KJS,

will you hire me?

It's obviously having bartending experience than not having bartending experience, if you want to be a bartender. Restaurant bartending is not radically different from tending bar at a bar, so both in terms of resume experience and in terms of drink-making experience, it counts.

The problem, as KJS is saying, I think, is that bartending jobs (esp. at bars and not restaurants) are so scarce and so sought-after that having a ton of experience isn't even that helpful. IME--and maybe KJS can speak to how he and his wife have hired people--these jobs are landed by being friends with the owner and staff. Like, a person with no bartending experience who is tight with barstaff/owner would probably have a better shot at landing a shift than a guy who walks in with an impeccable ten year resume.

yeah I've heard that before from my brother. thx for the responses.

Do you live in Portland?

I made a cocktail tonight that I thought was quite tasty.

I muddled one lemon wedge, a decent slice of jalapeno, 3 whole peppercorns, a teaspoon of agave nector, and two dashes angostura. I then stirred that with 4.5 ozs Reposado 1800 tequila. Strained onto rocks. I ended up squeezing one more lime wedge into the finished drink though. The jalapeno was a bit overpowering for me (which would make it almost undrinkable to many, I like spice). A bit of salt may also add to the drink as well. I also think it could be even better with certain Mezcals and chocolate bitters instead of angostura.

I felt like getting a bit creative and this one made me smile.

DCM91,

Getting a bartending job as a male is difficult even if you know people. Most men (and many women) have to work there way up (I did). Best of luck.

Nomad,

Jalapeño margaritas are a favorite of mine. Adding peppercorns and bitters is very interesting, I'll give it a try. Curious, did you pick lemon instead of lime for a particular reason?

Gah. I did use lime. Brain fart. Had it right the second time I typed it just not the first. Wierd.

It must be the 4.5oz of alcohol you put in that drink!

Heh. I wish. My tolerance has grown quite too high for the appreciation of my wallet.

I've been drinking 5 to 6 days a week for the last year, but I don't think my tolerance has gone up a bit. I usually have 2 drinks per night (before and after dinner). More than that and I start to get drunk so I avoid that on weekdays.

I really can't fathom a drink with more than 3oz of alcohol in it. Mostly because I couldn't drink it fast enough for it not to get warm or watery if it was on the rocks.

Again, I wish. I believe you but mine certainly has since my drinking ramped up.

They teach you in RAMP and TIPS classes that tolerance really only means you can hide the effects better not that you are actually less intoxicated but I really don't see how that is true. It's something I've been meaning to research more.

I mean I downed that in like 15 minutes. Feel relatively normal. I'd had half a bottle of wine shortly before and am about to make another 4-5 oz drink. Probably a spiced old fashioned this time. A few cardamon pods and a bit of pepper has been tasting good in there these days.

I also only rarely wake up with a hangover anymore. I'm very good about chugging a lot of water before bed though.

Damn, that's a lot of drinking!

I'm curious, are you in your 20s? Most people I know start getting worse and worse hangovers in their early to mid 30s. I'm in that category too so I avoid getting way too drunk now. Used to do it 2x a week in my 20s but my body can't take it anymore.

I'm about to turn 28. 6 1 and around 200lbs. A decent amount of it muscle.

Was still feeling creative so scratched the Old Fashioned. Next experiment for the evening:

3.5 oz Wild Turkey Rye
bit over .25 oz St Germain
.25 Stirrings Grenadine
.25 Noilly Pratt Dry
2 dashes angostura
Stir
Pour on rocks
~.5 oz Laphroiag 13yr floated on top
Lemon twist garnish. (actually twisting over the drink to allow the oils to mist over it)

Quite tasty. It sounds like a lot going on and it is however in a good way. Doing it again I'd probably skip the St Germain and maybe sub it with Aperol. Maybe skip both the St and the Stirrings. The St and Stirrings sweeten the drink a past my preference and the Laphroiag float doesn't cut it quite like I had hoped.

The 13 from Battlehill is sweeter than many of their expressions though and I think with cask strength it would balance out much more to my taste. That said for many other people this would probably prove quite tasty.

Nomad,

Replace the st Germain and grenadine w 1/3-1/2oz of maraschino.

Ah. Great call and likely spot on. Thanks.

I just bought a condo and have an area to the side of the kitchen that is perfectly cut out for alcohol, but the problem is that I have only really ever bought the "standard" type of stuff that people just out of college drink. I need help figuring out how to best fill this out with alcohol, glassware, etc. on a budget.

