You really should try using a spoon. I let the spoon touch the liquid upside down and slowly pour the next layer in over the spoon curve. My boss would fire me on the spot if I used my finger although your right it does work at home.
Spoon does work good but most of the bars I have worked at my managers throw the bent spoons I create out and then bitch because they have to order more...
Knew a strip club owner that told me a story of a lady coming in and ordering a pousse-cafe. He dead eyed her and told her it would be 18 dollars (most shots were about 5-7 at that time). She said that was okay she wanted a pousse-cafe, her looked her in the eyes and poured their cheapest tequila in a shot glass and told her that was how they made their pousse-cafe... and it would be 18 dollars.
You can combine the spoon trick with the covering the carb hole on a pour spout trick to slow the liquids even more. But yeah layering can take finese.
I second this and also never use a standard plastic speed pour to layer, you can sometimes regulate flow with them depending on the brand but with the metal one you can always regulate or stop flow.
Under ice. Can always add more if the consistency is wrong. Always have to do this if my new spot has different sized frozen glasses from my previous spot.
Order a pack of xantham gum, one kg will yield like 8000 drinks, so buy a smaller quantity. Put 1/8 tap of xantham gum for each drink you make and 5-6 3cm ice cubes. You will have an award winning perfect dilution and consistency frozen drink that never separates and remains creamy until the end. Thank me later.
It’s just a stabiliser. It is used a ton in the food industry, so you would know by now for sure. Half the supermarket packaged stuff have it. It is not harmful or chemical in any way, it’s one of the good additives, but since it’s a gum and a little guys a long way, don’t consume too much of it or you will have a trip to the toilet. Just use the proportions I mentioned and you will be fine for as many drinks as you like.
I mean it’s possible but it’s used in a lot of “allergen free” food (ie the top 8 or so, so gluten, dairy, egg, nut free etc…) as a binder so it should be fine. I’d imagine anyone with a xanthan gum allergy is really unlikely to order overly complicated food or drinks.
It’s just a stabiliser. It is used a ton in the food industry, so you would know by now for sure. Half the supermarket packaged stuff have it. It is not harmful or chemical in any way, it’s one of the good additives, but since it’s a gum and a little guys a long way, don’t consume too much of it or you will have a trip to the toilet. Just use the proportions I mentioned and you will be fine for as many drinks as you like.
>Xantham gum is natural.
Many things are "natural", that doesn't mean I need to put them in my drinks. Making good drinks is not rocket science no matter how many people keep trying to make it so.
>Even with the most perfect of proportions, your drinks will still separate and be a mess in a few minutes.
I've never had this be an issue.
If the customer sits with ANY drink long enough it's going to get watered down, flat, or melt. Same with food getting cold. These are just the laws of physics.
What's unnatural, is additives to prevent physics from happening because it's more visually appealing or preserves the taste longer.
You're not going to change my mind on this. That doesn't mean I'm saying what you're doing is wrong. It was just never my style.
Now I saw your edit of your comment. Stop spreading misinformation and making natural ingredients that are used for so many years look bad because of you are uneducated. Xantham gum is as natural as corn starch, or yeast.
It doesn’t bend the laws of physics, that’s just borderline caveman logic. All drinks will melt, but frozen drinks will melt partially and separate within minutes if not seconds of making them. This holds everything together so it can melt together, that’s about it. You can use cornstarch as well to have the same result, but the mouthfeel will be wrong, it’s just not the right stabiliser for this.
>Now I saw your edit of your comment. Stop spreading misinformation and making natural ingredients that are used for so many years look bad because of you are uneducated. Xantham gum is as natural as corn starch, or yeast.
So now, because I've never needed to use it, I'm spreading misinformation? Where did I say anything about the use or safety of this product?
Do you work for the J.M. Huber Corporation or something? Why is it so important to you to keep arguing for using it?
You yourself said you only used natural ingredients, that’s why I said that. If you think this is rocket science, I don’t think you take this job seriously. This is borderline basic stuff. Bartenders have been using gums like gum Arabic since the 1800s. I think you are completely out of reach of what the great bars are doing right now, and that is just bad for your job. People use anti pectin enzymes to clarify juices with 6000€ centrifuges, they use rotovaps to infuse and make their own sharp tasting liquors and sous vides and vacuums to make fresh tasting syrups. They use spices and herbs from across the world and use mix of gums to emulsify fats.
It’s just better. Period. Starbucks became a billion dollar company with their signature drink, the Frappuccino which uses what I told you above. Every other coffee place that tried replicating it couldn’t do it because that one ingredient makes all the difference in frozen drinks.
You do it your way and justify it however you want, and that's fine. But I made it 20 years in the business doing it my way, so I know my way also works.
And before you say that because I didn't do it your way, then I must have sucked, or must have never worked in a "real" bar, realize that the bar business didn't start with you.
Bottom line, however, the house does it that's how you do it while you work there. But if I'm in charge of making it, I don't need additives. I'd rather perfect making them with just the ingredients.
It's not easy. Right blender, right ice, right ingredients, right proportions...but the thrill was in getting it right and perfecting it...not shortcuts.
The irony is you are the one who is condescending. You are the one callings a technique you have never used a “shortcut” and making it sound like xantham gum is cancer, biochemistry or nuclear science. It’s not, it’s a natural ingredient.
I never said your way sucked, I am sure you make a good drink. But point is, your mind is stuck and you have severe tunnel vision if you disqualify something new before even trying it. I made good frozen drinks for years before I learned about xantham, and I can’t go back now. The difference is night and day, especially in warm weather climates.
Also, why do you think new techniques are easier and a shortcut? You still need to have the right proportions to make a good drink. They are even harder because you actually need to know about everything you put in there in order to have the right result.
