matter how calm or rational you are, the rationality is always wasted on the drunk person you are cutting off.

A woman walked into the bar the other night and made it really obvious that she was loaded. It's one thing to get drunk at an establishment. It's another thing to come into a establishment already tanked and act like a fool. Looking back on the incident, we should have just asked her to leave from the beginning. But in fear of making a poor, customer service call, we gave her the benefit of doubt.

This chick was all over the place. Everywhere she went, she stumbled and slurred. She was loud and obnoxious. She even shattered a martini glass at her table just because it was in front of her. Her friends were so embarrassed by her public drunken stupor. They individually came up to the bar and asked the entire staff to not serve her because she was so drunk. Fortunately, all of us at the bar already had our eyes on her and had established amongst one another that none of us were going to serve her any alcohol.

At one point, the boyfriend of the drunk girl had ordered a beer for himself. Ten minutes later, drunk girl realized that her boyfriend had a drink and she didn't. She then stumbled up to the bar and demanded to know why she didn't have a drink. I watched the commotion unfold. As the bartender calmly explained to drunk girl that she wouldn't be served any alcoholic drinks, the drunk girl's voice got noticeably louder. People sitting at the bar were starting to look over to see what all of the commotion was about.

After the third time of hearing drunk girl asking the calm bartender why she wasn't getting served alcohol, I walked over to where the loud conversation had been taking place. As I stood there next to the bartender, drunk girl demanded to know who was responsible for cutting her off. I quickly piped in, "Me. I'm the one who cut you off. I'm the bar manager and I made the call." Of course she demanded to know why. I told her that she had been stumbling all over the club as soon as she had got there, reminded her of the glass she shattered at her table and told her that even her friends had told us to cut her off. Sounded like a no brainer to me, but then again I was the sober one in the situation.

Of course the answer I gave her was not the answer she wanted to hear. She started screaming a variety of curse words as she backed up from the bar, as if to prepare to lunge at me and my fellow bartender. Just as I was in the process of telling her that now was the time for her to go, security came up from behind and kindly escorted drunk girl to the door.

I think its safe to say that this chick has been permanently 86ed from our bar.

Word to wise:

Bartenders: Always keep your cool. Always remember that drunk people aren't rational. You can't take it personal when someone is blaming you for their drunken actions.

Drinking Public: If a bartender cuts you off, it's probably for the best. Accept the fact, quietly leave the bar, get in a cab and go home. Running your drunk ass mouth and making a fool of yourself in public won't get you served and is the quickest way to the front door.

December 5th: Celebrate Repeal Day!

2009-12-05T14:55:00.000-08:00

December 5, 2009 marks the 76th anniversary of the Eighteenth Amendment being repealed, giving back to Americans their constitutional right to drink. The Eighteenth Amendment is the only amendment to the Constitution that has been repealed thanks to the Twenty-first Amendment, marking the end of Prohibition in 1933.

Learn all about what Repeal Day is exactly and why it should be celebrated

Repeal Day events in San Francisco tonight

So today, be sure to drink and be merry. Celebrate the day in American history when the ban on manufacturing, importing, exporting, buying and selling of alcohol was lifted and that all fellow Americans (whom are at the legal age to drink or older) got back their constitutional right to drink publicly.

Fun Holiday Cocktail Recipes

2009-11-24T11:02:00.001-08:00

Everyone is gearing up for Thanksgiving this week with making several trips to the grocery store and preparing to spend more time than usual in the kitchen. If you are looking to entertain adult guests this year or are an adult and are looking to entertain/relax your adult host(ess) with some holiday cheer, be sure to check out the following fun holiday cocktail recipes. They are fun, tasty and most importantly, easy to make:

Batida de Pumpkin

Spiced Place Market

Smashing Pumpkin

Cypear Buck

Your adult host(ess) and guests will thank you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Funny Things I Overheard

2009-11-22T12:32:00.000-08:00

You can hear a lot of funny things working behind a bar. If you aren't part of the original conversation, the things you do hear may seem random and not make any sense. I recently overheard a few things that were said where I was part of the conversation and they still sounded funny to me:

"Oh yeah. There's another $400 here!"

"Half the club smells like weed."

"No more shots for you!"

"How do I make a Hot Toddy?"

It seems like the later it gets, the more random and entertaining things people say. I chalk it up to public drunkenness. There's never a dull moment with bartending as long as there is alcohol involved.

Looking for Other Bartending Blogs?

2009-11-19T10:37:00.000-08:00

I've become the latest bar blog hero on bartendingblogs.com. It's the largest directory of bar related blogs on the world wide web.

Playing the "I'm a bartender" card

2009-11-19T01:39:00.000-08:00

It's so incredibly lame when someone comes into my bar, acts like a jackass and then when they complain to me about how I gave them attitude, pull the "I'm a bartender" card. If these people really were bartenders they would:

1-Not act like a jackass in the first place.
2-Order fast and easy drinks to make if the bar looks busy. In other words, not be high maintenance.
3-Be patient.
4-Not approach the bar until they knew exactly what they wanted to order and were ready to order it.
5-Not start off the transaction with "I'm sorry to be a pain in the ass but..."

When people pull this "I'm a bartender..." crap on me, I not only question if they truly are a bartender, but I can't help but wonder, what in the hell kind of bar do they actually work at?

I have worked in a variety of bars during my bartending career and I know better than to pull this kind of crap on anyone else. To me, announcing that you're a bartender in a situation where you are clearly the one who is throwing attitude and acting like a jackass just screams "douche".

When did bartending get so serious?

2009-10-25T12:27:00.000-07:00

San Francisco has a unique cocktail culture. We have a rich history with our bars and cocktails. We are also currently considered to be one of the forefront cities when it comes to cocktail trends (right up there with New York). This is a blessing for some San Francisco bartenders. For others, this can also be a big pain in the ass.

Unfortunately being considered a forefront city for cocktail culture takes a lot of fun out of bartending for some of us bartenders. I admit, when I first started bartending, I didn't know the 25 classic cocktails according to BarSmarts. I didn't know whether to stir or shake my Martinis and Manhattans. There wasn't a bottle of bitters to be found at my bar. The freshest ingredients I used were the lemon and lime wedges cut fresh that night. That was also six years ago and when I lived/worked in San Jose.

Nowadays, I reside and work in San Francisco. I have been formally introduced to the mixology side of bartending and I love it. I am a fact nerd when it comes to things I am interested in. So it makes sense that I am always reading about the history of cocktails and bar culture, learning classic and new techniques for crafting cocktails and experimenting with all things alcohol. The quest for knowledge is fun and IF my customers are interested, I love sharing my knowledge with them as well.

This sort of thing stops being fun when customers feel like bartenders are too big-for-their-britches and shove their knowledge down their throat. People get it. San Francisco is really cool and cutting edge. Sometimes though, people just want what they want because they want it, not because an old cocktail recipe book or celebrity bartender told them so. There is nothing wrong with that. I respect bartenders/mixologists quest for knowledge and their desire to educate the masses, but in the end it really all comes down to the customer and making the customer happy. Some customers don't care about the science behind why there might be a taste difference between a stirred Manhattan and a shaken Manhattan. If that customer wants their Manhattan shaken, then the bartender should shake that Manhattan and serve it to the customer with a smile.

