The Aging Bartender

Boy, I Hope Inspiration Hits Soon…

in·spi·ra·tion /ˌinspəˈrāSH(ə)n/ 1. the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative. The quality of being inspired, especially when evident in something. A person or thing that inspires. A sudden brilliant, creative, or timely idea. The divine influence believed to have led to the writing of the Bible. 2. the

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  • Boy, I Hope Inspiration Hits Soon…

    in·spi·ra·tion /ˌinspəˈrāSH(ə)n/ 1. the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative. The quality of being inspired, especially when evident in something. A person or thing that inspires. A sudden brilliant, creative, or timely idea. The divine influence believed to have led to the writing of the Bible. 2. the…

  • An All Hallows’ Eve Tale

    For many years in a row, in my hometown of Burlington, VT, there was always HalloWEEN. Yes, the band Ween would come and play at a local venue, we would all dress up and get shitfaced and dance. Cocktails weren’t a thing back then. I may have had a classic highball every so often like…

  • Sunchokes: The Power and the Glory

    I know little to nothing about sunchokes except for what happens after you eat them…You know…Chamber music…Tubers are in…They always have been. Taters, ginger, galangal, horseradish…But in a cocktail? Hmmm. I mean, if you think about it, anything can be included in a cocktail. Sunchokes are creamy, nutty, a little earthy. I don’t see much…

  • New Cocktail: Angel Dust

    Angel was obsessed with getting this puppy out last night. Pretty cool to see. There’s this thing, at least I went through it before as a budding chef and in the past as a young bar manager, where you have the blinders on and put something on the menu at the 25th hour. These days…

  • Is Quince Worth It?

    An update on the Cheap Date cocktail post from yesterday…I made one during service last night for the gang (Denise, Angel) to try and it tasted pretty flat. Then Angel made a cocktail he’s been working on and it was so much better. Well ok, then. That’s the way it goes. He’s got a cool…

  • New Cocktail: Cheap Date

    This’ll be a quick one. Lot’s going on this morning…Haircut…An office trip to the valley because some knucklehead in my building bounced his rent check…General mayhem but nothing crazy. I’m growing more accustomed to the craziness that goes on here in the morning while I’m trying to write. A couple fo hours after I posted…

  • Pumpkin Patch Review: Mr. Bones

    Put a tired, disgruntled, family man from Vermont in a pumpkin patch in Culver City of all places and you have yourself a recipe for all sorts of strange feelings and grumpiness. Yeah, I didn’t attend these abominations as a kid because farms and forests were pretty normal where I grew up and well, we…

  • Passionfruit Vermouth Secondary Ferment?

    Yeah. What the hell? Sometimes weird things happen that aren’t supposed to. There’s deep sea animals that live not only in extreme depths but also alongside hydrothermal volcano vents. Each time a rule appears, nature breaks it in some way. Same goes for the Rustic Canyon Bar Program apparently. On my way into work this…

  • Restaurant Review: Republique

    Yeah, the place you want to dislike but can’t bring yourself to hate no matter how hard you try. Why? Maybe because they do everything right, they’re always busy, and seem to execute all of it perfectly every time? If so, then why does everyone talk so much smack? No idea, but if I were…

  • Bartender in Tow?

    A couple of regulars, G&M, came in the other night and told me I should go on vacation with people and make cocktails for them. “We’ll all go to Hawaii and you can make us all mai tais.” Sounds sort of fun depending on how high maintenance the people are…Now that I think about it,…

  • Bar Hack: Rico Pop Bitters

    When Jimmy Nardello comes a knockin’, it means it’s the time of year to make yourself some Rico Pop bitters. You know the ones, the 22 flavors that may or may not be part of a popular soda. I’m gong to try and rattle them all off the top of my head, then I’ll go…

  • New Cocktail: Grundel Thumper

    There’s a slew of cocktail names that stay off the menu due to their licentious, aggressive, or possibly offensive nature. Yes, “Sharing is Karen,” “Mansplain,” and “Daddy Issues,” will never see print. Despite all of it, when these names and others occur in whatever twisted part of my brain conjures them, I still attempt to…