Archive for November, 2013

Started from the bottom, now I flair; Success Story by Luis Brosas

Tuesday, November 26th, 2013

Luis Final

 

Luis Brosas is by far one of the most talented bartenders in the Torontonian scene: Senior Instructor at BartenderOne,elite member of the Movers N Shakers Events Team and Director of the BartenderOne SmashLab program, Luis still finds time to successfully pursue a career in Business Management with a specialization in HR at the prestigious Ryerson University. Nevertheless, this success hasn’t been easy and as he admits, Flair Bartending is the key that opened so many doors.

 

Luis’ story began six years ago in Highschool, when watching a flair video sparked the interest for flair in his heart. This interest would transform 3 years later into a passion after joining the BartenderOne MasterClass and seeing with his own two eyes B1 instructor, Andrew Campolli flair like a pro in class. In that moment, Luis knew this was something he had to master…. and he did.

 

One week after graduating from B1 MasterClass, Luis participated in his first ever Flair Competition. His superb skill earned him the right to be crowned as the Number 1 Amateur Flair Bartender by the Toronto Flair League (TFL) 6 months down the road in 2011, only to be ranked Number 1 Semi Pro Flair Bartender by the TFL one year later

 

His talent, charm, discipline and willingness to work hard quickly earned him a seat at the BartenderOne team to travel around Canada producing top quality events for thirsty clients demanding top quality entertainment, as well as getting him a job as Flair Bartender at Jack Astor’s and College Street Bar.

 

The road was not easy, Luis remembers training 4 to 6 hours a day at the beginning of his career, even today, after all these years of practice, Luis still practices around 30 hours a week to stay sharp and develop new routines.

 

Does knowing how to flair have a positive impact on a bartender’s career? Luis knows clearly his answer: “My career as a bartender would be nonexistent if it wasn’t for flair. The best opportunities have come from flair; from standing out in competitions to developing a great personality behind the bar”

Now you know it, flair, with enough hard work and dedication can literally change your life just as it did with Luis.  Grab your bottles and tins and start practicing. We want to see you at the next Flair Competition along side Luis and other flair artists.

 

Do you dare to flair?

A very unique dress code: Bartender threatens to cut off guest’s necktie

Monday, November 25th, 2013

Dress codes are one of the most controversial subjects in the nightlife world. While for bar management, staff and security are a useful tool to keep a certain standard to their venue and prevent potential trouble – makers to get inside for many people is just another way that bars and clubs actively discriminate against their clientele.

This being said, it comes as a big surprise hat one Houston bar has what is apparently a reverse-dress code as this unsuspecting client found out when he was kicked out of the Valhalla bar for wearing a necktie

This  poor guy “Irving” declared he liked  to wear ties to work now, because men get only so many socially acceptable fashion accessories  But apparently Valhalla, has a long-standing “tradition” against ties, so Irving was kicked out. Not just kicked out. Banned.

After getting this third beer, a bartender told him she wouldn’t serve him until he took off his tie. Irving thought that was stupid, so he refused to remove it. According to Irving, the first bartender called another bartender over to discuss. Irving’s friend tried to buy him a beer instead in an attempt to calm the situation. Then a third bartender joined the fray, armed with a pair of scissors, and threatened to cut Irving’s tie right off of his neck.

The craziest part of this story is that Irving is still keen on coming back to the Valhalla  “I know this comes nowhere near the sort of racially-based dress code discrimination that happens at other Houston bars,” he said. “This was just bad hospitality.”

What’s your opinion about this? Is this kind of behavior towards clients justified as part of tradition?

 

Original Source:

Houston Press Blogs

“Bartender at Rice Institution Valhalla Threatens to Cut Off Alumnus’ Necktie

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/2013/11/valhalla_necktie.php

Derrière BartenderOne Montreal: Luke Martin

Friday, November 22nd, 2013

(English text follows.)

Qui se cache derrière BartenderOne Montréal?