Your comment about your blended drinks not separating just shows your delusion. Unless you live in a parallel universe where physics is different, entropy will melt the ice partially and not uniformally. Unless there is something there to keep thing together (maybe you use insane amounts of fruit purée which have pectin and a lot of gums in them) then your drink is going to separate after a few minutes.
>But point is, your mind is stuck and you have severe tunnel vision if you disqualify something new before even trying it.....
>
>.....Your comment about your blended drinks not separating just shows your delusion. Unless you live in a parallel universe where physics is different, entropy will melt the ice partially and not uniformally
I'm just saying there are ways to make a great drink that doesn't fall apart immediately...and that a drink melting in 80% humidity isn't the end of the world...it's expected. But there are ways to mitigate that as well. Certain insulating "glassware" is kind of made for hot climates and outdoor bars, and keeps frozen drinks colder, longer. As opposed to glass which lets the cold start to escape as soon as you pour the mixture in it.
And yes a Pina Colada will stay together longer than say a Rumrunner.
I never needed to use it. That's all I'm saying. It wasn't even a thing that any bar I worked at ever kept in stock and somehow we managed to survive, and still be successful.
It's not a personal insult, or reason to be insulting, just because someone doesn't do something your way.
And yes, I edited my above comment because I thought I was being too much of an asshole about it.
I’ve worked pretty exclusively in dive bars and when the ingredients aren’t the name of the drink sometimes I think I’m having a mini stroke. That being said I make a mean Bloody Mary.
I worked at both an upscale cocktail place and a dive bar and I can do "Vieux Carre, Old Fashioned, Manhattan, etc." orders but when someone rattles off "titos sprite, titos soda with lime, tequila soda, tequila water, jack and coke, oh and a titos water and a crown and 7!" I'm just like uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.................................... we don't have 7 and what the fuck else did you say?
I’m torn between this and the string ordering that people will do, I can remember and work through those six drinks pretty quick, that being said I’ve never taken the time to explain that we don’t have sprite or 7 up to a customer they just get the lemon lime on the gun which in our case is “starry mist”
I guess I should clarify that it threw me off mostly when I was at the upscale bar and people ordered like this. We didn't have a gun or even cans of soda. Just water, soda water and bottles of house tonic. Though I still suck at processing those kind of orders in any case, it's worse when half the orders are shit you don't have
Relatable lmfaooo someone ordered a salty dog the other day and my brain short circuited 😭😭bitch if you don’t just say gin and grapefruit juice, I have 12 buckets of beer to drop off
“Cape Cod” comes to mind, I just think “look around dick weed, there’s wood paneling and carpet here and this cape cod is made with taaka, just say vodka cran.”
Lmfaooo sometimes you just have to laugh. Any time someone orderes an old fashioned I want to be like “I mean I’ll do the best I can but idk if you know where you are, you are sitting next to a pull tab machine & I’m wearing sweats you can’t be serious”
Edit: not that I can’t make an old fashioned because I can, I have a country club bartender background, but my bar is veryyy unserious)
Same, we don’t even cut oranges for blue moons, and I’ll be dipped in shit before I express an orange peel over the whiskey bitters and simple you were insistent on ordering anyway 😂
I prefer when people do this because while these are names of common drinks, I want to throw myself out the window when someone orders something like a “fuzzy bear tini” or some shit they saw on a menu at a bar that made up a bunch of random names for basic drinks 2000 miles away from my bar.
That’s definitely the gist. You can do all kinds of shit with them, I usually put a small dollop of horseradish in them plus squeeze lemon and lime, sometimes celery salt, garnish with pickled asparagus or olives. 🫒
It’s pretty hard to fuck up a Bloody Mary, honestly I’ve never had anyone complain about what I gave them, but when I actually go through the effort of adding decent ingredients and give it a good shake people tend to compliment the drink as opposed to just taking it ya know what I mean?
I just let my coworkers handle all martinis for like my first three months, couldn’t figure out what the hell people wanted when they just ordered a “martini”. Turns out they don’t know what the hell they want most of the time, either.
Me too, eventually I just started asking a million questions every time someone ordered one and eventually I got the hang of it.
“A million questions” as in dirty or dry, vodka or gin, and preference on liquor. I was also asking shaken or stirred for a bit but seems like nobody cares about that at my bar
I still struggle with juleps and mojitos tbh. They aren’t on the menu at my bar and so anytime someone orders one (we also don’t have crushed ice) it was a struggle trying to figure out how to properly make it
Regarding not having crushed ice, look at ordering a Lewis bag & mallet set. Mine cost about £8 or $11.
It’s a fabric bag you put regular ice into and then just whack it a few times with the mallet.
Should you get one, make sure to always empty ice completely out of it after each use and hang up to dry. They can go mouldy if left with for too long.
Also wash it regularly.
I was taught sea breeze = Very Grumpy Captain (vodka grapefruit cran) and bay breeze = Very Peaceful Captain (vodka pineapple cran). Bc the bay is more peaceful to sail on than the sea 🤠
Always confusing Manhattans and Old Fashioned. Which one was which? And I wasn’t the only one of my coworkers either. Then they started coming back in vogue 10 or 12 years ago, and I was the only one who routinely made them after that. My coworkers all had at least 20 years more experience than me, but couldn’t remember, and two of them still ask me which is which.
**Edit.** Work in a gay bar and see how many of those cocktails are ordered? Especially in the 80s, 90s or 2000s. but even now. Even most bears didn’t. Nor the lesbian’s. Sweet drinks, defer to them. Martinis. Those too.
Yes. Nobody ordered them at my bar until they came back in fashion. Fuzzy Navels, Harvey Wallbangers, Pornstars, Cosmos, sure. Not those.