After all it is the customer who is leaving the tip and its the tips that constitute a bartender's living.

Smooth Sailing Saturday

2009-10-25T02:38:00.001-07:00

Every now and then you are blessed with a night that is extremely busy, and yet it runs smoothly. People come in at a constant pace instead of all at once. People are nice. People tip well. The drinks for the server tickets are being made as fast as the orders come in. Customers are happy. Tonight, I was blessed with one of these nights.

I only had one guy who threatened to disrupt the smoothness of the night. He ordered his drink and while watching me make the drink he ordered, decided that he wanted to change his order to a whole other drink completely. I laid down the law with him and told him that he had already ordered the one drink and that he couldn't change his mind AFTER I made the drink he ordered, unless he wanted to buy both drinks (which he didn't). I thought he was going to give me a hard time. Maybe it was the smile I flashed him when I told him that I wouldn't take his nonsense that won him over? Whatever it was, he agreed with me, accepted his drink and paid for it.

At the end of the night, the same guy came up to me and asked me if he could have a free shot. My policy on when people ask me for free stuff? If you have to ask, you don't deserve it in the first place. The answer will always be a firm NO. The guy told me that I was strict. I told him that I was the bar manager and that it was my job to be strict. I gave him this whole schpeal about having to lead by example, yadda yadda yadda. I was just happy to tell him no and when he whined about it, I was more than happy to play my manager card. He felt like a schmuck asking the manager for a free drink. Whoopsie!

You play, you pay buddy.

Other than that, tonight was smooth sailing. I wish every busy Saturday night could run as smoothly as tonight did.

My little black book

2009-10-22T14:34:00.001-07:00

I was cleaning out my closet today and found my old, little black book from when I first started bartending. It's just a little black address book where I would hand write in drink recipes that I learned to make in my early days of bartending. I would make these drinks on a regular basis at the bars I was working at the time. My little, old book contains recipes for drinks like the AMF, Apple Martini, Cosmo, Fuzzy Navel, Kamikaze, Key Lime shot, Lemon Drop, Melon Ball, Oatmeal Cookie shot, Purple Hooter, Red Headed Slut, Scoobie Snack and the Woo Woo.

Nowadays, my little black book is a bit more evolved. I have graduated to a fancier moleskin. My drink recipes are a bit more extensive and sophisticated, requiring fresh ingredients and muddling.

Going through my book instantly brought me back to when I started working behind a bar. I was so nervous and yet so excited to learn everything I could about bartending. From day one, I always wanted to be a really good bartender. Who knew that the part-time job I had while getting my undergraduate degree from college would actually turn into a full-fledged career?

I still have the same passion for bartending as the very first day I started.

Attitude is a direct reflection of where you work

2009-10-22T03:39:00.000-07:00

I strongly believe that the type of bar a person works in greatly effects their attitude at work. When I worked in a nightclub, I had to deal with stupid, ignorant, drunk, young bastards all night long looking for freebies and fights and complaining about the prices of the drinks, the actual alcohol content within the drinks (usually whining about how they couldn't taste the alcohol and wanted more without paying for it) and having to wait to place their drink order.

Since I made the switch to restaurants, my customers don't seem to be as aggressive and cheap as the nightclub crowd was. I typically serve older, more mature crowds now. These people are somewhat knowledgeable about their booze and overall are better tippers. Don't get me wrong. Occasionally, I'll get a customer in a restaurant who makes me fight to keep "bitter bartender" buried deep, down inside. But in the big picture sense, the crowds are like night and day. So is my attitude. I am so much happier working behind the bar in a restaurant.

I work at a bar that features specialty cocktails. We use a lot of fresh ingredients to make those cocktails. The drinks are labors of love and take a bit longer to make than a vodka cran or a rum & coke. I have a lot of pride in the cocktails I make these days because they are creations and actually take some sort of skill to create them. Working as a nightclub bartender, I didn't have much pride in the drinks I made. At the end of the night, it was all about how much I had rang in my register.

I even enjoy talking to my customers nowadays. I enjoy making their labor intensive cocktails. My positive attitude is directly reflected onto my customers. I don't have as many colorful stories to write about on a nightly basis because for the most part, my customers get it.

Every now and then, I will get a customer that either makes me scratch my head or really pisses me off. It's these situations that really inspire me to keep a blog like this in the first place. Since I can't tell those customers how I really feel, I need some place to vent.

When I was an instructor at the bartending school, I would always tell my students that there was a different bar for every type of personality. The challenge was to find the right bar for them. Finding their perfect bar would result in being a happy bartender. Working in a bar that really makes me happy and knocks my socks off may not be the same bar for the next person. That's ok. Everyone is different.

I am just so happy that I have finally found the type of bar that makes me really happy. Even on my shittiest nights behind the bar, I am still happy to be a bartender and satisfied that I am in the right career for me.

Don't be afraid to show your appreciation

2009-10-21T15:38:00.000-07:00

It's really satisfying and rewarding whenever customers tell me how much they love my drinks. Not that I make shitty drinks on a regular basis, but hearing someone tell me how happy they are with something I've created is an ultimate compliment as a bartender. These sort of things really put a huge smile on my face.

So when you're out drinking and stumble upon a really tasty, beautifully crafted and balanced cocktail that you enjoy and find amazing, don't be afraid to tell your bartender. We love stuff like that.

BarSmarts Wired

2009-10-16T13:01:00.000-07:00

In most states, there currently aren't any prerequisites for becoming a bartender. There aren’t any classes required for someone to take that teach about all of the spirits and cocktails that are served behind a bar. There isn’t a license or certification that one must receive before they can work behind a bar. Bartending school is always an option as long as there is a good, reputable school located close by, but it’s not required. Many people who work behind a bar have never had any sort of formal training. Traditionally, bartending has always been a profession where a person learns the hard way, by good old trial and error, in front of their customers.

What is BarSmarts Wired? Read More...

A good bouncer is a bartenders best friend

2009-10-16T12:59:00.000-07:00

A really good bouncer can either be a bartender’s best friend or their worse nightmare. The bouncer is the “face” of the bar or club because this is the first person a customer sees when they come inside the business. The first interaction between the bouncer and the customer is important. This interaction sets the mood of the night for the customer. A really good bouncer will set a positive vibe for the customer, providing a pleasant introduction to the bar or club. Bartenders benefit from this by having happy customers to serve.

So what makes a really good bouncer? Read More...

Pay Your Dues

2009-10-12T01:00:00.000-07:00

Another option to consider when trying to become a bartender is by paying your dues. Paying your dues simply means that you are hired on with a restaurant, (corporate or not) usually as a server and work your way up within the company to become a bartender. By paying your dues you will learn important skills like what it means to provide good customer service, the ability to multitask and think ahead and have the opportunity to work under pressure. All of these skills are a required necessity as a bartender.

In any restaurant, the bartending position is usually the most sought out position. Just like in any other bar or restaurant (corporate or not), the bar is the social epicenter of the house. A few customers may choose to dine at the bar, but a majority of the bar business comes from making drinks for the customers waiting for their tables and making the drinks servers order for their tables. Bartenders generally make more money out of all of the other restaurant positions because they are able to sell more volume and don’t have to travel far in order to take care of their customers like servers do.