Cette sĂ©rie d’article est destinĂ©e Ă  vous informer sur les membres de l’Ă©quipe de BartenderOne Montreal. Cette semaine, rencontrez votre instructeur Luke Martin.

goodluke atermarked

Luke est venu de loin pour atterrir chez BartenderOne. NĂ© Ă  Columbia en Caroline du Sud, il a grandi entre le QuĂ©bec et l’Ontario pour enfin mettre les pieds Ă  MontrĂ©al en 2011. MalgrĂ© ses Ă©tudes en arts de la scène et en psychologie, il a complètement changĂ© de cap pour se lancer dans l’industrie du bar. Après son premier emploi au HB oĂą il a  touchĂ© Ă  la culture cocktail pour la première fois, il est entrĂ© au B1 et est vite devenu un grand bartender. C’est cette annĂ©e qu’il a participĂ© Ă  sa première compĂ©tition de bartending, le Made With Love, et il prĂ©voit rĂ©pĂ©ter l’expĂ©rience dans le futur. Il est dĂ©sormais bartender chez Appartment 200 et Atame, et gĂ©rant et instructeur chez B1 MontrĂ©al. Il aime le cĂ´tĂ© anti routine du bar et continue Ă  en apprendre tous les jours sur cet art qu’est le bartending. Demandez lui un Whiskey Sour et vous ne serez pas déçus !

facesjackcrooner-63

Who’s hiding behind Montreal’s BartenderOne? Get to know our team through this series of articles. This week, meet your instructor Luke Martin.

Luke has come a long way to land at BartenderOne Montreal. Born in Columbia, South Carolina, he was raised between Ontario and Quebec to finally arrive in Montreal in 2011. Regardless of his background in acting and psychology, he entered the bar industry and became a bartender. After his first job at HB where he first learned about cocktail culture, he got hired at B1 and quickly became a great bartender. He participated in his first bartending competition, Made With Love, last month and plans to repeat the experience in the future. He is now a  bartender at Appartment 200 and Atame, and manager and instructor at B1. He likes the anti routine of the bar and continues to learn about the art of bartending everyday. Ask him for a Whiskey Sour and you won’t be disappointed!

WARNING: Controversial subject” TV show “reveals” 4 ways a bartender can rip you off

Thursday, November 21st, 2013

As you know, the temptation to take money that is not yours in this industry is one of the biggest issues for managers and owners and can destroy a career if trust in a bartender is lost. That is one of the reasons why BartenderOne stresses the importance of work ethics and honesty as a key element in any bartender. However, our friends at ABC have a very different opinion. Keep on reading, this concerns you

An ABC show airing tomorrow (10 p.m. ET) at ABC is bringing up a very relevant subject for all of us in the industry: The ways some bartenders and bar owners rip off their guests.

For this purpose, ABC hired Jon Taffer, who has owned more than 600 bars and clubs during his career and is the host of Spike TV’s “Bar Rescue where he travels the country, helping to turn struggling bars back into booming businesses but who comes down to this show with a very harsh reality:

“In the bar business, sometimes people are losing so much money. They can be losing $10,000 to $20,000 a month. Their house is on the line. They get desperate,” he said.

Among the tricks bartenders use to cheat customers according to Taffer are pouring less than the full amount of liquor charged for, watering down drinks and even secretly giving a cheaper brand than the one ordered when the guest cannot tell the difference between top-shelf vodka and the cheap stuff.

“If you come and say ‘Let me have a Johnnie Walker Black on the rocks,’ I’m not going to mess with that. I’m giving you Johnnie Walker Black,” he said. “If you come up to me and say ‘Let me have a Grey Goose and orange juice,’ that’s the ticket to pour you the cheapest vodka I’ve ever had.”

According to Taffer, these are the most usual ways bartenders rip off their customers:

 

1- Swapping Good Booze for a Cheaper Brand or Even Water

Sometimes bartenders will pour cheap liquor into an empty premium bottle, Taffer said, or they’ll add water to a half-finished top-shelf brand.

