Bartenders Beware... Amateur Day Cometh

It is a Talent and a Craft

Thank you to my Glasgow Bartender friends at Booly Mardy's for this below.


"Diplomatic, polyglot, like skilled ambassadors....discreet and reserved. They have good feel for psychology, and a deep understanding of human nature. They are father confessors, competent advisors on a multitude of complex and delicate issues. They are stoics, capable of enduring with unlimited comprehension and courtesy, all the incoherence of the mad world that sometimes condenses in a bar. They have the elegance of a symphony conductor, the precision of a surgeon ready to operate. They are the chemists of today, the botanists of the eighteenth century, and the alchemists of the middle ages, capable of willing the creation of cool, shining gold. They are experts in the topics of sport and international politics, but never give in to passionate discourse. They are philosophers, and when need be, telepaths.....and to top it off, they have the memory of an elephant"

Ladies Behind the Bar

My favorite battle of the sexes

My dear friend Francine wrote a great piece about what it is like to be a lady in this male dominated field and I am even quoted.  It won't stay that way for long, I think.  I just hope eventually we all get the same respect, pay, shift and job opportunities as the boys do.  But as it is culturally in every field, its an uphill climb.

"You Can't Grow a Mustache*"

[Shakestir.com]

Naked Bartending?

Carlo Romero and Robert Kane get close as they create their all-natural signature cocktails at the Stirrings Naked Bartender Competition. And that is not at all Gay.

Honestly, I do not know how I feel about this. My first instinct was to be pissed off that it seemed like no women were included in this competition. Then I was horrified at the casual exploitation of these poor boys. Then I was pissed that I didn't get to judge this competition.

It is complicated isn't it? Can you imagine if they tried to do this competition with women? I am sure there is a place for a competition like that..maybe in Vegas or on the Jersey Shore during Spring Break?

There is a fair amount of objectification that goes on on both sides of the bar. I am pretty sure I have lost out on jobs and better shifts because I am not the cutest girl behind the bar. Or because I am a girl in the first place, in these fancy nancy vest and mustache type bars. That is why I am glad we have LUPEC.

I know a lot of boys are jealous of LUPEC. The perception is that women get pretty far based on their looks and gender behind the bar. But like most industries, when you get to the top level, it is mostly the men who are deemed "professional" and "masters". Women don't always have the aggressive attitude to get far up, for fear of being perceived as a "bitch" or "pushy". We do feel more powerful in a group rather than men who like to lone wolf-it up, so an organization like LUPEC is really helpful.

And conventional wisdom holds that women have better palette than me. We taste better, in every way, honey. That is why our cocktails are so good. And I don't need to be naked to make a good cocktail. But if I really really like you, and you treat me good, then we'll see...