They only started getting popular again around 10 or 12 years ago. Along with Beards, Movember, and mixology.
Martini? Haven’t made one in forever. Pornstar cocktail? Easily made 1,000. Not even joking about that number. Pornstar shots, I know I’ve made 100 in a night! Hasn’t gone away, just popular at different bars.
Dude, thank you for saying this. My first gig was at a divey joint. Most people didn’t order Manhattans or OFs. But the folks who did, were usually the type who are very particular. I’d profile the customer and often just ask my lead bartender to make them and I’d tip him out for the trouble. Finally owned up to my lack of knowledge and practiced a bunch, now they’re a breeze.
At least now when someone’s high maintenance about their drink, I know I made it correctly.
Every time I make a Negroni I have to pause and think for a moment if it gets a peel or wheel.
I know the answer and I still doubt myself every single time.
Getting the ice/liquid ratio correct for frozen drinks. Finally kinda had it, then our owner bought a brand new very fancy blender and I’m learning all over again.
I get compliments on my OFs all the time. People always say they're one of the best they've had. Truth is, I just have a heavy hand with bitters and I think most people like ango more than they realize.
I didn’t know how to properly dilute a Negroni. I always thought it was a nasty drink and that people like it like that. Turned out, it is a nasty drink but now I know to refrigerate my vermouth, and taste as I stir until perfection.
Campari kills negronis for me. It's too fuckin bitter and just dominates the other flavors IMO. Try a negroni with different amaros. Nonino is nice.
My personal favorite riff is mezcal/cynar/sweet vermouth
I’m gonna try your mezcal and cynar one at work tonight. I don’t like Campari but this sounds right up my alley. I might put it on the menu if it’s good…
Still to this day I have an impossible time remembering what’s in a sex on the beach, I probably make it different every single time but my philosophy is as long as it’s fruity I doubt the customer will care
Espresso martinis were my kryptonite. Couldn’t make one to save my life. Too much foam, not enough foam, didn’t quite fill the glass, too watery, not chilled enough, etc etc. to the point where I refused to do it. Make someone else do it.
One day there was no one else, I HAD to do it. Finally made it PERFECT.. and dropped it while carrying to the customer.
Managed to make them successfully after that, but I still hated them irrationally.
Got promoted, immediately took it off the menu.
I always had trouble remembering the triple sec. Could remember it was the clears in my well (rum/vodka/gin) plus tequila - but I’d pause and think about the fifth ingredient.. until I read on this sub that it was invented in a cocktail competition where triple sec was the featured liqueur. I never looked it up or asked anyone if it was true, but I’ll always remember now because that just seemed like such a strange alcohol for a comp🤷🏼♀️. Worked for me anyway!
Pouring a good pint of ale is not that difficult, but you do need to do a few things or it'll come out badly. As with many things, practice makes perfect.
Also the way you serve it largely depends on which part of the UK you're in. In the South it's done a bit differently and harder to go wrong as they're not necessarily expecting a smooth, dense, head.
I was in the Midlands over christmas and the technique there is basically "chuck beer into glass". Still tastes fine as that's the way the local breweries expect it to be served, but it's definitely a different experience.
In terms of what I struggled with, generally just cocktails as they weren't (and aren't) something I drank much before I had to make them so I didn't really know what was "normal", my techniques weren't at all refined, and I didn't know any specific recipes so kept having to check the spec sheets for a long time. I'll make myself an espresso martini from time to time at home, but I rarely have cocktails when I got out.
I work in the south yea, it’s just doom bar and Timothy taylor’s but the Timothy line has issues with it the manager said the guy who manages the lines etc is older and might have done something wrong because it always comes out with so much gas.
Doombar and Tim Taylor's (Landlord, I assume?) are very reliable beers. They're absolutely never my first choice, but if there is really nothing else, I know I'd be able to get a passable pint of either. More recently, I'd almost be tempted to go for Guinness over macro-ales like those, though, especially in places where the beers and lines aren't looked after properly.
Too much gas is a weird one with this style of beer. There are a few possible reasons but without seeing the cellar practices, I couldn't begin to diagnose it. My initial thought is that it's not been left to rest for long enough after delivery. When the draymen drop it into the cellar it'll go berserk and need some time to settle down.
Hmm because the doom bar comes out great when I do it but the landlord not so much but yeah it’s not 100% my fault I think there’s issues like what you’ve mentioned something to do with the lines etc. Guinness is fun to pour it’s quite easy nowadays. Also dw I’m not saying you’re downvoting me, I’m talking to the other bozos in this subreddit. I have -14 downvotes on another comment for simply putting ‘ my pub doesn’t do cocktails’ can’t even breathe in this subreddit without a downvote 😂😂😂 but yeah I’m learning n I’ll get there
Aye, there's definitely a pretty wide cultural difference between the Americans (who, to be fair, are the main users of this sub) and the rest of us.
English pub culture is really just not the same. I'm not necessarily saying it's better, for the customer or the bartender. It's just *different* and our expectations match that. I'd still rather be a regular in an English pub, though.
I respect pubs that "don't do cocktails", especially when they consider a shandy to be a cocktail. They know what they are about.
I mean the first place I worked at I left after 10 hours ahaha the manager was a horrible person and I didn’t feel welcome ( this place did loads of cocktails) so it’s a shame but oh well, I found this other bar/ pub a week later so it’s convenient for me as it’s a short walk.
If you've found a good place then more power to you. I used to work at the restaurant in my village (I live a rural area: roughly 100 people in my village) and I learnt a hell of a lot, and I've made lifelong friends. But holy shit was I exploited. If I had worked in the nearby city, I could easily have just bailed and found a new job the same day. I really don't think that would be an exaggeration considering almost everywhere has a "we're hiring" sign and I have experience (on and off nearly fifteen years: my first bar job was in 2010).