“Either you’re getting diluted [liquor] or you’re getting a different brand altogether,” he said. “It’s the epitome of desperation. It’s stupidity.”

It could be the bartender doing the switcheroo on his own, or the owner telling the bartender to be dishonest, or both, Taffer said. In the end, those who do it do so to try to make more money off each drink.

 

2- Giving You the ‘Short Pour’

Crushed ice, meaning the ice that comes out of those large bins behind the bar, means less liquor, Taffer said, while cubed ice allows for more space for liquor and is a better deal. But a half jigger of booze poured over crushed ice appears to look like more booze than a full jigger poured over cubed ice, he said.

 

 

3- Giving You the ‘Long Pour’

Don’t be impressed if your bartender can pour a drink a foot away from the glass, Taffer said. He is just cheating you out of booze by creating an illusion.

“This idea is holding the arm up high in an exaggerated pouring motion, you think you are getting special treatment, you are only getting a special show. No extra booze, maybe even less,” he said. “When you lift that arm, you create an illusion of quantity. … Not only are you not special, you’re the exact opposite. I’m ripping you off.”

4- Giving You the ‘Sneaky Pour’

When a bartender holds the bottle over your glass for a long time, he is obviously giving you something extra, right?

Wrong, says Taffer, but you’ll tip him as if he did.

“The truth is they hold their finger over the air hole on the spout, which reduces the flow to a trickle,” he said. “They hold the bottle instead of the glass so you can’t see how little is flowing out. … Then they quickly add the mixer and plop in that straw.”

That little red straw is the key to fooling you into thinking that weak drink the bartender just gave you tastes strong because, Taffer said, unscrupulous bartenders will keep those straws in a glass of vodka hidden under the bar.

“The bartender draws a swig out of that vodka and your first sip tastes strong,” he said. “You are convinced, even though the rest of the drink is weak.”

 

Want to Avoid Being Messed With? Order Bottled Beer

The only thing the bartender can’t tamper with in a bar, Taffer said, is bottled beer.

“Unfortunately bottled beer is your safest bet,” he said. “It’s prepackaged. It’s sealed. You see it opened in front of you.”

Original Source:

ABC News Online

http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/ways-bartender-rip-off-order/story?id=20940303

 

 

A new film about bartending? It was about time!

Tuesday, November 19th, 2013

HEY BARTENDER FOTO

Since 1988 when Tom Cruise took flair bartending to the masses with “Cocktail” – a movie which many bartenders in the industry openly dislike- the interest in the noble art of pouring a drink has been virtually back in the shadows.

That is why, it is always good when you find another film that brings back the life of a bartender to the big screens. This being said, it was a pleasant surprise to find “Hey Bartender; The story of the bartender in the era of the crafted cocktail” produced this year and which even more surprisingly is good!

This documentary focuses on the lives of two bartenders trying  to achieve their dreams through bartending.  The first, an injured Marine who turns his goals to super star  bartender at the best cocktail bar in the world. The other, a former bank executive who leaves his white-collar job to buy the corner bar in his hometown years later he struggles to keep afloat. The bar is three deep and the bartenders are in the weeds at the greatest cocktail party since before Prohibition.

Hey Bartender is the story of the rebirth of the bartender and the comeback of the cocktail. Featuring the world’s most renowned bartenders and access to the most exclusive bars in New York with commentary from Graydon Carter, Danny Meyer and Amy Sacco.

For all of you know -it- alls out there, this documentary may not be the kind of absolutely real film you are waiting for, but one of the features that adds points to this film is that despite the fact of being backed by a major distillery it is not the propaganda, advertising tool you could expect.

We won’t spoil the surprise for you.  Here is the tariler for you to find out more about this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HUwmDqi2kA

Watch it and give us your opinion. It’s finally good to be back on screen

 

What is the most effective way to get a bartender’s attention in a crowded bar?

