A Humbling Couple of Weeks....

[Jester]

Popcorn is the Tony Bahama Rum mixologist at that other bar?

No. Popcorn is the TOMMY Bahama Rumologist at another bar in Key West, the very same friend I promoted and supported for that position many months ago.

[tech_monkey]

Yum!

*snip*
Aguardiete is produced in Central American and northern South America, and is distilled from molasses infused with anise, with additional sugar cane juice added after distillation.

Ummmm... brands you might recommend of this...? Please? Availability in the states or linky for online purchase.

I should not be thinking of booze while at work. I really don't that much.

[AccountingDrone]

No. Popcorn is the TOMMY Bahama Rumologist at another bar in Key West, the very same friend I promoted and supported for that position many months ago.

My bad ... told you I pretty much didn't drink any more

[Jester]

Ummmm... brands you might recommend of this...? Please? Availability in the states or linky for online purchase.

I know absolutely nothing about aguardiente, other than that it exists, is a cousin of rum, and is produced in Central America, as I stated. I am not familiar with any brands, good or bad, and have no idea where any such spirits might be available for purchase in the States, nor for how much, nor how good any are.

Basically, I don't know diddly about aguardiente beyond its existence, so I'm afraid on this item you are going to have to look elsewhere for help.

[Treasure]

Jester, you gotta get onto this. If Wolfie has been taking lessons from Lupo about how to bully, you're in serious trouble.

Fortunately for Jester, it was wolfie, not xx_wolfie_xx asking; the second one is the one dating Lupo, and then he would've had cause to "shake his pinkie toe in his sock"

[tech_monkey]

I know absolutely nothing about aguardiente, other than that it exists, is a cousin of rum, and is produced in Central America, as I stated. I am not familiar with any brands, good or bad, and have no idea where any such spirits might be available for purchase in the States, nor for how much, nor how good any are.

Basically, I don't know diddly about aguardiente beyond its existence, so I'm afraid on this item you are going to have to look elsewhere for help.

Darn. Thanks anyway.

[wolfie]

Thanks for the explanation. Bit of trivia - the various flavoured vodkas (pepper, lemon, etc.) couldn't have been sold as such in Napoleonic-era Britain. Why? Because British law at the time classed all flavoured spirits as gin.

[Jester]

Bit more trivia....for all intents and purposes, gin actually IS just flavored vodka.

Not that really affects me all that much, as I loathe gin, and only drink vodka when it's surrounded by a bloody mary.

[Jester]

Just finished the online portion of the mixology course, passing all the sections necessary.

Now I just need to learn and commit to memory the 25 classic cocktails they discuss and present, as at the live seminar in Miami, we will be tested on these. As in, we are going to have to make them. And of the few of them that I know, not a one is made in the way I was taught or that I make it.

Should be fun. But as long as I can get those 25 down (and I have both the booklet and the online videos to review to help me with that), Miami should be a blast.

Oh, did I mention that the Miami seminar is next Tuesday, May 1st? Yeah, I have barely a week to learn these cocktails.

Oh, it feels good to be at this point...and yet, I am going to have to study my ass off. And since I have not taken a class that involved this much studying since the early NINETIES, this is going to be amusing. (My magic lessons, by contrast, involved a lot of practice, but not so much studying or memorizing.)

But that is the rest of the week. Today, however, after about 5 hours or so of working my way through the last online section, I am DONE. I am celebrating my completion of this part of things with a lovely beer (reviewed elsewhere on this site), and I am taking the rest of the day OFF.

Beer, food, rum, beer, food, tv, and the net...that is the sum total of the rest of my Sunday, thank you very much.

[AccountingDrone]

Sounds good, and I have no doubt that you will be able to memorize 25 drinks.

[dalesys]

... the Miami seminar is next Tuesday, May 1st?

Mayday, Jest Robinson! Mayday!

[Jester]

PART THREE: Yesterday at work, my boss surprised me yet again, letting me know that The Bar would be sponsoring myself and another of our bartenders for a prestigious mixology course. The course involves several weeks online and then one live seminar in Miami in May.