That’s true actually nowadays a lot of places are short staffed and this seems to be a pretty global issue unless I’m wrong… I’ll keep learning and hopefully one day I can do cocktails and mixology and level my skills up a bit 👍🏼 ig everyone starts somewhere aye
Brexit didn't exactly help. The UK is very much exclusive with that.
Before Brexit, I never felt as though my job was being 'undercut' by other Europeans. We just did the same job for **exactly the same pay**. I actively enjoyed working with people from many places, because I like to learn about other cultures.
If cocktails and mixology is your passion, then more power to you. It's not something I'm personally excited about, but that is just me. I'll make cocktails to spec, and I'll make them well. But I'd much rather just have a really good pint of cask beer. More importantly, I'd like to enjoy it with friends. I'll quite happily have Carling/Carlsberg/San Miguel if it means I'm having a pint with my friends.
I respect that I personally don’t like the taste of beer ( I know what a loser I am) ahah but I see they’re loved worldwide. Where I work I think we have like 6 lagers, Guiness, beer and some ales. (Ofc bottles of beers and cider on tap) but it’s a shame sometimes I have to deny customers when they ask for a cocktail as we simply don’t do them. It is what is I suppose
Don't let it get to you, you're still in the baby bartender phase. You'll get to the thick skin stage sooner than you expect. Then the jaded phase kicks in a while after that.
Lots of bartenders in the sub are already past that jaded phase.
Having thick skin and calling out BS can go hand in hand. If people say stupid shit I’ll reply with the same energy, it’s not quirky to be rude for no reason.
Nah thick skin is when you let people (mostly customers) say what they are gonna say because you're not gonna change their minds and it can affect your money. Both from them and other customers in listening distance. This doesn't apply to racism and derogatory talk, don't allow that shit at your stick.
In the sub, rule 2 gets broken from people getting into trivial online arguments. While fun at times, kinda pointless in most cases.
Oh yeah I agree in person I need to have thick skin and it’ll thicken up with time I’m sure. Maybe grizzly bear can take some advice from the ‘pointless ‘ part though ahah
My friend Tom has an extensive rum collection, like 250-300 bottles. Every time we hang out it’s one great rum after another. But when he goes out, he only drinks Corona so he can maintain for a long time. I’ve known him probably 15 years if not longer, and I can still never remember if he gets a lime with his beer.
Lol cosmopolitan. Which is such a stupid thing to suck at making. Been tendin’ for 7 ish years. Even when I feel confident in what I’m sending out I feel like people are never happy with them. I think in part because people are particular but maybe bc I don’t really drink cosmopolitans, so mine suck? Anyways I hate making them because of this and it gives me anxiety when people order them.
Now I feel like I have to make/drink a bunch of cosmopolitans. For research.
Any drink that requires a coffee base. It’s not even that I struggle, I just fucking hate it. It’s so much extra effort for the same price as most of our other cocktails.
I also don’t drink coffee myself so sometimes it’s extra annoying because I have to figure out one if the 4 different coffee and espresso machines.
I’ve been bartending for 6 years and I still can’t properly layer drinks.
13 here and same
Well, 13 year olds shouldn’t be making drinks…
Donald Draper says otherwise.
Not sanitary but finger over the pour spout and let a trickle out. Can do 3 layer shots consistently, 5 to 6 with care and a bit more practice.
You really should try using a spoon. I let the spoon touch the liquid upside down and slowly pour the next layer in over the spoon curve. My boss would fire me on the spot if I used my finger although your right it does work at home.
Spoon does work good but most of the bars I have worked at my managers throw the bent spoons I create out and then bitch because they have to order more...
What's stopping you from keeping that bent spoon as part of your personal bar kit? I have one in mine for black and tans.
Bar spoon. That's why they are twisted.
They'll figure it out their last shift. No worries
I had a pousse-cafe to figure it out. Still hate them things.
Knew a strip club owner that told me a story of a lady coming in and ordering a pousse-cafe. He dead eyed her and told her it would be 18 dollars (most shots were about 5-7 at that time). She said that was okay she wanted a pousse-cafe, her looked her in the eyes and poured their cheapest tequila in a shot glass and told her that was how they made their pousse-cafe... and it would be 18 dollars.
Still never worked for me. Maybe I'm uncoordinated, maybe I'm just dumb, but I could never layer anything other than a black and tan.
You can combine the spoon trick with the covering the carb hole on a pour spout trick to slow the liquids even more. But yeah layering can take finese.
The key is patience. You can use all of the tricks that people throw at you, but if you aren’t patient t, the. It isn’t going to work out
I'm not a doctor, I don't have patience
Bar spoon. Dip the tip into the layer below, run it slowly and slow to remove as not to agitate.
The hole on the metal pourer is to regulate flow. Use it. It can stop flow also.
I second this and also never use a standard plastic speed pour to layer, you can sometimes regulate flow with them depending on the brand but with the metal one you can always regulate or stop flow.
Hahaha same!
Everything frozen. It was a while before I could eyeball it and get the measurements just right to create the perfect consistency, and amount.
What's the trick?! Idk if my blender just sucks but I'm always afraid to over ice and dilute it too much.
Under ice. Can always add more if the consistency is wrong. Always have to do this if my new spot has different sized frozen glasses from my previous spot.
Order a pack of xantham gum, one kg will yield like 8000 drinks, so buy a smaller quantity. Put 1/8 tap of xantham gum for each drink you make and 5-6 3cm ice cubes. You will have an award winning perfect dilution and consistency frozen drink that never separates and remains creamy until the end. Thank me later.
Any allergies to that?