Corporate restaurants primarily promote their bartenders from within. Read More...

Know Someone on the Inside

2009-10-11T03:27:00.000-07:00

Part 2 in the "How to Become A Bartender" series: Know Someone on the Inside

Once a person truly understands all of the different responsibilities of being a bartender and decides that they have what it takes for the profession, then its time to consider the different options of becoming a bartender. One way is to know someone on the inside who will give you a chance.

Sometimes, it’s not about what you know, but whom you know. Networking is an important element in any career, no matter what the profession might be. Read More...

How to Become a Bartender

2009-10-10T15:01:00.000-07:00

Part 1 in the "How to Become A Bartender" series: The Responsibilities

One question customers and friends of friends seem to ask me over and over again is “If I wanted to be a bartender, how would I even start?” There are many different ways one can become a bartender, but the first question people should ask himself or herself before making the decision to become a bartender is, “Am I the type of person that is cut out to be a bartender?” From the customer’s side of the bar, bartending might look like it’s nothing but making tasty cocktails and flirting with the clientele. What many people don’t realize is that with bartending comes a lot of responsibility. Read More...

Complaining about a free drink is poor bar etiquette

2009-10-05T16:27:00.000-07:00

Receiving a comp drink, free drink or a drink on the house is a luxury, not a right. It’s annoying to bartenders everywhere when someone complains about their free drink. It’s understandable if the quality of the drink is not up to par or maybe the glass of wine that was ordered didn’t taste right, but complaining about the amount of alcohol in (or not in) the drink is poor bar etiquette.

For example...Read More

Featured on SF Gate today, i live here: SF

2009-10-01T12:08:00.001-07:00

Remember back in May of this year when I was featured on the i live here: SF blog? Well, my friend Julie who runs the project got a really nice feature on SF Gate today talking about her project. It's nice to see friends getting some healthy media coverage. I really love her project and its obvious that other people do too.

Check out the SF Gate feature: Julie Michelle develops photo hobby into career.

So Stevie Wonder Walks Into The Bar...

2009-10-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday night was easily the most amazing night of my bartending career.

Saturday night was a crazy night at the bar I was working at. First of all, the musical guests, Jazz Mafia were off the hook. The place was packed. People were drinking. It seemed like all of us behind the bar had been going full speed ahead as soon as we opened up for business that night. Around 1 in the morning, Stevie Wonder walked into our bar. Stevie Wonder!! Mr Wonderful himself!!! No one knows why or how he found out about our place. It was completely unplanned. No one knew he was coming. I'm just going to chalk it up as being magical.

Stevie sat down at one of our tables. The owner had me bring him a bottle of champagne. I was so nervous, I was shaking. I mean, how many times do you get the chance to open a bottle a champagne for Stevie Wonder and serve him personally? Maybe once in a lifetime? So I wanted to make sure I didn't make an ass of myself. I played it cool and kept calm.

Apparently Stevie was feeling the Jazz Mafia kids to the point of having him make his way towards the stage. Once he started heading for the stage, the whole place went into an uproar. How was it that our little club was being graced with having musical royalty such as Stevie Wonder perform on our stage? Again, chalking it up to being magical.

Once Stevie got up onstage, he gave the band props. I can't imagine what THEY must have been feeling. I think they pulled it off really well. They were playing amazing and made jamming with Stevie Wonder look like it was no sweat. Stevie sang two songs: "All Day Sucker" and "I Can't Help It". Everyone in the house was on their feet, cheering and besides themselves.

I couldn't help but have tears in my eyes. To hear that man sing live is really earth moving. I have always told myself that Stevie Wonder is one of those artists who I had to hear perform live before I die. On Saturday night, my quest was filled.

Check out the video footage here of the magical, unplanned, unannounced and impromptu performance on Saturday night by the one and only Stevie Wonder.

The Guy From Belgium

2009-09-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

I had a guy come into the bar recently. Each round of drinks that he ordered, he paid the exact amount for the drinks, stiffing me on the tip each time. On the second round, he even paid me using real change, I'm talking about quarters here folks. After I noticed the constant absence of a tip on each of the rounds of drinks this fella ordered and remembering that he had a slight accent in his tone, I asked him which country he was from. He said Belgium. Hmmmm....

So I did a little research of my own on the tipping practices in Belgium. Turns out:

Tipping in Belgium is not obligatory as service charge is always included. However, people often give tips as a sign of appreciation. Usually, this is done by paying in bank notes with a total value slightly higher than the price of the meal and telling the waiter/waitress that they can keep the change.

So either he thought that my tip was included in the price of his drink or he knew better and just was being a douche. I would like to give the guy the benefit of the doubt, but he did it all night long, paid with change and was only ordering our drink special, minus the ice. Trust me, he got more mixer than alcohol.

Red flags all around.

WhiskyFest Coming to SF in October

2009-09-24T13:42:00.000-07:00

Attention all whisky lovers: America’s largest whisky celebration is coming to San Francisco. The 3rd annual WhiskyFest will be in San Francisco on October 16th at the San Francisco Marriott, from 6:30 to 9:30 pm. This event will be featuring over 70 pouring booths, allowing attendees to sample over 200 whiskies (single malt and blended scotch, Irish, bourbon, Tennessee, Japanese, Welsh and Canadian), while being able to personally chat with master distillers and distillery representatives. In addition to all the various whiskies, there will be a few vodkas and rums available for tasting as well.

The focus of WhiskyFest is education. Read More...

The BaCu Sour @ Coda

2009-09-20T12:08:00.001-07:00

The BaCu Sour is a modified version of a drink I concocted sometime last year for a bartender competition. The BaCu Sour is a vodka-based drink that consists of vodka (I prefer to use Stoli), St. Germain, a touch of simple syrup, fresh lemon juice, basil and cucumber with a splash of Hendrick’s gin, served up in a chilled martini glass. The garnish is simply a fresh basil leaf floating on top.

The name of the cocktail gives the drinker clues as to what the cocktail entails. “Ba” stands for basil. “Cu” stands for cucumber. “Sour” is referencing the type of mixed drink family the cocktail belongs to. Read More...

Timing is Everything

2009-09-19T03:16:00.000-07:00

When it comes to finding a bartender job, timing is everything. There are many different factors as to why bars might not call back a bartender applicant for an interview. It’s important to not to take these things personal and to not let it negatively affect your bartender job search.

Let’s say that you hear about a new bar, restaurant or club opening in your neighborhood and decide to stop by to drop off your resume. You speak with the hiring manager briefly and you get a really good feeling from the conversation. You’re sure they’re going to call you and offer you a position behind the bar, but they never call. Or what about after doing some specific bar research, you stumble upon a bar that you know you’d be a perfect fit for? You have all the right experience and the bartender you’ve been chatting with tells you that they think there might be some shifts opening up. You come back to the bar to speak to the hiring manager and give them your resume only for them to tell you that they aren’t hiring, but they’ll keep your resume on file. Read More...

What is St~Germain?

2009-09-18T11:20:00.000-07:00

What does St~Germain, Domaine De Canton and Chambord all have in common? Besides the fact that they are all considered liqueurs in the cocktail world, all three of these products original founders are all related to each other. St~Germain is a product of Cooper Spirits International, which is run by Robert Cooper. Domaine De Canton (a ginger flavored liqueur) is a product of Robert Cooper’s brother, John Cooper. A few years back, Robert and John Cooper’s father bought Chambord (a black raspberry liqueur), brought it to the United States from France, made it popular here in the states and then sold the company.

