Excerpted from the Annual Manual for Bartenders: 2011.
The Mindful
Bartender
“Almost anyone can learn to mix drinks accurately and fast.
That is the least of it. I
have always believed success behind the bar comes from an ability to understand
the man or woman I am serving, to enter into his joys or woes, make him feel the
need of me as a person rather than a servant.”
This Must be the Place: Memoirs of
Jimmie the Barman, by Morrill Cody, 1937.
You might have heard the term
mindfulness quite often in the recent past.
It’s associated with Buddhism, though you certainly don’t need to be a
Buddhist to practice mindfulness.
Atheists, Agnostics, Christians, Hindus, Jews, Moslems, and anyone else on the
face of the earth can practice mindfulness.
And lots of bartenders have been practicing mindfulness for years, though
they might not be familiar with the term.
Personally, I’ve been learning about mindfulness primarily from a woman
named Sandy Wells.
Sandy conducts a Sunday-morning meditation
in my home town in the Hudson Valley,
and recently she’s been focusing on mindfulness.
After learning about this concept it quickly became clear to me that the
craft of the bartender lends itself beautifully to mindfulness, so I decided to
try to adapt the philosophy to our craft, and Sandy, along with
Martha Schueneman, my mindful editor,
helped guide me. Thanks guys.
I’ve also been working with Aisha
Sharpe of New York’s Contemporary
Cocktails company, and Dushan Zaric,
from Employees Only and
The Macao Trading Company, two fabulous bars in the Big Apple, to
put together a program on this subject.
Aisha and Dushan have been conducting bartender workshops on
The Mastery of Wisdom, a related
subject, for quite some time, and together we have formed
The Institute for Mindful Bartending, a concept that’s in its
infancy, and will always be, I think, a work in progress.
I don’t purport to be a qualified teacher of mindfulness. I merely want
to pass along what I’ve been learning for the past few years, and make some
suggestions on how you might want to put mindfulness to work for you both behind
the bar and as part of your daily life.
Mindfulness has brought much happiness into my life, and I’m hoping to
spread the joy a little. In my
opinion, mindfulness isn’t something to achieve, it’s something to keep working
on. I doubt if many, or any, people
are fully mindful 24/7, but people who embrace mindfulness, from my point of
view, seem to be very happy people.
I believe that a brand new Lamborghini might make you happy for a few hours, but
mindfulness can make you happy for the rest of your life.
Before we get down to the nitty gritty, then, let me add one more thing.
Mindfulness, in my opinion, is like a
tailored suit. The suit has to have
lapels, but you get to decide how wide they are.
Trousers are mandatory, but cuffs are your call.
Similarly, everyone gets to pick and choose what suits them best on the
path of mindfulness. Take a look,
consider your options, and take whatever you’re comfortable with.
A little mindfulness is better than none at all, I think.
And above all, though, no matter what anyone tells you, don’t ever take
things too seriously. We’re here to
have fun, you know. You can’t be
happy and too serious at the same time!
Chapter 1: Becoming
a Mindful Bartender
Mindfulness, when applied to tending bar, is an approach to
the job that entails being totally aware of everything you are doing, being
cognizant of everything that is going on around you, and tuning in to all of
your guests’ wants and needs. You
can also be mindful of your mixology skills, and we’ll discuss this a little
later in this chapter.
Be aware that mindfulness is not easy.
It’s something that, should you decide to try become a mindful bartender,
you will never 100-percent achieve in this lifetime.
It’s worth striving for, though.
A mindful bartender trusts her intuition.
She is primarily focused on what the customer in front of her is doing
or saying, or upon the drink she is making, but she is also aware of what’s
going on at the other end of the bar, and in the entire restaurant. She keeps
tabs on the atmosphere of the place, and she constantly monitors the events,
actions, and people that might affect the mood at the bar or within the
restaurant. A mindful bartender pays
attention to the personal preferences of her guests, and she makes each person’s
drinks accordingly. A mindful
bartender leaves her personal shit at the door because she knows she can’t be
fully attentive to her customers if she’s obsessing about the fight she just had
with her sister or if she’s making mental notes about all the crap she needs to
do tomorrow morning before her spin class.
A mindful bartender sets her intentions to be of service to her
customers.
Mindful bartenders draw customers to their bars like bears
to a honey-pot, and their customers always feel better for having visited them.
Since more customers results in more money in the tip-cup, mindful
bartenders are rewarded monetarily for their efforts, and since more customers
also results in more money in the cash register, bar owners take extra special
care of their mindful bartenders.
This all leads to a great atmosphere in bars where mindful
bartenders work, and mindful bartenders spend far less time pounding the
pavement because they quit that lousy job or that bastard fired them for no good
reason. Mindful bartenders are
highly valued workers in the hospitality industry.
There are a number of different ways to approach
mindfulness behind the bar, and I’ll attempt to explain these in relatively
simple terms in this section. I’m
keeping it simple because I’m not sure that I understand mindfulness in its
entirety, though there are times when it all falls into place for me.
I read a book once that explained Einstein’s Theory of Relativity in such
simple terms that, for about three minutes, I swear I understood it.