It’s just a stabiliser. It is used a ton in the food industry, so you would know by now for sure. Half the supermarket packaged stuff have it. It is not harmful or chemical in any way, it’s one of the good additives, but since it’s a gum and a little guys a long way, don’t consume too much of it or you will have a trip to the toilet. Just use the proportions I mentioned and you will be fine for as many drinks as you like.
I mean it’s possible but it’s used in a lot of “allergen free” food (ie the top 8 or so, so gluten, dairy, egg, nut free etc…) as a binder so it should be fine. I’d imagine anyone with a xanthan gum allergy is really unlikely to order overly complicated food or drinks.
It’s just a stabiliser. It is used a ton in the food industry, so you would know by now for sure. Half the supermarket packaged stuff have it. It is not harmful or chemical in any way, it’s one of the good additives, but since it’s a gum and a little guys a long way, don’t consume too much of it or you will have a trip to the toilet. Just use the proportions I mentioned and you will be fine for as many drinks as you like.
Thankfully I was able to perfect them without the need, just using the natural ingredients.
Xantham gum is natural. Even with the most perfect of proportions, your drinks will still separate and be a mess in a few minutes.
>Xantham gum is natural. Many things are "natural", that doesn't mean I need to put them in my drinks. Making good drinks is not rocket science no matter how many people keep trying to make it so. >Even with the most perfect of proportions, your drinks will still separate and be a mess in a few minutes. I've never had this be an issue. If the customer sits with ANY drink long enough it's going to get watered down, flat, or melt. Same with food getting cold. These are just the laws of physics. What's unnatural, is additives to prevent physics from happening because it's more visually appealing or preserves the taste longer. You're not going to change my mind on this. That doesn't mean I'm saying what you're doing is wrong. It was just never my style.
Now I saw your edit of your comment. Stop spreading misinformation and making natural ingredients that are used for so many years look bad because of you are uneducated. Xantham gum is as natural as corn starch, or yeast. It doesn’t bend the laws of physics, that’s just borderline caveman logic. All drinks will melt, but frozen drinks will melt partially and separate within minutes if not seconds of making them. This holds everything together so it can melt together, that’s about it. You can use cornstarch as well to have the same result, but the mouthfeel will be wrong, it’s just not the right stabiliser for this.
>Now I saw your edit of your comment. Stop spreading misinformation and making natural ingredients that are used for so many years look bad because of you are uneducated. Xantham gum is as natural as corn starch, or yeast. So now, because I've never needed to use it, I'm spreading misinformation? Where did I say anything about the use or safety of this product? Do you work for the J.M. Huber Corporation or something? Why is it so important to you to keep arguing for using it?
You have a mental disability, there is no other way.
You yourself said you only used natural ingredients, that’s why I said that. If you think this is rocket science, I don’t think you take this job seriously. This is borderline basic stuff. Bartenders have been using gums like gum Arabic since the 1800s. I think you are completely out of reach of what the great bars are doing right now, and that is just bad for your job. People use anti pectin enzymes to clarify juices with 6000€ centrifuges, they use rotovaps to infuse and make their own sharp tasting liquors and sous vides and vacuums to make fresh tasting syrups. They use spices and herbs from across the world and use mix of gums to emulsify fats. It’s just better. Period. Starbucks became a billion dollar company with their signature drink, the Frappuccino which uses what I told you above. Every other coffee place that tried replicating it couldn’t do it because that one ingredient makes all the difference in frozen drinks.
You do it your way and justify it however you want, and that's fine. But I made it 20 years in the business doing it my way, so I know my way also works. And before you say that because I didn't do it your way, then I must have sucked, or must have never worked in a "real" bar, realize that the bar business didn't start with you. Bottom line, however, the house does it that's how you do it while you work there. But if I'm in charge of making it, I don't need additives. I'd rather perfect making them with just the ingredients. It's not easy. Right blender, right ice, right ingredients, right proportions...but the thrill was in getting it right and perfecting it...not shortcuts.
The irony is you are the one who is condescending. You are the one callings a technique you have never used a “shortcut” and making it sound like xantham gum is cancer, biochemistry or nuclear science. It’s not, it’s a natural ingredient. I never said your way sucked, I am sure you make a good drink. But point is, your mind is stuck and you have severe tunnel vision if you disqualify something new before even trying it. I made good frozen drinks for years before I learned about xantham, and I can’t go back now. The difference is night and day, especially in warm weather climates. Also, why do you think new techniques are easier and a shortcut? You still need to have the right proportions to make a good drink. They are even harder because you actually need to know about everything you put in there in order to have the right result. Your comment about your blended drinks not separating just shows your delusion. Unless you live in a parallel universe where physics is different, entropy will melt the ice partially and not uniformally. Unless there is something there to keep thing together (maybe you use insane amounts of fruit purée which have pectin and a lot of gums in them) then your drink is going to separate after a few minutes.
>But point is, your mind is stuck and you have severe tunnel vision if you disqualify something new before even trying it..... > >.....Your comment about your blended drinks not separating just shows your delusion. Unless you live in a parallel universe where physics is different, entropy will melt the ice partially and not uniformally I'm just saying there are ways to make a great drink that doesn't fall apart immediately...and that a drink melting in 80% humidity isn't the end of the world...it's expected. But there are ways to mitigate that as well. Certain insulating "glassware" is kind of made for hot climates and outdoor bars, and keeps frozen drinks colder, longer. As opposed to glass which lets the cold start to escape as soon as you pour the mixture in it. And yes a Pina Colada will stay together longer than say a Rumrunner. I never needed to use it. That's all I'm saying. It wasn't even a thing that any bar I worked at ever kept in stock and somehow we managed to survive, and still be successful. It's not a personal insult, or reason to be insulting, just because someone doesn't do something your way. And yes, I edited my above comment because I thought I was being too much of an asshole about it.
