The last week at the bar has thankfully been another smooth and easy one. I am almost beginning to miss those “special” customers I am so fond of writing about…almost. So tonight…I got a question I have been getting more and more frequently over the years: Are you a mixologist? I am never sure how to answer this. Yes, I enjoy making mixed drinks, I like to get creative and write my own recipes, I infuse simple syrup and vodka with exotic ingredients, I make emulsified foams and flavored whip creams and I am currently learning about spherification, deep freezing, gelification, and thickening techniques. I literally carry around scribbled cocktail recipes in my wallet. But does this make me a mixologist? What the fuck is a mixologist anyway? So I looked it up after work when I got home to the cave. A mixologist is defined as…someone who is skilled in mixing drinks. Mixology…the study or skill of preparing drinks. Bartender…one who mixes alcoholic drinks at a bar. There you have it. I am just a humble bartender. So for all of you self-appointed so-called mixologists out there who are standing at a bar and not actually working behind the scenes for Grey Goose or others…I dedicate this video to you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB2aVzmPxxM Thank god I am a bartender!
Related Posts
- No related posts found
I have seen a ton of fads come and go in this business, but the mixology craze is the worst. Drinks that take 20 minutes to make and cost $20 are an unsustainable business model and the hipsters that make them are unbearable. These are the same bartenders that will look down their nose at someone ordering a Bud Light, but gladly pour you a PBR. 25 year olds who think that wearing a vest and having ironic facial hair makes them a bartender would get eaten alive if they walked into a place that did any sort of volume. Can the attitude and make the guests the drink they ordered. Drink whatever you want and let others do the same.
David, exactly…drink what you want and let others do the same. Everybody has different tastes and it is an absolute must you realize this tending bar. I will admit…if time allows and I have a guest who is willing to try something a little off the wall…I am more than happy to try and provide a new cocktail experience for them. At the same time, I wouldn’t look down on someone asking if we have Beringer White Zin after glancing through our rather high end wine list. If that is what they enjoy then they should be able to do so without a pretentious bartenders idiotic input.
By the way…personally…I would rather have a PBR any day over a Bud Light!