February 4, 2022
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I started tending bar when I was in school, back in 1996, at a corner bar called The Tiny Tavern, located in the Whitaker district of Eugene, Oregon. It was (and still is) kind of a rough-and-tumble part of town, full of working class people, families, musicians, artists, you name it. I met a lot | Read More
January 21, 2022
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Since I’ve had a little more free time these days, I’ve been going back through some of my old recipes and noticing that I’ve got a pretty extensive backlog of cocktails that have never made it on to the site. Until now. You can expect to see more cocktails here this year as I’ve discovered | Read More
January 11, 2022
Something occurred to me recently: Why are we still banishing low-alcohol and no-alcohol drinks to their own dumb section of the menu, like they’re sitting at the kids’ table at dinner? Think about it for a second, doesn’t it seem a little barbaric in this day and age – when we’re all consuming more low-proof | Read More
November 21, 2021
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As any regular visitor to this site can tell you, I. Love. Eggnog. (A LOT). And as I’ve said before, my love for the stuff is not limited to just the alcoholic versions I’ve been evangelizing for the past decade and half. I even love the goop that you get from the grocery store. It’s | Read More
August 12, 2021
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Back in 2019, I wrote a little piece about how liquor companies could be better about supporting the next generation of working bartenders. It was really well-received by both the bartending community and by the brands who truly care about the people who are on the front lines, selling their products. Dozens of brands reached | Read More
June 30, 2021
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With the loss of both my bartending/bar management jobs due to the pandemic, I just wrote my first resume (curriculum vitae or CV for my international and academic friends) in nearly fifteen years. To say I was a little rusty at putting together a resume would be putting it mildly. I haven’t had a need | Read More
June 18, 2021
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One of the things I can’t run a bar without is a solid 2:1 brown sugar syrup. I love a dark rum Daiquiri with Demerara syrup, I only use brown sugar syrup in my Irish Coffees, and Muscovado syrup goes great in cocktails made with my house ginger beer recipe. I’ve been thinking about having | Read More
June 15, 2021
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A few weeks ago I got an Instagram message from an old regular of ours, who had some questions about making my famous Gallon of Margaritas recipe for Memorial Day. At one point in the conversation she said to me, and I quote: “Can I make a half batch of these because last year we | Read More
April 17, 2021
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I’m copying this over from Instagram, which I never do, However, it was one of the rare Instagram posts of mine that actually has to do with hospitality, so I felt it was important to share here. The State of Oregon approved restaurant workers for COVID-19 vaccination on April 5th, and after spending many mornings | Read More
March 15, 2021
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The Irish Coffee used to freak me out. Now, granted, this was back in the day when it was nearly impossible to find the answers to just about any bartending questions online. So you kinda had to go with what the guests or the more experienced bartenders told you was correct. And that information was | Read More
February 8, 2021
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This experiment was inspired by a guest we had at the bar a few years ago, it was one of those experiences that sticks with you. We had a relatively new bartender – new to us, and new to bartending that we were so happy to have. I was working with her one night when | Read More
February 4, 2021
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For over a decade now, I have been a judge at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. It has been an incredible honor for my professional career to be part of the world’s most prestigious spirits competition, and one of the oldest, for half of its life. The Competition is run by Anthony Dias Blue, | Read More
November 30, 2020
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Update: Since there seems to be some confusion among non-bartender types, this spreadsheet is only for pricing out individual bottle shots. If you’re looking to price out a whole cocktail, please refer to this post for the appropriate spreadsheet. Hey guys Jimmy from Florida just wrote in for the VFW hall he’s managing (I’m a | Read More
October 28, 2020
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I used to have this recipe crammed in with the original Egg Nog post, but this year I think it deserves its own page. And for many reasons. I mean first off, the Clyde Common egg nog has surpassed the original base recipe in popularity. I never could have imagined how popular a tequila-sherry egg | Read More
September 9, 2020
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I recently posted on my Instagram about my excitement around finally learning how to use the fruit of my lone Italian Prune Plum (or Empress Plum) tree that grows right outside the back door to my kitchen. I spent all day Sunday learning how to make plum jam (among other things) and then was taught | Read More
These are the books and tools I use every single day to make drinks at home and behind the bar. Clicking on a product takes you to Amazon, which helps me keep this site running, so thank you in advance!