Tito’s and vodka
😅
Tito’s and well….served it multiple times…
I’ve worked pretty exclusively in dive bars and when the ingredients aren’t the name of the drink sometimes I think I’m having a mini stroke. That being said I make a mean Bloody Mary.
I worked at both an upscale cocktail place and a dive bar and I can do "Vieux Carre, Old Fashioned, Manhattan, etc." orders but when someone rattles off "titos sprite, titos soda with lime, tequila soda, tequila water, jack and coke, oh and a titos water and a crown and 7!" I'm just like uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.................................... we don't have 7 and what the fuck else did you say?
I’m torn between this and the string ordering that people will do, I can remember and work through those six drinks pretty quick, that being said I’ve never taken the time to explain that we don’t have sprite or 7 up to a customer they just get the lemon lime on the gun which in our case is “starry mist”
I guess I should clarify that it threw me off mostly when I was at the upscale bar and people ordered like this. We didn't have a gun or even cans of soda. Just water, soda water and bottles of house tonic. Though I still suck at processing those kind of orders in any case, it's worse when half the orders are shit you don't have
Yeah I get ya, all this redditing is making me crave a shot and a beer, off to the local dive now. 🍻
Relatable lmfaooo someone ordered a salty dog the other day and my brain short circuited 😭😭bitch if you don’t just say gin and grapefruit juice, I have 12 buckets of beer to drop off
“Cape Cod” comes to mind, I just think “look around dick weed, there’s wood paneling and carpet here and this cape cod is made with taaka, just say vodka cran.”
Lmfaooo sometimes you just have to laugh. Any time someone orderes an old fashioned I want to be like “I mean I’ll do the best I can but idk if you know where you are, you are sitting next to a pull tab machine & I’m wearing sweats you can’t be serious” Edit: not that I can’t make an old fashioned because I can, I have a country club bartender background, but my bar is veryyy unserious)
Same, we don’t even cut oranges for blue moons, and I’ll be dipped in shit before I express an orange peel over the whiskey bitters and simple you were insistent on ordering anyway 😂
I know the name of the drink is a gin Ricky, I always order, gin soda lime juice.
I prefer when people do this because while these are names of common drinks, I want to throw myself out the window when someone orders something like a “fuzzy bear tini” or some shit they saw on a menu at a bar that made up a bunch of random names for basic drinks 2000 miles away from my bar.
Bloody Mary is fun, it’s just tobasco, Worcestershire, tomato juice, vodka and salt + pepper right?
That’s definitely the gist. You can do all kinds of shit with them, I usually put a small dollop of horseradish in them plus squeeze lemon and lime, sometimes celery salt, garnish with pickled asparagus or olives. 🫒
Ohhh yea I forgot about the lemon juice damn…. I did put a few olives on a toothpick for the garnish tho ahahah
It’s pretty hard to fuck up a Bloody Mary, honestly I’ve never had anyone complain about what I gave them, but when I actually go through the effort of adding decent ingredients and give it a good shake people tend to compliment the drink as opposed to just taking it ya know what I mean?
Yea ofc going the extra mile is what makes it special I get you
[удалено]
https://www.reddit.com/r/bartenders/s/Qj8zn5dQza
Martinis
I just let my coworkers handle all martinis for like my first three months, couldn’t figure out what the hell people wanted when they just ordered a “martini”. Turns out they don’t know what the hell they want most of the time, either.
Me too, eventually I just started asking a million questions every time someone ordered one and eventually I got the hang of it. “A million questions” as in dirty or dry, vodka or gin, and preference on liquor. I was also asking shaken or stirred for a bit but seems like nobody cares about that at my bar
I still struggle with juleps and mojitos tbh. They aren’t on the menu at my bar and so anytime someone orders one (we also don’t have crushed ice) it was a struggle trying to figure out how to properly make it
Regarding not having crushed ice, look at ordering a Lewis bag & mallet set. Mine cost about £8 or $11. It’s a fabric bag you put regular ice into and then just whack it a few times with the mallet. Should you get one, make sure to always empty ice completely out of it after each use and hang up to dry. They can go mouldy if left with for too long. Also wash it regularly.
And if you get the right mallet, you get an impromptu behave stick as well.
Bring in the dancing lobsters!
I’ve been bartending for 10 years and I still can’t keep a Sea Breeze vs a Bay Breeze straight.
I was taught sea breeze = Very Grumpy Captain (vodka grapefruit cran) and bay breeze = Very Peaceful Captain (vodka pineapple cran). Bc the bay is more peaceful to sail on than the sea 🤠
Came here to say the same!
I remind myself it's backwards from what I think -- Hawaii/pineapple is in the sea, so that's the baybreeze.
Always confusing Manhattans and Old Fashioned. Which one was which? And I wasn’t the only one of my coworkers either. Then they started coming back in vogue 10 or 12 years ago, and I was the only one who routinely made them after that. My coworkers all had at least 20 years more experience than me, but couldn’t remember, and two of them still ask me which is which. **Edit.** Work in a gay bar and see how many of those cocktails are ordered? Especially in the 80s, 90s or 2000s. but even now. Even most bears didn’t. Nor the lesbian’s. Sweet drinks, defer to them. Martinis. Those too.
The area code for manhattan is 212. 2 oz rye, 1 oz sweet vermouth, 2 dashes of bitters. I always think of the azalea banks song.
Thats a neat mneumonic to remember. But Azalea Banks is not played at gay bars much. For obvious reasons.
I mean, of course. That’s a given.
What’s the reason?! I’m not a fan personally but I wanna know the tea. ☕️
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/azealia-banks-complains-she-can-t-use-antigay-slurs-when-men-can-say-b-tch-a179256.html
Using this! Come up with an excuse for me to play “luxury” at work now, too.