NOTE: I tend to ramble on, and this post is no different. So, if you want to skip to the last paragraph to find out the result, knock yourself out. Or, if you prefer, muddle through my random mental musings below as I take you through my experience at the course in Miami.

The online course was tough, but doable. In addition to a workbook, we also had many online videos to watch to help us, and had to take four online tests. All of which I passed, though one I had to take twice (different questions each time, of course). But I wish I had started sooner.

Studying to learn the 25+ "classic" cocktails was tough, and I should have studied more. Especially since, in addition to a written exam and a blind taste test of spirits, we each would receive a practical exam, involving making some of those cocktails.

Once we got to Miami, the lecture portion of the seminar was fun, entertaining, hilariously funny, and informational. Yeah, it went over a lot of the online course stuff, but it was still far different in person, and a far greater experience, especially seeing the passion and love that the lecturers, themselves famous "cocktailians," had for my chosen profession. Also, I was impressed with the turnout, which I guessed to be 70-100 people, who were not just from Florida, but from around the nation, including New York, Indianapolis, etc....people who had flown in just for this course, because, despite my beliefs that this was a regional thing, this course actually only happens a few times a year, in different spots.

During the tasting portion of the lecture (not blind taste test...that would come later with the written exam), we tasted five different spirits, as our hosts walked us through the various tastes, flavors, aromas, textures, and every other sensory input we could get from each one. Just my luck the first two were gin and vodka, one of which I loathe, the other I hate. But I followed instructions, as I was there to learn, and dutifully tasted each, keeping each in my mouth to fully absorb the various complexities and flavors, again, as instructed. Though midway through the vodka portion, I turned to my buddy Popcorn and said, "I'm in hell right now."

After the lecture, we had a lunch break (they not only fed us lunch, they had fed us breakfast before the lecture, which was split into two parts to give us a chance to stretch our legs), and then it was time for the exams. All of us were stressing over the practical portion of the exam, though my compatriots were stressing more than I was. I wish I had taken things a bit more seriously.

The Key Westers were among a small portion to take the practical test before the written exam, which I thought was great, due to everyone's stress about that. Our task was simple: make three classic cocktails, chosen by the presenter or staff member who would be judging us, in eight minutes. My judge was one of the more amusing presenters, and he told me that as long as I started the third cocktail by the end of the eight minutes, I'd be able to finish it. I wasn't worried about the time, though perhaps I should have been....many of these were cocktails I had never made, and I was not at my own bar, where I could quickly reach for whatever I needed blindly, knowing, after five years, where just about everything is. However, since they were only judging us on our knowledge of how to make the cocktail, the judges were very helpful in helping us locate something, as long as we identified what we needed. "Um, where's the gin?" "Right here." They never told us if we were grabbing the RIGHT ingredients, but they helped us along as best they could without giving away any information. The three cocktails I had to make were an Aviation Cocktail (which I had never made, nor heard of before this course), a Negroni (which I had never made before this course) and a Mojito (which I have made so many of that I used to boast I could make one blindfolded...and one day proved it!). So I did get one softball, although we had to make the cocktails, even the familiar ones, in the Classic way, not necessarily the way we make them at our own bars. Still, the Mojito was a welcome old friend to have in my corner.

As it turned out, I was right about the time being fine....just a moment after I set the third drink down for my judge to taste, I heard "Time!" Sweet! Later on, the only mistake I could think of that I had definitely made was shaking the Negroni, rather than stirring it. Whoops! I really wish I had studied the Classic Cocktails more, though.

After we finished the practical, we joined our fellow bartenders in the lecture room to take the written exam, and both Popcorn and I basically flew through it, though both of us found it far tougher than we had anticipated. Especially the blind tasting....which accounted for 15 of the 100 questions. It was really tough, actually, though the few rum questions I saw were welcome relief, as I knew the answers to those before I had ever even heard of this course. Still, I wish I had studied more than I did. Studying, or lack thereof, was always my biggest weakness as a student, both in high school and college.

