Where does WmC tend
― calstars, Friday, 4 August 2023 22:13 (ten months ago) link
yo mama's house
― linoleum gallagher (Neanderthal), Friday, 4 August 2023 22:32 (ten months ago) link
psssh
― calstars, Saturday, 5 August 2023 00:02 (ten months ago) link
I'm at a small restaurant in a small town in a very Baptist part of the country (northeast MS).
― The Terroir of Tiny Town (WmC), Saturday, 5 August 2023 03:17 (ten months ago) link
A semi-regular asked me last night if I'd tend bar at her wedding next April. I haven't done any weddings before and the thought fills me with dread but is also intriguing. My first questions were "How many Good Ol' Boys will there be? Would I be dealing with happy drunks or mean drunks?" Of course there's no way to know the answers in advance. I have a month or two to think about it. I don't know if I can handle (potentially) 8 hours on my feet.
― I Wanna Find an ILXor That'll Flag My Last Post Till I Have To Go (WmC), Friday, 29 September 2023 16:18 (eight months ago) link
Just ask for a bunch of money and see if that scares her off
― Andy the Grasshopper, Friday, 29 September 2023 20:32 (eight months ago) link
the weddings i've been to recently make it seem straightforward--batch a couple cocktails (bride's pick and groom's pick) and be well-stocked with beer, wine, and whiskey otherwise. you definitely need to know the numbers and set some ground rules but i could see it being a pretty sweet paycheck.
― call all destroyer, Saturday, 30 September 2023 00:46 (eight months ago) link
ask for enough to hire a helper
― out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Saturday, 30 September 2023 03:41 (eight months ago) link
cad otmalso it’s a wedding: if there’s loads of an inexpensive but non-terrible bubbly available nearby, just keeping a table of glasses filled and ready would be 30-70% of the job
― vashti funyuns (sic), Saturday, 30 September 2023 07:48 (eight months ago) link
The groom doesn't drink, but the two cocktails are going to be blueberry mojitos (bride's pick) and Old Fashioneds (bride's father's pick). The OF is easily batchable but the other one could be a big hassle. After that mojito, my second biggest concern is my own stamina.
― WmC, Saturday, 30 September 2023 15:00 (eight months ago) link
hmm yeah i wonder if you can figure out a couple shortcuts for the mojitos, they’ll be a pain otherwise.
― call all destroyer, Saturday, 30 September 2023 15:05 (eight months ago) link
Yeah, the bride may want the theater of muddling/shaking/straining but it seems unworkable esp if there are a large # of guests. And she likes hers extra sweet so she wants them all topped with Sprite, which... ok for you, Missy, but have some club soda on hand please, not everyone wants drinkable candy. This reminds me of how I got into bartending in the first place -- a friend wanted to have a "retro 50's style cocktail party" but didn't know anything about drinks, so I commandeered that part so it wouldn't be a disaster.
― WmC, Saturday, 30 September 2023 15:42 (eight months ago) link
i guess i’d be trying to make a blueberry/mint syrup so you could just build syrup/lime juice/rum/club soda, which is still a bunch of stuff tbh
― call all destroyer, Saturday, 30 September 2023 16:10 (eight months ago) link
Re theater: you have to pay extra for that. If they want volume, they accept batches or find someone else imo You don’t take individual orders and make small talk when working a wedding (or funeral as I’ve recently experienced)
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Saturday, 30 September 2023 16:50 (eight months ago) link
I'm very sorry for your loss. Another blueberry mojito?
― Josefa, Saturday, 30 September 2023 17:02 (eight months ago) link
Drink of choice at self’s funeral should be part of everyone’s will
― calstars, Saturday, 30 September 2023 17:07 (eight months ago) link
went to a friend's wedding at the club that originated the Bootleg:
https://lundsandbyerlys.tumblr.com/post/150327031545/the-bootleg-cocktail-a-minnesota-tradition-its
was lovely on a hot summer day, and easy for the bartenders (recipe specifies vodka here, but they were allowing the liquor of your choice). might be an acceptable mojito substitute?
― bulb after bulb, Saturday, 30 September 2023 17:12 (eight months ago) link
Re: the funeral i worked—It was a service for a young person and there was a LOT of drinking. The other two funerals I attended this year did not have any alcohol but this one did in abundance. It was quite a scene.
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Saturday, 30 September 2023 17:42 (eight months ago) link
At the actual funeral? Not at a wake or memorial service afterward?
― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Saturday, 30 September 2023 18:37 (eight months ago) link
This was the only service so I guess so? I’m not sure as I’m just the help! Lol
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Saturday, 30 September 2023 18:56 (eight months ago) link
Funeral bar just the best and worst idea I've heard in years.
Wonder what tipping's like. "I've lost enough today, no one's getting anything else," vs "Just take it all. Why do we keep money anyway."
― pplains, Monday, 2 October 2023 14:49 (eight months ago) link
IME at this particular event, it was more the latter. Firstly, the family paid upfront for our labor so we were guaranteed (x). Then people tipped individually here and there and we made (y) in addition. Then at the end, the family settled up and paid us (z) more on top.
So each of us (3, self included) wound up making more than I have ever (ever!) made in one day of service work. We haven't talked about it since because it was extremely sad and everyone walked out of there drunk af and weeping. Personally I was numb bc it was the second funeral I had been at in 7 days.
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Monday, 2 October 2023 15:12 (eight months ago) link
Feel like I need a drink after reading that. Doing God's work out there, LL.
― pplains, Monday, 2 October 2023 15:53 (eight months ago) link
doing my best. I didn’t even share the sad parts bc it is too much.