All three of these liqueurs are equally delicious and a great addition to any cocktail. My favorite of the three liqueurs is St~Germain. Read More...

Yelp: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

2009-09-17T13:16:00.000-07:00

Ever since I first began my career as a bartender, I have always had one major goal in mind: to always make the customer happy. Working in the service industry, I am in the business of customer service, of pleasing the customer. Sometimes, customers are really easy to please. Other times, customers can be high maintenance and demanding. If a customer is well taken care of, then there is a greater chance that the customer will come back in the future and tell their friends about their experience.

Before 2004, most people would hear of new restaurants and bars based on word of mouth. If a customer had a great or terrible experience at a restaurant or bar, that customer would tell their friends. Yelp has since brought this “word of mouth” service online in the form of Yelp.com. Read More...

How to Keep Your Cool Working Behind the Bar

2009-09-14T23:57:00.000-07:00

Every bartender has had one of those nights. You’re four-deep at the bar. The bottles in your well are running low and you have no idea where your barback is. The server tickets keep spitting out from the printer. Your clean glassware supply is quickly running out. You’re almost out of change in your cash drawer. Your bladder feels like it’s going to explode and of course the next customer you approach to take their order says, “Um, I don’t know what I want. What’s good?” Aaaahhhhh!!

These are nights all bartenders have nightmares about.

I can always spot an amateur bartender because on nights like these, they either freeze or have a terrible attitude towards their customers and fellow bar staff. These are stressed and it shows. So how do great bartenders keep their cool behind the bar on the really busy nights? Read More...

The Corn Refiners Association Responds?

2009-09-14T14:27:00.000-07:00

I received an interesting response via email today from the president of the Corn Refiners Association in regards to the bar review I wrote on Rickhouse a couple of days ago. Here is the email I received:

Dear Ms. Neves:

We read the September 12 article “Bar review: Rickhouse,” with interest. There has been a lot of confusion about high fructose corn syrup. We would like to provide you with science-based information on this safe sweetener and be a reference for you for future articles.

High fructose corn syrup contains no artificial or synthetic ingredients or color additives and meets the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) requirements for use of the term “natural.” The FDA stated, referring to a process commonly used by the high fructose corn syrup industry, that it “would not object to the use of the term ‘natural’ on a product containing HFCS produced by [that] manufacturing process....” (June, GA. (Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition) Letter to: Erickson, A. (Corn Refiners Association) July 3, 2008.) Please see the attached letter from the FDA dated July 3, 2008.

According to the American Dietetic Association (ADA), “high fructose corn syrup…is nutritionally equivalent to sucrose. Once absorbed into the blood stream, the two sweeteners are indistinguishable.” The ADA also noted that “Both sweeteners contain the same number of calories (4 per gram) and consist of about equal parts of fructose and glucose.” (Hot Topics, “High Fructose Corn Syrup.” December 2008.) http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/nutrition_19399_ENU_HTML.htm)

To read the latest research and learn more about high fructose corn syrup, please visit www.SweetSurprise.com. Please feel free to contact me if you would like additional information about the products made from corn.

Thank you for your consideration

I'm not quite sure what to think of this. Why are the corn people contacting me, defending high fructose corn syrup? Especially when the only mention I made in my review was quoted directly from Rickhouse's menu, which states:

In preparation of cocktails we use fresh juices, natural sugars and local produce. We do not use high-fructose corn syrup or artificial flavors. A city with such a wonderful cocktail history and imbibing culture as San Francisco is entitled to great libations. That is what we are prepared to offer.

At the very least, I am very flattered that there are higher ups from organizations such as the Corn Refiners Association reading my articles.

Original Small Batch Bourbon Collection

2009-09-14T03:03:00.000-07:00

I have a customer who every time he comes in, always requests the same drink: Knob Creek, neat. On one of the nights he came in, we had a chance to talk “shop” about whiskey and bourbon and the different types within the category. Surprisingly, I armed my regular customer with so much newfound information on his drink of choice. Now each time he comes into the bar and I have time, we pick a certain bourbon or whiskey off the shelf and talk about it. This is part of how I get inspired to write many of the articles I post here on Examiner.com. A majority of my inspiration comes from my customers, which is why I dedicate this article to my friend and regular, Mike, the Knob Creek drinker.

According to Fred Noe, 7th Generation Beam Distiller, “Tasting one of these small batch bourbons is like tasting the past. This is the way bourbon used to be. The way it was meant to be.” In 1988, Booker Noe, the grandson of Jim Beam decided to bring back the tradition of small batch bourbon making that had been popular before Prohibition. Before Prohibition, this type of bourbon was only made in small quantities, was more potent, more aged and more varied. The result has been the Small Batch Bourbon Collection from Beam Global. Beam Global features four different bourbons in their Small Batch Bourbon Collection: Bookers, Basil Hayden, Bakers and Knob Creek. Read More...

Bar Review: Rickhouse

2009-09-12T15:55:00.000-07:00

When it comes to San Francisco’s bar and cocktail culture, there is a little something for everyone. You have the dive bars where ordering a shot and a beer is the standard. You have your fancy nightclubs selling bottles of spirits and bringing it directly to the table with ice, glass and mixers in the form of bottle service. You have live music venues that serve everything in a plastic cup. You have restaurants featuring specialty cocktails that pair nicely with the food entrees on the menu. And then there are places like one of San Francisco’s newest members to the bar scene, Rickhouse, located at 246 Kearny Street (at Sutter). If any of you in San Francisco remember the old Ginger’s Trois bar, this is the space.

From the company who brought to San Francisco, Bourbon & Branch now brings to the city, Rickhouse, minus the required password for entrance and the house rules. Rickhouse features an impeccable selection of spirits, local beers and California wines. There are three pages consisting of 96 different brands of American whiskey and rye whiskey alone! Read More...

Lifer

2009-09-12T00:59:00.000-07:00

I remember when I first started bartending. I thought that this would only be a job to support me while I went to school to get my college degree. Little did I know, six years later,. that bartendng would actually be my chosen profession. So I guess that make me a "lifer"

The thing about "lifers" in any given profession is that we give a shit. This is our career. It isn't just a job to get us by. We take pride in what we do because we love doing it. The cool thing about bartending is if you stop loving the bar you are working at, there are many more bars to chose from. When it comes to bars, there are so many to chose from. So many different types. There is a little something for everyone.

I'm pretty happy that bartending found me by accident. I would have never guessed that I would grow up to be a bartender. I never thought in a million years that I would ever love bartending as much as I do. I take pride in making sure that all my customers are happy. I care about making sure that every one of the cocktails I make is made to the customer's satisfaction. I give a shit.

I'm a lifer and that's nothing to be ashamed of.

The Beer Goggles Theory Has Been Debunked

2009-09-11T10:03:00.000-07:00

The idea of having beer goggles just might not fly anymore. According to a recent study done by the University of Leicester, located in England, the infamous “beer goggles” theory has been proven to be only a myth. In the study, 240 men and woman in bars and cafes were asked to look at pictures of females and asked to comment on their age and attractiveness. The study included 120 sober men and women. The other 120 men and women had consumed alcoholic beverages. The pictures used were of ten different women, all of the age of 17. Some of the pictures had been digitally altered to show the same woman, aged at 13 years old and also at 20 years old and showed the women wearing makeup and without makeup.