After we finished, most of us retired to the hotel bar, some to celebrate, some to wash the pain away. Popcorn was convinced he had gone down in flames. So too was my coworker, and her boyfriend. I wasn't sure how I had done, though I thought I had passed....but I was worried. And at the bar the seminar staff informed us that we would not get the results of our tests for about TWO WEEKS! Man, that sucked....we all wanted to know how we had done!

The rest of the stay in Miami was pleasant enough, both the day before the seminar (Diamondbacks-Marlins baseball game with some friends and their kids; D-backs won!), and afterwards, which as mentioned, found us drinking at the hotel bar and then other bars in downtown Miami, though Popcorn got hammered early and was done by 9. Myself, I went to more bars, including one that had hosted a pre-seminar party the night before (Popcorn and I had not attended), which had Classic Cocktailian drinks, including drinks made with egg whites or whole eggs! Having read about such things in drinks, I was shocked at how much I enjoyed them, not just watching them be made, but actually the taste of them. (I even tried the Aviation, though my loathing of gin still made itself quite known.) And the awesome bartender there even made me one of his own creations, with muddle fresh jalapeno, tequila, and other goodies, making for an amazingly fresh yet spicy cocktail. I loved it! And at that bar, I met up with a guy I had met at the seminar, and his girlfriend, and had a lovely time with the two of them, drinking, talking, and just generally having fun. They both live in Miami, and are coming to Key West for some kind of special event here in a couple weekends. Naturally, just my luck, it's a gin event. Yay...not. But I look forward to hanging out with them! But, honestly, with all the fun I had, I really wish I had prepared more for this course.

I got the results today. I passed! As did Popcorn, my coworker, her boyfriend, and the guy from Miami. So now I can put on my resume that I am not merely a bartender, but an officially certified Mixologist. Do I wish I had prepared more? Hell yes. Absolutely. I should have taken this far more seriously, considering how much my employer had invested in me to do so. But that being said, I would not trade this experience for anything, and look forward to future challenges and learning experiences as a Mixologist. This course has opened up my eyes to so many possibilities for cocktails and drink ingredients.

[fireheart]

what the hell is in a "Negroni?"

[Dilorenzo]

what the hell is in a "Negroni?"

Apparently, this.

It does not seems like something I would want to try...

But anyway, congrats Jester! You now need to make up business cards with "Professional Mixologist, Magician." Maybe add "Curser," too. Cause everything's better with cursing.

[Jester]

what the hell is in a "Negroni?"

The way I was taught by the mixology course, a Negroni is a drink made up of 1 ounce gin, 1 ounce sweet vermouth, and 1 ounce Campari, stirred over ice (not shaken as I did at the practical), and strained into a chilled cocktail glass. While I have no problem with Campari or sweet vermouth, I wonder if they would hide the taste of gin enough for me to stomach this cocktail. Because, while I HAVE made one, I have never actually TASTED one. (Though of course I WOULD try it, as I am willing to try pretty much anything, even if I am pretty sure I won't like it...just like what happened with the Aviataion Cocktail I tried in Miami.)

Quasi-related....as I was finishing my shift today, a customer tried to order a Negroni from my coworker, the mid-shift bartender. Who asked me, "What is Negroni gin?" To which I explained to him what a Negroni was, though at the time I was blanking on the third ingredient (the Campari), though the customer tried to incorrectly explain that the third ingredient was bitters. While Campari is an apertif and may be classified as bitters, when people typically ask for bitters, they are asking for Angostura bitters or the like, which you usually just get a few dashes of from a small bottle. A full ounce of Angostura bitters would be overpowering, to say the least. And Angostura does not taste at all like Campari.

The difference would have made no difference to the customer, though, as he left in a huff when my coworker would not include the Negroni as part of the two for one happy hour deal...which it clearly wasn't, not being a single liquor well drink in any sense of the term. But of course, it's our fault that we are not willing to violate policy, break the rules, and risk termination of employment simply to satisfy the whims of idiot customers.

Cause everything's better with cursing.

I thought everything was better with bacon? Or was it beer?