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Monday, 2 October 2023 16:06 (eight months ago) link
FWIW we've worked a couple of weddings. They were fine, but definitely make sure you're not the only bartender and find out how big the crowd is. A wedding of 40-50 people isn't that hard to work, but 200-300 is obviously different.
In terms of flourishes and panache, what we usually do in party situations is prebatch everything we can and rely on garnishes for the classy touch. A good garnish goes a long way.
One wedding we did was an outdoor reception, and it started pouring halfway through. They basically just called it and sent us all home, but paid us for the full four hours of service, so no complaints from us even though packing up our stuff in the rain wasn't super fun.
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Monday, 2 October 2023 18:28 (eight months ago) link
I’ve been given the mission to pick higher-end bottles and sourcing for the new bar (our establishment is expanding into the space next door with a separate bar and a darker, quieter, more chill vibe). Owner specified bourbons because this is the southern US after all, I said I’d include rums, Irish whiskey, Scotch whisky and other spirits as well. Anyone here have any wishlist items that would impress you if you saw them on a bar menu?
― that's when I reach for my copy of Revolver (WmC), Friday, 17 November 2023 17:43 (seven months ago) link
Redbreast 15
― out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Friday, 17 November 2023 17:47 (seven months ago) link
Red Spot, Yellow Spot. Are you going to get a problem if it sits? Found North stuff is brilliant Canadian Whiskey but still relatively unknown.
Bourbon is pretty easy, though I do find it really fun when bars have curated some of a list of dusties, though that involves estate sales.
― horizontal, Friday, 17 November 2023 18:51 (seven months ago) link
Weller Antique 107 Bourbon
― BrianB, Friday, 17 November 2023 19:05 (seven months ago) link
I'm always happy to see a little mezcal selection — just two or three is fine. Smith & Cross and OFTD in the rum lineup?
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Friday, 17 November 2023 21:18 (seven months ago) link
Get a decent/proper Cachaca so you can make legit Caipirinha as well.
― horizontal, Saturday, 18 November 2023 01:44 (seven months ago) link
Thanks for the suggestions -- all going into the notebook. Really it'll come down to what is easy to find in Tupelo and maybe in Memphis. One example being Smith & Cross — technically it's available in MS as a special order, but I've only ever seen it in TN and GA. OFTD is readily available. Redbreast 12 is so common I can get it here in my little village but for 15 I have to go to one particular store in Tupelo or drive on to MEM.
― that's when I reach for my copy of Revolver (WmC), Saturday, 18 November 2023 22:35 (seven months ago) link
Second the mezcal rec
― matcha man (outdoor_miner), Saturday, 18 November 2023 23:56 (seven months ago) link
I normally don't work on Saturdays but assumed I'd be needed tomorrow because it'll be our last service of the year and we'll probably be hopping. I asked the owner on Tuesday if he wanted me to plan to work, and he finally got back to me today -- nah, "we haven’t had hardly anyone ask if we were going to be open like we did last Saturday." So I get one whole shift this week and I believe the other bartender will be annihilated tomorrow. OK by me, maybe I'll go see the Miyazaki movie and ignore my phone when it blows up.
― that's when I reach for my copy of Revolver (WmC), Friday, 29 December 2023 21:24 (five months ago) link
go see the Miyazaki movie and ignore my phone when it blows up.
definitely do this
― out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Friday, 29 December 2023 22:14 (five months ago) link
I can cover the shift
― calstars, Friday, 29 December 2023 22:56 (five months ago) link
I read about Taylor Swift's favorite cocktail, the French Blonde, so for a laugh we're getting all the components and will start serving it this coming week. I have no idea if we'll be inundated with Swifties or not.
L, the other bartender, and I are going to each start doing our own Cocktail of the Week this week as well. L is going to do some two-layer frozen concoction served in a pint jar, looks terrible frankly and very time-consuming, which means she'll get bombed with orders for it when we're at our busiest. I'm going to do a riff on Death & Co's Hot Sauce Committee, a margarita variation with a house-made hot sauce syrup (bell pepper juice, habanero, vinegar, sugar, pinch of salt; quite a tongue-slap). I can't get the St. George raspberry brandy from the original spec so I'm going to use Svedka raspberry vodka, which will work out because people around here like their drinks sweet. I feel like I have to give it a different name since I'm changing a core ingredient -- thinking about "Surfing on a Rocket."
― that's when I reach for my copy of Revolver (WmC), Sunday, 28 January 2024 17:50 (four months ago) link
the french blonde sounds pleasant enough.
― call all destroyer, Sunday, 28 January 2024 18:37 (four months ago) link
it would be funny if the swifties started a run on lillet, which is kind of gross
― call all destroyer, Sunday, 28 January 2024 18:42 (four months ago) link
lol yeah
We had to get some Fee Bros lemon bitters and the boss got the 2/$20 instead of 1/$14, so we'll have a lot more than we need. I'll play with it to see what ideas come up. I believe it's glycerin based instead of alcohol so I can do a punched-up all ages lemonade without worrying about the Legions of Decency.
― that's when I reach for my copy of Revolver (WmC), Sunday, 28 January 2024 19:09 (four months ago) link
yes all the fees stuff is glycerine
― call all destroyer, Sunday, 28 January 2024 20:24 (four months ago) link
Fee Bros stuff is good (from my old hometown too).
I've never had a French Blonde, but it sounds pretty good. I like Lillet! It's a good mixer but also a nice dessert wine/apertif on its own.
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Sunday, 28 January 2024 20:49 (four months ago) link
feel like I have to give it a different name since I'm changing a core ingredientappending (New Reactionaries Version) would be appropriate
― bae (sic), Sunday, 28 January 2024 21:29 (four months ago) link
Legions of Indecency Version
― calstars, Sunday, 28 January 2024 22:07 (four months ago) link