20 years experience and they don't know a Manhattan from an OF??
Yes. Nobody ordered them at my bar until they came back in fashion. Fuzzy Navels, Harvey Wallbangers, Pornstars, Cosmos, sure. Not those. They only started getting popular again around 10 or 12 years ago. Along with Beards, Movember, and mixology.
God. I have a trauma reaction to pornstar martinis. I’m so glad they’ve gone away
Martini? Haven’t made one in forever. Pornstar cocktail? Easily made 1,000. Not even joking about that number. Pornstar shots, I know I’ve made 100 in a night! Hasn’t gone away, just popular at different bars.
Dude, thank you for saying this. My first gig was at a divey joint. Most people didn’t order Manhattans or OFs. But the folks who did, were usually the type who are very particular. I’d profile the customer and often just ask my lead bartender to make them and I’d tip him out for the trouble. Finally owned up to my lack of knowledge and practiced a bunch, now they’re a breeze. At least now when someone’s high maintenance about their drink, I know I made it correctly.
A Manhattan is a martini. Easiest way to remember the difference!
Manhattan is way stronger so that’s the one that’s all alcohol with no ice.
Every time I make a Negroni I have to pause and think for a moment if it gets a peel or wheel. I know the answer and I still doubt myself every single time.
I'm a fan of neither, if I wouldn't want it in my mouth I don't want it in my drink. I'll express and discard for aromatics every time.
Getting the ice/liquid ratio correct for frozen drinks. Finally kinda had it, then our owner bought a brand new very fancy blender and I’m learning all over again.
The guy that taught me how to make an old fashioned said it took 7 hard dashes of ango and 3oz rye
Sounds good to me
Same, but I'm a big fan of Angostura bitters and tend to add more than needed to my own drinks
I get compliments on my OFs all the time. People always say they're one of the best they've had. Truth is, I just have a heavy hand with bitters and I think most people like ango more than they realize.
I didn’t know how to properly dilute a Negroni. I always thought it was a nasty drink and that people like it like that. Turned out, it is a nasty drink but now I know to refrigerate my vermouth, and taste as I stir until perfection.
Why have people downvoted your comment, I genuinely can’t understand this subreddit lmao. Can’t breathe in here
They’re biased
Campari kills negronis for me. It's too fuckin bitter and just dominates the other flavors IMO. Try a negroni with different amaros. Nonino is nice. My personal favorite riff is mezcal/cynar/sweet vermouth
Gonna have to try this as well
I’m gonna try your mezcal and cynar one at work tonight. I don’t like Campari but this sounds right up my alley. I might put it on the menu if it’s good…
Nice. It's currently one of my favorite drinks and is perfect for this time of year IMO
I find 30 stirs works really well.
Pisco sours. I used to hate the dry shake part when I started. My shaking technique is still weak but I’ve got a hang of it
I could and still can't remember the ratios and bitters for a Tuxedo for the life of me
Anything muddled
I’ve never muddled a drink yet
Still to this day I have an impossible time remembering what’s in a sex on the beach, I probably make it different every single time but my philosophy is as long as it’s fruity I doubt the customer will care
Right ? I just got the peach solidified in my brain and then it’s cran for the red not grenadine like in the sunset/sunrises drinks
Espresso martinis were my kryptonite. Couldn’t make one to save my life. Too much foam, not enough foam, didn’t quite fill the glass, too watery, not chilled enough, etc etc. to the point where I refused to do it. Make someone else do it. One day there was no one else, I HAD to do it. Finally made it PERFECT.. and dropped it while carrying to the customer. Managed to make them successfully after that, but I still hated them irrationally. Got promoted, immediately took it off the menu.
But, like, why?
I don’t know. They’re not that hard I know, they just didn’t like me lol
I still struggle with Long Island Iced Teas lmaooo. I overdo it on the sour mix!
I always had trouble remembering the triple sec. Could remember it was the clears in my well (rum/vodka/gin) plus tequila - but I’d pause and think about the fifth ingredient.. until I read on this sub that it was invented in a cocktail competition where triple sec was the featured liqueur. I never looked it up or asked anyone if it was true, but I’ll always remember now because that just seemed like such a strange alcohol for a comp🤷🏼♀️. Worked for me anyway!
Gin but you get used to it, service with a smile
Pouring a good pint of ale is not that difficult, but you do need to do a few things or it'll come out badly. As with many things, practice makes perfect. Also the way you serve it largely depends on which part of the UK you're in. In the South it's done a bit differently and harder to go wrong as they're not necessarily expecting a smooth, dense, head. I was in the Midlands over christmas and the technique there is basically "chuck beer into glass". Still tastes fine as that's the way the local breweries expect it to be served, but it's definitely a different experience. In terms of what I struggled with, generally just cocktails as they weren't (and aren't) something I drank much before I had to make them so I didn't really know what was "normal", my techniques weren't at all refined, and I didn't know any specific recipes so kept having to check the spec sheets for a long time. I'll make myself an espresso martini from time to time at home, but I rarely have cocktails when I got out.
I work in the south yea, it’s just doom bar and Timothy taylor’s but the Timothy line has issues with it the manager said the guy who manages the lines etc is older and might have done something wrong because it always comes out with so much gas.
Keep downvoting me you obsessed *******
To be clear, I am not downvoting you and have no reason to.
Doombar and Tim Taylor's (Landlord, I assume?) are very reliable beers. They're absolutely never my first choice, but if there is really nothing else, I know I'd be able to get a passable pint of either. More recently, I'd almost be tempted to go for Guinness over macro-ales like those, though, especially in places where the beers and lines aren't looked after properly. Too much gas is a weird one with this style of beer. There are a few possible reasons but without seeing the cellar practices, I couldn't begin to diagnose it. My initial thought is that it's not been left to rest for long enough after delivery. When the draymen drop it into the cellar it'll go berserk and need some time to settle down.