The overall results of the study found that Read More...

George Dickel, the Other Tennessee Whiskey

2009-09-10T01:27:00.000-07:00

In keeping with celebrating Bourbon Month for the entire month of September, here's to dropping more bourbon knowledge:

Currently, there are only two Tennessee whiskeys on the market: Jack Daniels and George Dickel. Most people have heard of the famous Old Number 7, but not too many people are familiar with George Dickel. This is the story of the other Tennessee whiskey.

In 1870, George A. Dickel set up shop in Cascade Hollow, Tennessee, which is located half way between Nashville and Chattanooga. George declared his whiskey to be the smoothest tasting whiskey available for public consumption. He believed that his whiskey was as smooth as the finest scotch so he dropped the “e” from whiskey in order to keep with the scotch whisky tradition. Read More...

Times Are Tough, But

2009-09-09T03:32:00.000-07:00

I know that times are tough, but it is never okay or acceptable for a person to bring their own bottle of booze inside a club, bar or restaurant (unless you bring in an unopened bottle of wine, then you pay a corkage fee). Bringing in a flask filled with "name your favorite spirit here" is a major faux pas. Its trashy and its illegal. ABC could swipe a business's liquor license away if they caught outside booze being brought in and consumed on the premises. No liquor license means no liquor sales which ultimately result in loss of business and loss of jobs for the business's staff.

Tonight while cleaning up, I stumbled upon an empty bottle of tequila that was brought in and drunk by one of the night's customers then discarded underneath a table. I mean if you truly can't afford to go out and have to stoop to the ultimate low of bringing your own booze to a bar, you should really reconsider going out in the first place.

Now it just makes me wonder about all of those people who only ask for non-alcoholic mixes like soda and juice. Are they really not drinking or are they smuggling in their own liquor?

Classic Cocktail: Mint Julep

2009-09-09T03:30:00.000-07:00

Bartenders in San Francisco gripe every time there is a warm day here in the city (there are only a handful a year) because they know customers are more than likely to ask for a Mojito. Mojitos are a classic, labor intensive cocktail that requires basic ingredients such as rum, mint, lime juice and soda water and a little elbow grease in the form of muddling the mint within in the drink. In the whole grand scheme of things, the drink isn’t that big of a chore to make. Sure they take a bit longer to make than a mixed drink that only calls for a base spirit and a mixer, but Mojitos are tasty and refreshing, even more so on warm summer days.

The Mint Julep belongs to the same mixed drink family as a Mojito, which is considered the “Smash” mixed drink family. Being a Smash drink just means that fresh mint and other ingredients are muddled together in preparation for the drink.

The Mint Julep is the Mojito’s cousin from the South. Read More...

Wine On Tap

2009-09-06T11:44:00.000-07:00

Customers come in every single night, see the taps behind the bar and naturally ask, “What kind of beers do you have on tap?” I show them my list of bottled beers and tell them that we don’t have beer on tap. It’s wine. I always love the look of shock and confusion my customers give me in response to my answer. My answer always sparks a conversation on our Wine On Tap program.

Wine On Tap is a new and innovative way of serving wine by the glass here in the Bay Area. There are currently only a handful of bars/restaurants with a Wine On Tap program in the area. The bar/restaurant I bartend at and am the bar manager of, Coda (1710 Mission Street, San Francisco) is one of them. Read More...

How Much Is...?

2009-09-03T10:52:00.000-07:00

It's always a red flag to me when a customer approaches the bar and says something along the lines of, "How much is....?" or "What can I get for...?" even after I put a drink menu down in front of them that lists the prices of all of our drinks. Whenever I hear a customer ask me something like this, I know I am not getting tipped. Especially when I watch them dig in their pocket, pull out a few crumpled bills and then mouth to me "sorry" when there isn't enough for a tip. It's obvious that people like this have never worked in the service industry and therefore don't realize that those of us who do, survive off of our tips.

The type of bar you are in will give you an indication on how much your drinks will cost. Look around your drinking environment. A dive bar is obviously going to have cheaper prices than say a a shee-shee nightclub or a bar in a fine dining restaurant. Also, take a look at the bar's specialty cocktail menu. Expect to pay higher prices for a cocktail that is labor intensive and calls for a lot of fresh ingredients.

People who go out drinking in San Francisco generally have a good idea knowing how much a cocktail or beer will cost them and therefore don't require their bartender to run through the bar's entire inventory and price list. Drinks and spirits are divided into categories: well, call, premium and super premium. If you are a babe on a budget, go for the wells because the wells will be your cheapest bet in any bar. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with wanting to know how much something is, especially if it's something off the back bar (back bar=higher prices) or if it's something you don't normally order. Ask to see a drink menu or ask what the price is on the specific drink you are ordering. Just don't expect your bartender to rattle off all of the prices for everything behind the bar.

For the people who start off the transaction with their bartender, "quizzing" them on prices, stiff their bartender on the tip and then have the nerve to bitch about their drink not having enough alcohol, your best bet is to take your few crumpled bills to the corner store and buy yourself a six-pack.

Not Every Brand of Tequila Has its Own Distillery

2009-08-29T03:51:00.000-07:00

There are over 900 tequila brands currently out on the market, yet there are only 100+ tequila distilleries. This means that many brands of tequila actually end up coming from the same distillery.

Did you know that every one hundred percent agave tequila must have a NOM number on the bottle? What is a NOM and how do you know the product in the bottle is indeed tequila? How do you know where the tequila inside the bottle comes from? Read More...

The Virtual Spirit Brand Experience

2009-08-28T12:13:00.000-07:00

So what if you are a new bartender who has a charming personality, but doesn’t know a whole lot about the different brands and the products that are carried behind the bar? What if you are an experienced bartender who is just looking for a little history on the different brands stocked behind the bar? Or what if you aren’t a bartender, but are looking for information about the many different liquor products out there? The Virtual Spirit Brand Experience is just for you.

The Virtual Spirit is a free online source, sponsored by Beam Global and is open to anyone over the age of 21 who seeks the knowledge. The Virtual Spirit website is organized into five parts: Spirits Certification Program, On-Site Kiosk Program, Download Library, MIXXIT and the Virtual Mixology Guide. Read More...

Pimm's No. 1 Cup

2009-08-27T03:21:00.000-07:00

Do you know what Pimm's No. 1 Cup is? Has your boss or a customer ever asked you, and you didn't know? My boss asked me the other day about this product and I had no clue. This interaction was the inspiration behind this particular article. Hey, you learn something new everyday. After reading my article, you wont ever have to say "I don't know" when someone asks you what Pimm's No. 1 Cup is.

Click here to find out what Pimm's No. 1 is

The Buena Vista @ Coda

2009-08-26T02:39:00.000-07:00

Three weeks ago, Coda opened up its doors to San Francisco. Coda is a brand new jazz supper club and lounge that serves dinner and live jazz music, six nights a week, here in the Mission district, in San Francisco.

