Ricky

This is what I mean when I say 'the lazy way out.' As a bartender I often help guests that go no further in their description of something than to say 'smooth.' Sometimes it seems like they only say that so they have something to say other than 'I like it'. I do my best to insert my own thoughts about the spirit to try to coax more descriptions out of them, but it's usually a head nod and an 'I'll take one of those.'

I've made a bastardized grapefruit collins with some homemade grapefruit bitters on a few occasions. 2.5 oz gin .25 oz lemon juice splash simple syrup few dashes grapefruit bitters Shake and served up. Not quite a collins without the soda water. Clean gin flavor, with a nice bitter citrus finish. Add a little St. Germain for some sweetness and depth of flavor. Edit: missed KatieLoeb's post before I sent mine. Oops

I think the word 'smooth' in reference to spirits is akin to saying a work of art is 'interesting.' There are too many factors that go into making something smooth. At the risk of offending some (apologies) I'd say that describing a spirit or cocktail as smooth is the lazy way out.

Does Cole's include The Varnish? Personally I prefer The Varnish to any other bar in Downtown LA.

My bar just started carrying Ilegal Mezcal and it's really, really good!! http://www.ilegalmezcal.com/ I haven't dabbled much further than the occasional glass of Metl, but the Ilegal really opened my eyes to how wonderful mezcal could be. It's been challenging to incorporate into cocktails without muddying up the flavor fo the mezcal. I've found that simple subtle flavor enhancements work best to showcase the extraordinary taste. It's like mixing cocktails with good scotch. You probably shouldn't but sometimes it just works. Although it seems that many people here have combined tequila and mezcal. I wonder if that is to mellow out the potency of the mezcal taste? I'll have to give it a try. 2oz Ilegal Joven slice of raw tomato hard shake over ice double strain into a chilled nosing glass and garnish with a sprig of thyme Sazerac Ilegal 2oz Ilegal anejo 3 dashes Peychaud's bitters stir over ice and strain into a chilled absinthe rinsed glass orange peel garnish (without the flame - the mezcal is already smokey enough) Enjoy!

I came up with a drink for a customer who requested pear vodka. We called it Nat Marie. 2oz. Grey Goose Poire .25 oz Cointreau .75 oz simple syrup 1oz lemon juice egg white orange peel cinnamon Dry shake the liquid ingredients Add ice, shake some more strain into a chilled cocktail glass express oils from the orange peel and place in the glass grate cinnamon stick on top

Hello!! We just got home from our trip, and we ended up at some great bars thanks to all the recs we got here! We didn't make it to many, but the few london bars we visited were mighty! Portobello Star, Montgomery Place, and Hix. Thanks to Ed, Jack, and Andreas for the great drinks! Andreas at Hix made me a chervil infused gin, nouyaux poissey, lemon peel cocktail that was quite memorable. Jack, from Montgomery, referred us to a few bars in Edinburgh too. We ended up at Bramble while in Scotland, and that place is AMAZING! Easily my new favorite bar in the world. The drinks and the staff are top notch! Ryan made me his three storms filp. Dark rum, lagavulin, egg, salt, pepper, topped with nutmeg. It was truly wonderful! Thanks for the help everyone!

Thank you all so much!!! Our flight out is tomorrow (christmas day) and we return on the 14th, so i'll have a report on all the great bars we visited! and if you see an american with a big curly moustache, come say hello!

I am pretty level headed, and don't get angry too often. I'm very tolerant when the occasion arises, and understanding when people need me to be. But the condescending "when you have a minute..." really gets to me sometimes.

That seems like an opportunity to ask, "14 different ones, so what do you like?" Bump 'em up to something better (and pricier) with a targeted suggestion, and cut down on the annoyance at the same time. Yes. The names of 14 unfamiliar beers is intimidating and offers little to help guide a choice, especially to someone who is willing to settle for Bud Light in the first place (unlikely to be well-versed in beer). Both very valid points. I wish we had unfamiliar beers to introduce to people, but we don't really. The most obscure beer we carry is probably XX amber or Pear Cider. Usually the upsell comes in offering a large beer instead of a "pint" (14 oz. glass). The guy that won't order Stella or New Castle over bud light isn't going to want me to offer him "something better", but he'll probably want a little more. I'd like to clarify too that all pet peeves aside, bartending is easily the best job in the world. After all the problems that we might encounter, we can still be whatever we want behind the bar. A teacher, a listener, an entertainer, and it's still just hanging out with new friends every night, mixing up some cocktails.

I make a hibiscus syrup at my bar too. I like to shake a margarita and drizzle the syrup on top. It's a nice presentation with the syrup slowly dissolving as it sinks to the bottom. The flavor is a great substitute for cranberry. Ricky ps. Jamaica (ha-mai-kuh) was confusing people when we told them what it is, so we just call it hibiscus now. Haha.

Agreed! The cucumber smooths out the bite of the gin perfectly. Really, anything with Hendrick's is good though.

Great!! Thanks for the suggestions! We'll be in London for about 4 days, so I'll do my best to visit them all!! haha Thanks

- Definitely not a fan of the boyfriend bullying the girlfriend into drinking a redbull vodka when she clearly wants something else. (secretly I do take pleasure in making what the girl wants, and subtly making the boyfriend look like an ass) - "What beers do you have on tap?" (I rattle off 14 tap beers) "I'll take a bud light." - "Can I get a Grey Goose and vodka?" (seriously this happens ALL THE TIME!!) - Waving me down to take your order when I am obviously very busy, and not being ready to give me your order when I am ready to take the order. - Common courtesy goes a long way. Please and Thank you. - Ordering a drink that I don't know how to make because your buddy made it up last night at the frat house. If you tell me what is in it, I'll happily make it for you. But if you don't know what is in your drink, I think you shouldn't be drinking it.

Hey Everybody! I'm pretty new here, and this might be better posted in another section, but I thought I'd try here first. I'll be visiting London over the holiday season, and would like to hear from you all about which bars are on the "Must Visit" list. I'm interested in bars that feature more of a craft cocktail selection. Thanks for the help! Ricky

Easily and Old Fashioned. Even if I screw that up royally, bourbon on the rocks isn't too far off... Perhaps thirtyoneknots and I are in the same boat?

I'm going to have to agree that a traditional Manhattan is one of my favorite cocktails. On the other hand an Euji Cocktail is pretty wonderful too, although much sweeter than the traditional. 2oz rye 1/2oz sweet vermouth 1/2oz tuaca bit of simple syrup 3 dashed each angostura / peychauds stir flamed lemon peel garnish