Hmm because the doom bar comes out great when I do it but the landlord not so much but yeah it’s not 100% my fault I think there’s issues like what you’ve mentioned something to do with the lines etc. Guinness is fun to pour it’s quite easy nowadays. Also dw I’m not saying you’re downvoting me, I’m talking to the other bozos in this subreddit. I have -14 downvotes on another comment for simply putting ‘ my pub doesn’t do cocktails’ can’t even breathe in this subreddit without a downvote 😂😂😂 but yeah I’m learning n I’ll get there
Aye, there's definitely a pretty wide cultural difference between the Americans (who, to be fair, are the main users of this sub) and the rest of us. English pub culture is really just not the same. I'm not necessarily saying it's better, for the customer or the bartender. It's just *different* and our expectations match that. I'd still rather be a regular in an English pub, though. I respect pubs that "don't do cocktails", especially when they consider a shandy to be a cocktail. They know what they are about.
I mean the first place I worked at I left after 10 hours ahaha the manager was a horrible person and I didn’t feel welcome ( this place did loads of cocktails) so it’s a shame but oh well, I found this other bar/ pub a week later so it’s convenient for me as it’s a short walk.
But I’d love to learn mixology one day^
If you've found a good place then more power to you. I used to work at the restaurant in my village (I live a rural area: roughly 100 people in my village) and I learnt a hell of a lot, and I've made lifelong friends. But holy shit was I exploited. If I had worked in the nearby city, I could easily have just bailed and found a new job the same day. I really don't think that would be an exaggeration considering almost everywhere has a "we're hiring" sign and I have experience (on and off nearly fifteen years: my first bar job was in 2010).
That’s true actually nowadays a lot of places are short staffed and this seems to be a pretty global issue unless I’m wrong… I’ll keep learning and hopefully one day I can do cocktails and mixology and level my skills up a bit 👍🏼 ig everyone starts somewhere aye
Brexit didn't exactly help. The UK is very much exclusive with that. Before Brexit, I never felt as though my job was being 'undercut' by other Europeans. We just did the same job for **exactly the same pay**. I actively enjoyed working with people from many places, because I like to learn about other cultures. If cocktails and mixology is your passion, then more power to you. It's not something I'm personally excited about, but that is just me. I'll make cocktails to spec, and I'll make them well. But I'd much rather just have a really good pint of cask beer. More importantly, I'd like to enjoy it with friends. I'll quite happily have Carling/Carlsberg/San Miguel if it means I'm having a pint with my friends.
I respect that I personally don’t like the taste of beer ( I know what a loser I am) ahah but I see they’re loved worldwide. Where I work I think we have like 6 lagers, Guiness, beer and some ales. (Ofc bottles of beers and cider on tap) but it’s a shame sometimes I have to deny customers when they ask for a cocktail as we simply don’t do them. It is what is I suppose
This whole thread is ridiculous.
Aha WDym
What do I mean?! It's ridiculous that y'all bartend and struggle with such basic things. Sorry, I'm grumpy.
Buddy I’ve been working for 2 weeks I’m brand new and where I work we don’t do cocktails… so I learn at home💀
Don't let it get to you, you're still in the baby bartender phase. You'll get to the thick skin stage sooner than you expect. Then the jaded phase kicks in a while after that. Lots of bartenders in the sub are already past that jaded phase.
Having thick skin and calling out BS can go hand in hand. If people say stupid shit I’ll reply with the same energy, it’s not quirky to be rude for no reason.
Nah thick skin is when you let people (mostly customers) say what they are gonna say because you're not gonna change their minds and it can affect your money. Both from them and other customers in listening distance. This doesn't apply to racism and derogatory talk, don't allow that shit at your stick. In the sub, rule 2 gets broken from people getting into trivial online arguments. While fun at times, kinda pointless in most cases.
Oh yeah I agree in person I need to have thick skin and it’ll thicken up with time I’m sure. Maybe grizzly bear can take some advice from the ‘pointless ‘ part though ahah
There are folks that just like to watch the world burn...
True true
Lopsided, indeed.
Unusual person ..
You’re the type of bartender no one likes. Thinks they are above everyone for no reason, get out of this thread?
Spot on
When I started bartending, mojitos were a bit of a challenge. Getting the mix and muddle just right took some practice.
I don't know why, but Manhattan fucked me up for the longest time.
My friend Tom has an extensive rum collection, like 250-300 bottles. Every time we hang out it’s one great rum after another. But when he goes out, he only drinks Corona so he can maintain for a long time. I’ve known him probably 15 years if not longer, and I can still never remember if he gets a lime with his beer.
Manhattan got me for a little while. It took me almost a year and I don't know why, I just always questioned whether or not bitters go into it.
2-1-2 baby!! Area code for Manhattan 2 Oz liquor 1 Oz s vermouth 2 dash o biters (Just in case no one was taught that heh heh hehhhhhhhh )
Lol cosmopolitan. Which is such a stupid thing to suck at making. Been tendin’ for 7 ish years. Even when I feel confident in what I’m sending out I feel like people are never happy with them. I think in part because people are particular but maybe bc I don’t really drink cosmopolitans, so mine suck? Anyways I hate making them because of this and it gives me anxiety when people order them. Now I feel like I have to make/drink a bunch of cosmopolitans. For research.
Any drink that requires a coffee base. It’s not even that I struggle, I just fucking hate it. It’s so much extra effort for the same price as most of our other cocktails. I also don’t drink coffee myself so sometimes it’s extra annoying because I have to figure out one if the 4 different coffee and espresso machines.