Disclaimer: I am not only a bartender at Coda, but also the bar manager. I designed a very special cocktail menu for Coda featuring seven different drinks ranging from classic cocktails to creative specialties. In my new “Specialty Cocktail Feature”, I am going to feature each one of the specialty cocktails that can be found on the menu at Coda. I will also be featuring specialty cocktails from other various bars/restaurants here in San Francisco as well, in the near future.

Read More...

Tequila Regulatory Council

2009-08-24T23:32:00.000-07:00

According to Mexican laws and regulations, tequila is a distilled spirit that may only be produced in Mexico.

The Tequila Regulatory Council (AKA: Consejo Regulador del Tequila) was created in 1993. It is a nonprofit organization that consists of the Mexican government, bottling plants, distributors, tequila producers and blue agave growers. The purpose of the CRT is to ensure the integrity and authenticity of tequila to customers.

The CRT works closely with the Mexican government to make sure that when a customer purchases tequila, that they are indeed receiving the real thing.

Read More...

Why Some Bottles of Tequila Have Worms Inside

2009-08-24T18:39:00.000-07:00

I remember when my parents took a trip to Mexico together, while I was in high school. One of the souvenirs they brought back for me was a small bottle of tequila with a worm inside of it. I was intrigued. There was a worm inside a small bottle of tequila, but why? My mom believed that if you ate the worm, it would make you hallucinate. Sadly, I never did get a chance to see if the worm caused hallucinations. I was only in high school when I received the gift. By the time I was of a legal age to drink, my small souvenir bottle of tequila with a worm in it had long been lost. So what is the deal with tequila that has a worm inside the bottle? Read More...

Aperol? Yes, I Have It.

2009-08-23T12:37:00.000-07:00

Last night, a group of three customers came up to the bar and each one of them had a question:

Guy #1: "May I have a glass of water?"
Bartender: "Yes, of course."

Guy #2: "May I see your beer list?"
Bartender: "Yes, of course."

Girl: "This is going to sound like a weird question, but do you have Aperol?"
Bartender: "Actually, yes I do."

I hadn't seen a smile that big, all night long. I told her that I had one bottle, but that I would have to retrieve it from my liquor room. One of the guys in the group was shocked that I had a liquor room. I asked him why he was so shocked. He thought that the storage behind the bar was enough room to keep everything. Hahaha. I told him that the liquor room is where I kept all my back-up soldiers.

The only reason why I knew about the existence of the one bottle of Aperol in the liquor room is because 1-I'm the bar manager of the place. I know my liquor room inside and out. I even know where all of the obscure, one-off random bottles of liqueurs are. And 2-I actually know what Aperol is and instantly pictured the bottle in my head.

Needless to say, once I pulled the bottle of Aperol out, the girl in the group was beyond excited. She had a special cocktail concoction that she had me create for her: Aperol, soda water, topped with persecco, garnished with a lemon twist. Even one of the guys ordered the same drink so I got to use up the rest of the bottle.

I really love making my customers happy. It's an awesome feeling. I informed them that they used the last of my bottle. They seemed okay with that. I hope they come back and try some of our specialty cocktails.

And for those of who you who have no clue as to what Aperol is exactly, I am going to let Wikipedia save the day for you:

"Aperol is an Italian aperitif originally produced by the Barbieri company, based in Padua. Aperol is now produced by the Campari company. While Aperol was originally created in 1919, it did not become successful until after World War II. Its ingredients are, among others, bitter orange, gentian, rhubarb, and cinchona.

Although it looks, tastes, and smells much like Campari, Aperol has an alcohol content of 11% - a little less than half of Campari. Campari is also slightly darker in color.

Aperol is the main ingredient in Spritz."

Cheers!

Designated Drivers

2009-08-23T03:57:00.000-07:00

Scandinavia is responsible for introducing IKEA to the United States and the idea of having designated drivers.

So what is a designated driver?

A designated driver is a person who decides to remain sober, abstaining from alcohol in order to drive their friends home safely after a night of alcoholic consumption. Designated drivers are a safe alternative to driving under the influence. Besides the obvious safety reasons, being a designated driver also helps the environment by reducing the total amount of miles driven. The less miles driven means a savings on gas the emissions released into the air. Read More...

Virgin Drinks

2009-08-22T03:47:00.000-07:00

“Hey Bartender, what if I don’t drink alcohol?“

Occasionally, I get a customer who throws me a curveball behind the bar. They don’t drink alcohol. These customers include minors (yes, I work in a restaurant), designated drivers, pregnant ladies, people on an important business meeting, non-drinkers or whatever the case may be. A really good bartender will be quick on their feet and be able to build a delicious and creative non-alcoholic drink for their non-drinking customer, something other than boring old soda or plain juice.

Sure there are the popular staples: the Virgin Marys (a Bloody Mary minus the vodka), the Shirley Temples (grenadine and either ginger ale or Sprite) and the Rob Roys (grenadine and Coke), but it’s nice to step out of the ordinary box and make up something really special for customers who don’t and/or can’t consume alcohol. Remember, these customers tip too. Read More...

Complaint? Criticism?

2009-08-21T17:02:00.000-07:00

I know that not all of the customers that come in and saddle up at the bar are always going to be 100% satisfied with their drinks all the time. When a customer has a valid complaint and really isn't happy with their drink, I am always more than willing to make them something else, in hopes of having them satisfied. Working in the customer service industry like I do, I know that there will always be a few people, that no matter what you do, nothing is ever right in their eyes. You can make them a new drink until the cows come home and they will never be happy.

Case in point. I had a customer not too long ago who flagged me down and wanted to discuss his drink. Once he started chatting with me, I realized that it wasn't his own drink that he wanted to discuss, but his girlfriends. Already I was confused. If she didn't like her drink, why wasn't I having the discussion with her and not her boyfriend?

I asked him what the problem with the drink was. He said it was too sweet. I asked him if she would like me to make her another drink. He said no, granted the whole time I was talking about this chick's drink with her boyfriend, she wasn't making any eye contact with me whatsoever, making it very difficult for me to find out what the problem was in the first place.

After I extended the offer to make a new drink and was rejected, the guy continued to talk in circles asking if the drink was supposed to be sweet and what it was suppose to taste like. Also, while the guy was having this conversation with me, his whole upper half of his body was leaning over the bar and he was trying to grab my hand and hold it, while trying to emphasize what he was/wasn't saying. On a side note: I find customers that try to grab or touch me, creepy.

This is when I realized that they didn't want another drink, they just wanted to bitch and criticize the drink. I started to get a little frustrated because all I wanted to do was make her happy and get this guy out of my face. Anytime I offered to make another drink, a different type of drink at that, he kept telling me how much she didn't like the drink, leaving me really no option in how I could possibly make the whole situation better for them.

The dude sensed my frustration and took it as if I was taking the criticism of the drink personal. I wanted to tell him that I was actually getting fed up because it was obvious that there was nothing I could do for them that would make them happy and now they were taking me away from customers who were coming up to the bar, wanting to buy drinks.

I let the guy go in a couple more circles with his criticism before I walked away and poured them both a glass of ice water and set the glasses in front of them as a peace offering. Then I never went up to them again for the rest of the night.

Oh yeah and did I mention that when the girl originally paid for her and her boyfriend's drink, she stiffed me?

