Archives Page 17

What to Expect at the Vegas Bar and Restaurant Show

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After waiting for the initial line to die down… oh, wait. We didn’t wait in line. Some people thought they’d just go to the end of the line, two blocks away, and wait to be let into the show. My associates and I? We just weasled our way up in front and were among the | Read More

On The Floor at the Vegas Bar and Restaurant Show

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I’m waiting for them to open the doors to the show, as hundreds upon hundreds of people line up outside in the lobby. Coming up next, I’ve got tons of product reviews from inside the show, and a mixology competition with our friends Sean Bigley, Darren West and Zoltan Andahazy.

Keynote Address with Dale DeGroff and Tony Abou-Ganim

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9:30 in the morning is a cruel time to try to get 500 bartenders together in the same room, especially in Las Vegas. But the turnout was great nonetheless for two of mixology’s living legends, Dale DeGroff and Tony Abou-Ganim. They started out with a short video presentation hosted by Tony about the bar chef | Read More

Monday Night in Vegas… Not So Bad, Actually!

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My night tonight was the best so far. No strip clubs, no chicken wings, just a big group of real cocktail enthusiasts and three amazing locations. I started my night at the Wynn hotel in a private suite fifty floors above the city, drinking Sagatiba Pura. It’s a brand-new cachaça here in the States, and | Read More

Picked Up My Pass

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Went to the Convention Center this morning and picked up my pass for the show, I think the real bar manager at Red Agave might be a little miffed if she sees this, but at least they spelled my name correctly.

Petrossian Paris at the Bellagio

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My friend Jimmy of Jimmy’s Cocktail Hour (see links at right) sent me to the Bellagio to find Darren West, but he’s not working at the Petrossian tonight. I’m going to finish the most incredible Negroni in the world and continue my search. Stand by!

Bartender Predjudices

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I’m at the Portland Airport this morning, at some “German” bar on the concourse. I walk up the bar and order a double shot and a beer. Now, mind you, I’m not doing this because I’m that into drinking at ten in the morning. I’m doing it because I’m terrified of flying. Anyway, the friendly | Read More

One Hundred on Black

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Well, it didn’t work out. Go figure, I’m not much of a gambler. To tell you the truth, I don’t gamble at all. Ever. Personally, I’d rather spend a hundred on a bottle of wine. Just took a little walk through the neighborhood, stopped in at the dueling piano bar at New York, New York | Read More

On the plane…

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I haven’t been to Las Vegas in six years, and I’ve never flown on Southwest Airlines. Although the cattle-call seating arrangements that this airline favors are less than, uh, favorable, the good vibrations are palpable. Maybe it’s because I’m surrounded by the fun-loving staff of an Oregon City liquor store, or maybe it’s because everyone | Read More

The Barate Kid

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It’s a slow Monday night and my barback, Nathan, is getting frustrated. “Jesus, Jeff, when am I going to get to make some real drinks?!” “In time, Nathan-san”, I reply, “In time.” “You keep saying that, but all I’ve done for the past two months is make a bunch of old lady drinks! You make | Read More

My Review of Patrick Henry’s Cocktail Mixers

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A while back I was contacted by Whit Whitley of Revolution X Mixers, a new brand of bottled mixers. He sent me some samples in the mail, and although I’m usually opposed to pre-made cocktail mixes, I was excited to try some new stuff. You see, at my bar, we make everything from scratch. Sours, | Read More

More Blogs for Your Reading Pleasure

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Newcomer Dr. Bamboo not only has (well, just two so far) some of the best articles on classic mixology, but he does his own fantastic illustrations to accompany his articles. Take a look at his site here. Natalie at The Liquid Muse leads a charmed life. Cocktail Goddess to the Rich and Famous, she writes | Read More

Vegas Restaurant Show, Here We Come!

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Hey Everyone I just learned that I will be at the Las Vegas Restaurant Show next week! I’ll be in town from Sunday the 4th through Tuesday the Sixth, so if any of you are going to be there, let me know. I’ll also be blogging just about everything I see and do, so stay | Read More

The Eighth Thing You Never Want to Catch Your Bartender Doing.

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You see younger bartenders doing this a lot. I even did it my first week or so, until someone told me to know it off. It was too hard to describe, so I had to take a picture. Yeah. The filthy-bar-rag-in-the-back-pocket thing. It’s so gross it makes me want to puke all over the place | Read More

Sugar and the Novice Bartender

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Sugar is a wonderful thing in the world of cocktails. Sugar and bitters are the barman’s equivalent of the chef’s salt and pepper. But just as novice chefs overuse these master spices, the novice bartender will manage to ruin a perfectly good cocktail. Sugar can make a drink taste, well, more like itself. A mojito | Read More