Then it was gone. For me,
mindfulness is like that, too.
First, though, we have to understand something about
intuition, and acceptance of certain universal truths that aren’t quite
tangible.
Do you remember the last time that your gut told you not to
serve someone but you went ahead and did anyway?
You regretted that one, right?
Have you ever walked into a room where a couple has been arguing, and
although they “snap out of it” and make like nothing was going down, you could
feel the tension in the atmosphere?
Have you ever gotten the feeling that someone is looking at you, and when you
turned your head, sure enough, you see someone with their eyes glued to you?
If you answered yes
to any of those questions, and I’m betting that most people answer all in the
affirmative, then I’m going to ask you to bear that sense of intuition in mind
as you read this section. We might
not be able to take a picture of our intuition, but it’s there.
The universe send us signs constantly, and those signs, if we take notice
of them and if we act on them, can help us lead happier, healthier lives.
Taking notice of how we feel about serving a drink to someone who might
have already had enough, and acting on that feeling by refusing service, for
instance, will ultimately lead to you feeling happier than you would have felt
had you served him. There might be a
bit of a scene if the prospective customer becomes belligerent, but it won’t be
anywhere near as bad as things could get if you hand him another drink.
One more drink and this guy might start annoying your other customers, he
could start a fight, or, well, you know how that goes.
If you don’t already do this, think about casting your eyes
over everyone at the bar on a regular basis, and if you can see the tables in
the restaurant, try to find time to look at the people there, too.
Naturally this will help you become aware of who needs your attention,
but it will also pay off by giving you some guidance as to what’s going down at
the bar, and in the restaurant. It’s
fairly easy to understand the body language that people display, so by doing
this, and by trusting the vibes you get as you look around, all sorts of
problems can be avoided. The vibes
might not be as strong as they are when you walk into a room right after a
heated argument, but they are there all the same, and it’s not too hard to tap
into them.
And you can also use your intuition, and/or your powers of
observation, to start trying to understand why each of your guests have come to
your bar. Sometimes this can be very
obvious. A guy who asks to send a
drink to the single woman down the bar is obviously out to meet someone, right?
And two women talking about hiring a new office manager are at the bar to
talk business, while the man buying the bar a drink to toast the birth of his
new baby is obviously there to celebrate. Now
think about how you’re going to treat these people.
You might ask the woman if she would like to accept a drink from the guy
looking to meet someone new, and you should be ready to let him down lightly if
she refuses. You’ll probably be
protective of the two businesswomen by not trying to make small-talk with them,
and being on the look-out for anyone who approaches them with that sort of thing
in mind. And the man with a new baby
will love you for letting him buy the bar a drink, then giving him a nice cognac
on the house along with a big smile and a hearty congratulations.
Trusting your intuition, or your gut-reaction, then, is a
very important aspect of mindfulness.
And learning to act on how certain people or situations make you feel is
something to strive for. These
things come naturally to many bartenders, but not to
all bartenders.
Those of you who find this sort of thing difficult, though, needn’t fret.
Relax, make an effort, and your efforts will be rewarded.
Promise.
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Ada "Coley" Coleman was a celebrated early
twentieth-century bartender at London's Savoy Hotel, and she was a woman who got
her fair share of the limelight.
When she announced that she was about to retire, in 1925,
The Daily Express quoted her as saying, "I made cocktails for Mark Twain when he
came in the Savoy, Diamond Jim Brady, Prince Wilhelm of Sweden, James Corbett,
'Mr A.', the Egyptian Princess - yes, and the Prince of Wales," and noted that
she was "known to thousands of men all over the world."
In "Coley's Corner," then, we bring you links to stories
about bartenders all over the place.
We think it might make Coley smile.
In this issue we're featuring:
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Copy and paste these babies to get yerself a very complete cocktail book.
Mercy, Mercy
60 ml (2 oz)
Sazerac rye whiskey
2 dashes
Peychaud’s bitters
15 ml (.5 oz)
Martini & Rossi sweet vermouth
7.5 ml (.25 oz)
Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
Campari, for
rinsing glass
1 lemon twist,
for garnish
Stir over ice
and strain into a chilled Campari-rinsed champagne flute. Squeeze the lemon
twist over the glass, then rub on the rim before discarding.
Metaxa Blaster
Recipe by gaz
regan.
60 ml (2 oz)
Metaxa 5-star
15 ml (.5 oz)
B&B
7.5 ml (.25 oz)
fresh lemon juice
2 dashes
Angostura bitters
Shake over ice
and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Metropolitan
Adapted from a
recipe created by Chuck Coggins, Marion's Continental, New York.
45 ml (1.5 oz)
Absolut Kurant vodka
30 ml (1 oz)
Cointreau
15 ml (.5 oz)
fresh lime juice
2 to 3 dashes
cranberry juice
1 lime wedge,
for garnish
Shake over ice
and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Add the garnish.
Mexican
Aperitivo
Adapted from a
recipe by Jonny Raglin and Raul Tamayo, Absinthe, San Francisco (Makes 2
shooters).