Patrón Part 4: Product Portfolio

2009-08-21T01:48:00.000-07:00

When customers think of Patrón, they seem to be the most familiar with Patrón Silver and don’t realize that other types of tequila exist within the product line. Silver tequila isn’t aged. It is generally bottled right after the distillation process. This type of tequila is clear and for the most part, doesn’t have pronounced taste. This is why using blanco tequila is idea for mixed drinks such as Margaritas and Tequila Sunrises. It’s also why Patron Silver is so popular in the company’s product line.

In Patrón’s product portfolio, there are seven different tequila products, including Patrón Silver. Each of these products has their own unique color, aroma, taste and finish. Read More...

*This article includes a slideshow with pictures provided courtesy of The Patrón Spirits Company

100th Article Anniversary!

2009-08-20T12:50:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I will post my 100th article on Examiner.com. Where does the time go? I only started back in April...

National Bartender Examiner

Patrón Part 3: Bottles and Logo

2009-08-20T02:55:00.000-07:00

The Bottle

Every Patrón bottle is unique and handmade. There are no two bottles alike. The bottles themselves are created from recycled glass. It is reported that about twenty percent of the bottles that are made are pulled off the production line due to imperfections. Patrón’s famous “Simply Perfect” tagline doesn’t just represent the quality of their tequila product and the ingredients they use to create the product, but also the container in which their product is shipped and sold in....

The Logo

Recently, I had the privileged of seeing and listening to, in person, Patrón's master distiller, Francisco Alcaraz discuss the Patrón product portfolio, the company's history and the process for how Patrón is made. This four-part series reflects the abundance of information I learned at that event.

One of the questions that were asked of Alcaraz was about the significance of Patrón’s bumblebee logo and how it came to be...Read More

Patrón Part 2: Making Patrón

2009-08-19T12:30:00.000-07:00

How does the number one ultra premium tequila brand in the world make its popular product? In six steps:

Agave
Baking
Crushing
Fermentation
Distillation
Aging

Read More...

Patrón Part 1: History

2009-08-18T09:56:00.000-07:00

I am starting a four part series on my Examiner.com page called "Sixty Hands Equal One Bottle of Patrón." The first part is all about Patrón's history.

I understand that there are many other premium tequila brands out there besides Patrón. So why am I writing a four-part series on the brand? The reason is because Patrón is the number one selling premium tequila brand in the world. When most of my customers call for a tequila, they call for Patrón. Part of my job as a bartender is to inform my customers about all the brands I stock behind my bar. I can do my best to point my customers into the direction of a premium tequila (besides Patrón) that tastes good and might be in a lower price range, but in the end, I just have to give the customer exactly what they want.

Recently, I had the privileged of seeing and listening to, in person, Patrón's master distiller, Francisco Alcaraz discuss the Patrón product portfolio, the company's history and the process for how Patrón is made. This series will reflect the abundance of information I learned at that event.

Did you know that in order to make one bottle of Patrón, it takes 60 hands to do so?

Sixty hands equal one bottle of Patron Pt. I: History

Tequila How Tos and Fun Facts

2009-08-17T11:39:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of celebrating Tequila Month all August, on Examiner.com, I present to you my most recent "Best Of" article featuring Tequila How Tos and Fun Facts:

When most people think of tequila, they remember that fun and crazy night, followed by praying to the Porcelain God the next morning. From that point on, these people vowed to never give tequila a second chance. For the entire month of August, Examiner.com is celebrating the spirit from Mexico by featuring many different articles about tequila. These articles include topics such as favorite drink recipes (like the uber popular margarita and all of it’s glorious variations), favorite food and marinate recipes (perfect for that BBQ to celebrate the remaining days of summer), where to find amazing tequila drinks and information on various tequila brands.

I have contributed a few tequila articles of my own this month, but wanted to pay homage to some of my favorite tequila articles that have been written by other Examiners on Examiner.com. Some of us have a favorite tequila recipe or a favorite place to get tequila drinks in our hometown, but what if you aren’t very familiar with tequila itself? What if you are one of those people who have suffered a bad experience with tequila and have decided to never try the spirit again? This collection of “best of” articles featuring tequila how tos and fun facts is just for you. Who knows, maybe after reading these informational articles, you might be tempted to give tequila another chance. READ MORE...

Clearly Confused

2009-08-16T11:38:00.000-07:00

As a bartender, I understand that there are people out there who drink and have no clue as to what it is that they are really drinking. Some people drink what their friends drink. Some people choose their beverages by what's being rapped or sung about on MTV. Some people will just have "whatever they're having."

I had a customer come in one time and didn't know what she wanted to drink. That's cool because that's what I, as a bartender, am behind the bar for. I am here to help my customers decide on something good to drink, for them. In order to get to that point, I have to ask a couple of questions. So this lady made it known that she wanted a scotch and asked me what kind of scotches I had. We had a few in-stock, some from three different geographic regions in Scotland. I asked her which region from Scotland she wanted her scotch to come from. She looked at me baffled. I don't think she knew anything about scotch. That was okay. We moved forward, or so I thought.

She asked me what kind of whiskey I had. I asked her if she wanted a Kentucky bourbon or a Tennessee whiskey because we have a number of different types of whiskeys in stock. Before I started rattling off my entire inventory of Bourbon, I needed to know which kind she preferred. Again, I got the deer caught in headlights look. Oh man.

Then she asked me what kind of Irish Whiskey I had. I told her two: Jamesons and Tullamore Dew. She ended up ordering a water and sipping off of her friend's Jameson on the rocks.

Sometimes, customers are clearly confused and there is nothing the bartender can do about it. I tried.

Southern Comfort is NOT Whiskey-Based

2009-08-15T03:28:00.000-07:00

Southern Comfort. A product of the South. Created by a bartender in New Orleans in 1874. This product is used in popular recipes such as an Alabama Slammer, Slow Comfortable Screw, Scarlett O’Hara, and popular amongst the college-aged crowd, SoCo Lime shots.

What a lot of people don’t realize is that Southern Comfort is considered a liqueur. Southern Comfort doesn’t have a whiskey base, like most people believe there to be. Southern Comfort is a fruit, spiced, whiskey flavored liqueur. It’s a secret blend of flavors that include peach, orange, vanilla, sugar and cinnamon. Read more HERE about SoCo's history and fun facts.

Behind!

2009-08-14T10:15:00.000-07:00

If you have ever been behind a bar before, you might have noticed that space behind a bar is very limited. Behind the bar, there has to be a complete stock of liquor, mixers, ice, tools, glassware, bottled beer, bottled wine, bottled water, cash registers and/or POS terminals, sinks for washing dishes and hands and garbage cans. On a busy night there could be two or three bartenders working behind the bar with a barback. That’s a lot of people working fast and efficiently in a small, confined space....Saying “behind” is the same idea as if a person were working in a restaurant and yelling “corner” whenever they entered/exited the kitchen. Read More

Agave Nectar

2009-08-13T02:09:00.000-07:00

When I was a nightclub bartender, I always used Sweet & Sour Mix to make my Margaritas. Why wouldn’t I? I didn’t have to deal with squeezing any fresh lemon or lime juice. It made building the drink in that type of bar environment, faster. Most of the time, people who are at nightclubs aren’t looking for a drink to knock their taste bud socks off. They are just looking for a drink to get them drunk or buzzed in a relatively short amount of time.