What I have:
-4.5 cubic foot mini fridge (for beer)
-cabinet to house wine glasses left by previous owners (about 16" x 16" x 3')
-3 glass shelves mounted on walls (capacity 5-8 bottles each depending on size and shape)
-about 2 dozen unique beer glasses
-12 tall and skinny gin glasses
-corkscrew and bottle opener

What I need:
-wine fridge (preferably stainless steel, possibly dual zone, probably 12-24 bottles)*
-wine (I plan to pick up a bunch of $5-15 bottles and maybe have one or two nicer ones on hand at all times)
-beer (I'll be fine filling out the mini fridge with this)
-liquor*
-wine glasses and other glassware*
-ice bucket and tongs*
-misc?*

My initial budget is about $800 and after that I can spend another $100/month to add on to what I have. I will be able to replace liquor, beer, and wine as we drink it with money outside this budget.

How should I spend the money I have right now and what should I look to get going forward that may not be as urgent?

*need suggestions

For liquor, I'd start with a bottle each of the most common base spirits: vodka, tequila, whiskey, gin, and cognac. Those plus a few mixers would give you a large repertoire of drinks. If you decide to get more into cocktail making you should pick up a cocktail shaker and a jigger to start off, and go from there.

As for glassware, rocks glasses are very versatile for serving mixed drinks. If your budget allows also add some martini glasses. Those plus highball and wine glasses are all you should need imo.

Almost forgot, a few shot glasses come in handy too.

shaker and strainer are a definite must. I enjoy making cocktails, but dont have any formal experience doing so. I have also started drinking dirty martinis with dinner when I want something different than beer and quite like them so martini glasses will be good. I plan to experiment with cocktails and everything like that over time. Any recommendations on brands of liquor or specific shakers, glasses, etc?

Basically, I know everything I need, but if I went to get it I would end up with like: svedka, smirnoff, jack, crown, johnny walker, bombay, patron, jager, bacardi, baileys and a few random bottles of other ****. I have to assume that is the amateur way to stock a bar with just names I am familiar with. I also have no clue what is a good combination of value and quality on the glassware side.

The problem with your question is that it's a matter of taste so it can be debated ad infinitum.

Like, for tequilas, don't get patron, get don Julio instead which is roughly the same price and better quality. If $40+ for a bottle of tequila is too much, I like milagro which is in the $20-30 range.

I'm not a big vodka drinker but I always hear that there's no point on buying expensive bottles as vodka should be flavorless and colorless.

For whiskey, there's a great EDF thread where the question of how to start with whiskey has been answered many times.

ETA: Boston shaker is better than the regular cocktail shakers. As for quality of glassware, a lot of my stuff I bought at target and it's worked fine so far. Don't get martini glasses larger than 10oz, unless you want to make massive drinks. I'd say optimal size is in the 6-8oz range.

CDL,

Crate and Barrel and CB2 have good glassware at very reasonable prices.

cool, I got some of my furniture at CB2 and need to return a pillow that doesnt match anyways so I'll check it out.

Where are you from cdl? bevmo has a great 5 cent wine sale, where you buy one bottle get the second for 5 cents on a lot of their wines. Really good deal if you live around one.

As for the different types of liquor, it really is a personal preference. I'm sure a lot of us can give you some of our favorites if you would like.
Mine are:
Vodka-Tito's
Tequila-Centenario
Gin-rarely drink it but I prefer Hendricks
Whiskey-too many to list. Depends greatly from person to person, IMO.

Atlanta. Looking online it appears these are all west coast and mostly in Cali so definitely not near one. Thanks for the suggestions.

CDL,

I don't have many opinions regarding glassware and so on. Here is what I would stock, liquor-wise. These aren't the absolute best liquors money can buy, but are solid, relatively inexpensive, and would provide a decent backbone for a good bar:

Vodka: Titos, Smirnoff, Ketel One
Gin: Hendricks, Beefeater
Rum: Mount Gay, Gosling
Bourbon: Bulleit, Woodford Reserve
Vermouth: Dolin
Tequila: Jimador, Don Julio
Cognac: Henessey VS, Courvoisier VSOP

Thanks. Should I worry about flavored spirits or liquers? Are the rums dark, light, or one of each? Same question for the tequilas.

Does anyone have tips on a wine fridge that is functional and reasonably quiet? Even if it only works for 2-3 years thats ok as I can upgrade then. Just want functionality at a reasonable price for the short term.

What mixers should I always have on hand and what should I pick up for larger parties? Outside of the coke, sprite, ginger ale, cranberry, and OJ which I will keep.