“This drink was
really a combined effort between Jonny [Raglin] and Raul Tamayo. Jonny started
making the shot by mixing the Chartreuses, lemon-lime and the sink of Campari.
It was intended to be a quick aperitif style palate cleanser before a
meal, so he called it the Aperitivo. Raul, our resident Mexican behind the bar
at Absinthe, thinks that everything is better when a Mexican touch is added, so
he started making his shots with a little Champagne thrown into the mix, and
dubbed it the ‘Mexican Aperitivo.’
While we still call the shot the Aperitivo on our menu, those of us behind the
bar, and guests in the know, will always refer to it as the Mexican Aperitivo. I
guess Raul (aka D-Mex) was right, everything is better with a Mexican touch!”
Jeff Hollinger, Bar Manager, Absinthe, San Francisco.
30 ml (1 oz)
Green Chartreuse
15 ml (.5 oz)
Yellow Chartreuse
20 ml (.6 oz)
fresh lemon juice
10 ml (.3 oz)
fresh lime juice
Chilled
champagne
7.5 ml (.25 oz)
Campari, as a “sink”
Shake Green &
Yellow Chartreuses and lemon-lime over ice and strain, dividing between two tall
shot glasses, leaving about 1/4 inch of room at the top of the glasses.
Fill each shot to the top with champagne, and sink a little Campari into
the bottom of them for color. Look your friend in the eye, clink glasses, say
cheers, and knock 'em back.
Mexican Mojito
Adapted from a
recipe by Dave Singh, Ambassador for Gran Centenario tequila.
45 ml (1.5 oz)
Gran Centenario plata tequila
2 teaspoons
granulated sugar
6 to 8 fresh
mint leaves
club soda
1 to 2 dashes
Angostura bitters
2 to 3 mint
sprigs, for garnish
Put the tequila,
sugar, and mint leaves into an empty mixing glass and grind them with a wooden
muddler until the mint leaves break into flecks.
Pour into an ice-filled collins glass, add the club soda and bitters, and
stir briefly. Add the garnish.
Mexican Sidecar
Adapted from a
recipe by Jeffrey Morgenthaler, Head Bartender at El Vaquero, Eugene, Oregon.
30 ml (1 oz)
Presidente Mexican brandy
30 ml (1 oz)
Patron Citronge orange liqueur
30 ml (1 oz)
fresh lemon juice
1 lemon twist,
for garnish
Shake over ice
and strain into a sugar-rimmed chilled cocktail glass.
Add the garnish.
Mexican Standoff
Adapted from a
recipe by Matty Conway, NOPA, San Francisco
“I'm not one of
those barmen who has adopted his recipes into metric measurements [no, Matty, we
did that for you], though for the sake of the crème de cacao, maybe I should.
Half an ounce is a bit too much, i feel.
I jigger this drink every time and pull back a little on the cacao . . .
Obviously, you can play with different mezcals..
I liked this one of the few I experimented with.
One (Del Maguey Minero, I think) was a bit too floral for this drink,
another a bit too scratchy, it’s all subjective, but since its my drink, I'm
going with Chichicapa.
“Neyah [White]
said he liked it with a dark crème de cacao, but I prefer it this way.
The bitters I cannot take credit for.
They are Neyah's coffee-chili bitters.
Specifically ground Blue Bottle beans and shaved jalapenos in high proof
Lemon Hart Demerara rum. Knowing
Neyah, there's probably some other stuff in there...
space bark, hampster poop, what have you, but the coffee and chili are
the important parts, for sure.
“Finally, I'm a
sucker for the smoky aromatic affect of the burnt orange garnish.
I think it really works on this drink.
When you lift the glass and you get that on the nose, it’s a little
foreshadowing [of what’s to come].”
Matty Conway.
60 ml (2oz) Del
Maguey Chichicapa mezcal
15 ml (.5 oz)
Averna
7.5 to 15 ml
(.25 to .5 oz) Bols white crème de cacao
1 good dash of
Hellfire bitters
1 flamed orange
twist, as garnish
Stir over ice
and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Add the garnish.
Quick Hellfire
Bitters
Adapted from a
recipe in The San Francisco Chronicle.
(This recipe is probably the result of collaboration between Neyah White
and Jon Bonne. Neyah says that if
you don’t have time or inclination to make this version, use a drop of Tabasco
sauce instead)
Makes 60 to 75
ml (2 to 2.5 oz)
1 medium
jalapeno pepper
60 ml (2 oz)
white rum
3 Tablespoons
ground espresso or other coffee
30 ml (1oz)
water
Muddle the
entire pepper, including flesh, seeds and pith, in a small saucepan. Add rum and
continue to muddle until pulpy. Add ground espresso and water. Heat, covered,
over very low heat for 10 minutes, minimizing the evaporation of the rum. Remove
from heat, cover tightly and cool. Transfer the mixture to a small glass jar and
cover tightly. Let sit at room temperature for at least six hours, preferably a
day or longer. The longer it sits, the more intense the flavors will be. When
ready, strain the mixture through a double-folded cheesecloth or coffee filter
and pour into a small bottle.
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