It wasn’t until I started working in fine dining that I began working with a number of fresh ingredients to build the cocktails that I was serving. I started noticing that my cocktails tasted even better and were now being made on a whole new level. It was at this same time that I realized when it came to the difference between making a Margarita and a really good Margarita, I had to keep two tings in mind: choosing a premium blanco tequila made of 100% agave and selecting a quality sweetening agent. This is how I was first introduced to agave nectar. Read More...

San Francisco, I Need You!

2009-08-12T13:02:00.000-07:00

Hey San Francisco!

I am working on putting together a directory and writing an article for my Examiner page on all the different fun nighttime events in the city, every night of the week. If you work at a bar, restaurant, or club and have a special night or nights going on (any night of the week), please let me know that I can include you and your venue. Thanks!

Email me: cielogold@xploitedproductions.com

Veev Acai Spirit

2009-08-12T03:12:00.000-07:00

I was cleaning out the liquor room a couple of weeks ago and found two bottles of Veev Acai Spirit. I had no idea what it was, how I would serve the product or even how to say acai. I knew that the acai berry is all the rage these days and is claimed to be a superfruit out of Brazil.

According to Veev’s website, Veev is the world’s first acai (ah-SIGH-ee) spirit. Acai is a Brazilian national fruit, which grows in the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest, is packed with nutrients and has “57% more antioxidants than pomegranates or blueberries and 30 times more heart-healthy anthocyanins than red wine.” Read More...

Classic Cocktails: Margarita

2009-08-11T00:21:00.000-07:00

The Margarita is easily one of the most popular cocktails consumed here in the United States. Margaritas can be enjoyed on the rocks, served up in a martini glass, blended, with a salted rim or no salt at all. There are so many different variations to a Margarita such as a (name your fruit here) Margarita. In it’s basic, classic form, a Margarita is a member of the Sour family. In the Sour family of drinks, these drinks consist of any type of base liquor, lime or lemon juice and a non-alcoholic sweetening agent.

In Gary Regan’s book, “The Joy of Mixology”, Regan introduces a relative to the Sour family, the New Orleans Sour family. Read More...

What is Absolut?

2009-08-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

When you think of Absolut, you immediately think of vodka. Even if you don’t drink vodka, like vodka or have ever tried Absolut, most people associate Absolut with vodka without any sort of hesitation. The reason why is due to their many (1,500 plus) print advertisements featuring an item in the shape of an Absolut bottle with the title in the center, at the bottom of the ad, which reads, “Absolut _________”. The Absolut ad campaign is the longest running ad campaign ever to date. It began running back in 1980 with photographer Steven Bronstein. Absolut was also one of the first consumer brands to embrace and represent the gay community in such a positive way. Read More...

How to Handle Drunk Customers Who Want to Leave

2009-08-09T13:42:00.000-07:00

Hey bartenders, this one is for you. Hey friends who go out drinking with one another, this is for you too. Let's make a pact to make sure everyone always gets home safe after a night of drinking.

Whenever a bartender serves a customer an alcoholic drink, that customer becomes the bartender’s responsibility. This is why it is important that if a customer comes into an establishment displaying signs of obvious intoxication, the bartender legally has to refuse service to that customer and ask them to leave. It makes sense. The bartender doesn’t have any idea how much that obviously intoxicated person has had to drink. Who knows? Maybe that one drink the bartender serves that customer will send them over the edge. Then the bartender is now responsible, even if this customer was over served somewhere else.......What does a bartender do when one of their customers becomes overly intoxicated? And worse, what if that customer wants to leave? Read More...

Tequila Ocho

2009-08-08T16:33:00.000-07:00

Being a bar manager, I am now privy to trying all kinds of new and exciting products out on the market. Vendors and liquor reps always make the time to stop by bars and restaurants in hopes of getting the decision makers who decide on what gets stocked on the shelves, to try their new products.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the fortunate opportunity of trying a new tequila on the market called Tequila Ocho. Besides the fact that I had found the product itself extremely delicious and worthy of stocking on my shelves at Coda here in San Francisco, I also felt that this was a special type of tequila. Currently, there is nothing else out there on the market quite like Tequila Ocho. Read More...

Touchy, Touchy

2009-08-06T23:11:00.001-07:00

So I get this snippy comment from a reader on Examiner.com in reference to my article on Angostura Bitters:

"I'm sorry? Caribbean attitude? Do you know how insulting this is? Here's a third option for you. Whether or not it was an accident, someone looked at the label, thought it was unique and exciting and went with it. Our attitude in the Caribbean is to embrace creativity. Lose the stereotype please and take note of the fact that the world' best bitters are made by us in Trinidad and Tobago. Maybe we have the RIGHT attitude?"

What this reader didn't realize is that the "Caribbean attitude" comment actually came directly from the Angostura Bitters website, which I clearly linked throughout my article.

According to the Angostura Bitters website:

""4. Many stories surround why the label ended up being too large for the bottle but probably the most well known is that it was simply a result of the laid back Caribbean attitude. When someone ordered the wrong size of label and the mistake was spotted, everyone thought someone else would correct it. When no one did, they decided to stick with the oversized label rather than change it and so it became the trade mark of the brand."

So it wasn't me who was doing the stereotyping like the reader accused me of doing, but it was actually the product from Trinidad and Tobago themselves claiming the stereotype and quite openly I might add. If the reader had only glanced at the website, they would have noticed that. But no, people nowadays are so damn touchy and quick to jump down anyone's throat over the piddliest shit. Seriously.

Instead of telling her to take a hike (which I would never do by the way), I kindly pointed her in the direction of the Angostura Bitters website and re quoted the website directly for her.

People. people, people. Some people are just too easily offended and in this case, for no good reason.

**Update**

So I am not out on left field here because I received this comment on my actual article today:

Giselle Laronde-West says:
"Hi Kathleen. Thanks for featuring Angostura aromatic bitters. I am the PR manager at the place where it is made in Trinidad. Sorry to hear that someone was irate about something that you wrote about the bitters and the label. To me the article was very much to the point, accurate and interesting for someone who may not know about our product. As you know, every bartender should know the product and have it as part of their staples in the bar."

That comment was totally unsolicited. I used the product's website as a source and now I have a member of the product's PR department backing my article up.

Coda Specialty Cocktail Menu

2009-08-02T13:14:00.000-07:00

Coda Specialty Cocktail Menu

On The Skizz
Jameson, fresh lemon juice, ginger beer, blood orange bitters and pomegranate juice.
$9

Buena Vista
Lime, serrano chilli, pineapple, agave nectar, Leblon cachaca and El Jimador tequila.
$10

Coda Martinez
Anchor Juniper, sweet vermouth, Maraschino liqueur and Angostura bitters.
$13

Cherry Bomb
Skyy vodka, cherries, lime, simple syrup, mint and a float of sparkling wine.
$10

Supper Club Sidecar
Hennessy Cognac, Cointreau, lemon and a sugared rim.
$11

Mint Smash
Bulleit Bourbon, sugar, mint, club soda and crushed ice.
$$11

The Manhattan
(Ri) 1 rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and blood orange bitters.
$10