August 5, 2009
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It’s six o’clock at night in New Orleans and I’m sweating, hard. Not because of the heat outside, but because I’m inside, on a stage with a microphone in my hand. Eight of the best bartenders in the country are lined up behind me, hundreds of people are seated in front of me, and everyone | Read More
July 15, 2009
My good friends over at Embury Cocktails were kind enough to stop by the Boca Loca luncheon at Tales of the Cocktail this year, and captured me on film while Jason Rowan grilled me after a late night and an early morning of prepping for the lunch.
July 5, 2009
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(Gosh, they look happy.) Anyway – it’s July, which means that it’s that time of year, to take a week-long reprieve from the steamy swelter of Oregon and head once again to the cool lazy breezes of New Orleans. Tales of the Cocktail is a week of cocktail seminars, workshops, classes, competitions, food, fun, friends, | Read More
June 25, 2009
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Ah, Tales of The Cocktail. The greatest yearly gathering on earth for cocktail enthusiasts, bartenders, students of mixology and aficionados of fine liquors. Also, a logistical nightmare for those who have to plan the hundreds of events spread over those five days in New Orleans. Shortly after to agreeing to sit on Paul Clarke’s panel, | Read More
June 5, 2009
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I absolutely hate it when someone sends me a box full of sex toys in the mail. Sure, it might sound like fun to some of you (you know who you are), but receiving a big box of free sex is much more trouble than it’s worth. Believe me. So I get a little guarded | Read More
June 1, 2009
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“Here, see if you can make me something with this”, the liquor rep taunted as he dropped a bottle of aquavit on the bar. If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I don’t really work that well under pressure. I try, but it literally takes me weeks to come up with | Read More
April 13, 2009
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It’s been busy times here in Portland, but I thought I’d take a break from all the hot bar-managin’ action to post a aggregated update of what’s been happening in my world lately – loose ends, mostly: Last week I attended the Grand Marnier/Navan Mixology Summit in Vail Colorado. One hundred bartenders from around the | Read More
March 20, 2009
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Hey, here’s a fun way to illustrate karma. If you’ve, say, built a large web presence upon a not-so-generous string of public criticisms of bar-related web videos [1, 2, 3, 4], then one day somebody will ask you to appear in a series of videos yourself. That’s what happened last month when Imbibe Magazine called | Read More
March 17, 2009
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Hey Bartender My South Side Irish Chicago Dad always told me that Jameson was the Catholic whisky and that Bushmills was the whiskey made by “the damn Protestants”. Now this character I met at the bar is trying to tell me it’s the other way around. Help! Who do I believe, the man who raised | Read More
March 16, 2009
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The list of increduble experiences I had last fall while attending (and speaking at) the Bar Convent Berlin is a mile long, but up near the top of the list is the afternoon chat I had with Andreas Redlefsen, owner of St. Lucia’s Elements Eight rums. Elements Eight is virtually unknown in this country, but | Read More
March 6, 2009
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Speaking of great cocktails made with cachaça, let’s take a moment before the weekend and see what our old friends at the American Bartending School would do when confronted with a bottle of the stuff. In this segment, we’ll learn how to make the Brazilian classic, the caipirinha (kai-peer-EEN-ya) 1. Announce to your friends that | Read More
March 2, 2009
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With my recent move to Portland and consequent adjustment to a new work environment, new living situation and new selection of great bars and restaurants to explore, I’ve been a little lax on the new drink recipes. Fortunately I have my cruel taskmasters at Boca Loca Cachaça to keep me toiling away, day and night, | Read More
February 20, 2009
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I’m a big fan of my friend Eric Tecosky and his company, Dirty Sue. So when he asked me to judge the upcoming Dirty Sue Cocktail Competition, I accepted without hesitation. Also, he’d just said some nice things about me on the internet, so I felt obliged. Anyway, here’s the deal. Grab yourself a bottle | Read More
February 3, 2009
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Portland, Oregon is the best, as everyone knows. The city is largely unhindered by the cruel oppression of the sun’s toxic ultraviolet rays, which keep skin cancer and unnecessary happiness at bay. Mount Tabor, a dormant volcanic “cone” lies within the city limits, which is in no way absolutely terrifying. And a large near-sighted Amish | Read More
December 31, 2008
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Photo Credit: Zach Lewis (www.zachmlewis.com) Susan writes: I am a frequent bar customer. I need an explanation of the concept behind buybacks. One bartender who I was friends with would not let me pay for my drinks, ever. He said they were on him. One day when it was very slow in the bar I | Read More
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