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For those of you who don't believe that "skill" is the least important part of bartending:
Okay. Let me make this clear. I believe that making good drinks well is a vital part of tending bar.
Yet, for those of you who are interested in tending bar, but fear that you just may not have the skills, I offer the following video.
Watch it first, then I'll put some discussion points under the cut.
Yes, most of the lessons in this video are "what not to do". This video is like this recording of "O Holy Night":
(Which, incidentally, I found by doing a search on "worst O holy night ever", knowing that I'd find this exact recording).
In each case, as you are just convinced that this just COULDN'T possibly get WORSE, it manages to take it to the next level. For me, at both "Oh night de-VIIIIIIIIINEEE!" and "Don't forget your Sprite", I just totally lost it and my horror cracked into uncontrollable giggles.
So, yes, in both cases, these are largely "How Not To Do It" examples. Besides the obvious things, note how the bartender uses the muddler upside down, barely shakes the drink. . .
Still, there are things to learn from this, as well.
Note that this woman is not only employed at a bar, but she has enough self-confidence to actually put this video up on the web. Self-confidence is the most important attribute a bartender can have. When I was learning, I made plenty of drinks incorrectly -- and most of the time, people would drink them happily, anyway. Okay, I never did anything THAT egregious, but still.
And I also think that those of you who are considering getting into bartending can take some encouragement from this. SHE has a job. Yes, I'm sure you can see the two main reasons she got the job on display in the yellow halter, yet still. . . .
It reminds me of that scene in THE FULL MONTY, where they are watching videos in order to learn how to dance:
If Dave can take confidence in his dancing by the fact that he can weld better than Jennifer Beals's character in FLASHDANCE, you ought to take even MORE confidence in your bartending by the fact that you can actually tend bar better than Andrea there.
Yet, for those of you who are interested in tending bar, but fear that you just may not have the skills, I offer the following video.
Watch it first, then I'll put some discussion points under the cut.
Yes, most of the lessons in this video are "what not to do". This video is like this recording of "O Holy Night":
(Which, incidentally, I found by doing a search on "worst O holy night ever", knowing that I'd find this exact recording).
In each case, as you are just convinced that this just COULDN'T possibly get WORSE, it manages to take it to the next level. For me, at both "Oh night de-VIIIIIIIIINEEE!" and "Don't forget your Sprite", I just totally lost it and my horror cracked into uncontrollable giggles.
So, yes, in both cases, these are largely "How Not To Do It" examples. Besides the obvious things, note how the bartender uses the muddler upside down, barely shakes the drink. . .
Still, there are things to learn from this, as well.
Note that this woman is not only employed at a bar, but she has enough self-confidence to actually put this video up on the web. Self-confidence is the most important attribute a bartender can have. When I was learning, I made plenty of drinks incorrectly -- and most of the time, people would drink them happily, anyway. Okay, I never did anything THAT egregious, but still.
And I also think that those of you who are considering getting into bartending can take some encouragement from this. SHE has a job. Yes, I'm sure you can see the two main reasons she got the job on display in the yellow halter, yet still. . . .
It reminds me of that scene in THE FULL MONTY, where they are watching videos in order to learn how to dance:
GAZ:
It's "Flashdance." She's a welder, isn't she?
DAVE:
A welder?
I hope she dances better than she welds.
Look at that. Her mix is all to cock.
GAZ:
What the fuck do you know about welding, any road?
DAVE:
More than some chuffing woman.
It's like Bonfire Night. That's too much acetylene.
Them joints won't hold fuck all.
If Dave can take confidence in his dancing by the fact that he can weld better than Jennifer Beals's character in FLASHDANCE, you ought to take even MORE confidence in your bartending by the fact that you can actually tend bar better than Andrea there.
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There is general agreement on the following points, however:
A mint julep contains:
And nothing else. Historically, there have been variations such as the "Georgia julep", which added peach brandy, and the earliest forms of mint juleps often used brandy instead of bourbon, but "the mint julep", as we know it today, is NOT either of those.
There are those who will only serve a mint julep in a silver julep cup. There are others who are happy to serve it in glass.
Some say that the ice should be shaved, some say crushed. The amount of mint used is a source of contention, as is the exact variety of mint. How much the mint is muddled is in question, as is whether you then strain out the pieces or leave them in. Whether you use finely powdered sugar or simple syrup. And the exact way that the drink is built in the glass and served -- these are all items of contention.
But, as an example, I might decide to make a mint julep as follows:
Take three sprigs of peppermint and put them in a glass. Pour a half ounce of simple syrup over them, and muddle them GENTLY until the mint is bruised and releases its odors. Pour one and a half ounces of bourbon over it, and stir gently. Fill the rest of the glass with shaved ice, and put a couple cocktail straws in it to reach the liquid. Garnish with a few more sprigs of mint, slapping them first to release the aromas.
Now, that recipe is one designed by me, a Yankee, and I'm certain that any Kentuckian would laugh and have a better recipe. But mine, at least, might be RECOGNIZABLE as a mint julep.
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