Monday, November 18th, 2013

Going to your favorite bar or club is as you may already know, one challenge after the other. Choosing the rights clothes, handling the logistics to get there, going through the bouncer’s filter. But probably, the biggest challenge is when you get to the bar and you are competing with another 50 thirsty throats for the bartender’s attention.

This issue has been around since bars exist, but now science comes to our help. Behavioral researchers from the BielefeldUniversity in Germany sat down and figured out the best and worst tactics using body language when ordering a drink. After analyzing 105 customer attempts to order drinks in nightclubs in Germany and Scotland, they looked at what the customers were doing in the 35 seconds before being served. Their conclusion: The most effective strategy is to stand squarely to the bar and look directly at the bartender as he/she moved around. You need to do both to communicate you’re “bidding for attention.”

Looking at the bartender was successful in 86% of the orders. Leaning on the bar happened infrequently but also seemed to high a high strike rate when it did happen.

The findings were used to produce an update to the robotic bartender’s programming to allow it to ask customers if they would like a drink when they display the right body language.

The researchers also, isolated a few tactics that definitely DO NOT WORK. These included squeezing in between other customers (you might end up waiting even longer), leaning on the bar, looking at a menu or the drinks available, or looking at money. The study also reported that waving money is a surefire way of not getting served.

What you think of this research, do you think there is any other tactic they missed?  Share the secret and help your fellow partygoers get their alcohol faster.

Original Source

The Telegraph Online ‘How to use body language to get served first at a bar”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/10315850/How-to-use-body-language-to-get-served-first-at-a-bar.html

Pissed bartender destroys customer’s credit card and then throws the pieces in her face

Thursday, November 14th, 2013

A couple days ago we mentioned the story about a bartender who responded to a drunk guest throwing his face on her face to stabbing his hand Hannibal Lecter style. Today we have a somewhat similar case – with much less blood – regarding a short tempered bartender and a card with no funds in the city of  Dayton, Ohio.

Check the story:

“A West Milton woman’s recent request to run a bar tab set in motion a bizarre set of events at a local bar that could not possibly have been the best use of two officers’ time.

The bartender decided to charge the woman’s debit card instead of holding it for the tab she requested, according to a police report.

The 23-year-old’s debit card was declined for insufficient funds.

Things spiraled out of control from there, as they often do in these situations.

The bartender told the woman her card was “no good” and accused her of trying to scam him, the report says.

The woman protested as the bartender tore at the card in a scene that must have seemed like something you’d see on “Real Housewives of New Jersey.”

She told the bartender that the card was her only means of getting her paycheck to be deposited at midnight.

Not buying it, the bartender broke the card in half and threw the pieces in the woman’s face.

Wow

A short time later, the woman called police and her bank. She learned her paycheck had been deposited in to her account after all.

Officers interviewed the woman and the bartender.

The bartender said he decided to charge the woman’s $9 drink to her card when he realized she was paying with a debit card and not a credit card.

According to police reports, he said he was scammed recently by another person and now “just tears up people’s cards when they are declined. He said the debit cards are not real credit cards and they are just the same as a loaded card someone gets from the blood bank.”

OK, what?

He doubted the woman’s story about being paid at midnight and told police he wasn’t about to let the woman scam him so he tore her card in half. He asked the officers if they had ever heard of anyone checking at midnight to see if their checks were deposited”

 

So what you think?

We know that this industry is harsh and it implies dealing with a ton of cheap drunks trying to scam you, but do you consider this bartender’s actions were justified?

Let us know your opinion

 

Original Source:

 

Dayton Daily News Online:

Angry bartender destroys customer’s debit card

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/entertainment/angry-bartender-destroys-customers-debit-card-thro/nbrMk/

15 Reasons NOT To Date a Bartender

Thursday, November 14th, 2013

flirtybartener

A few weeks ago we shared a very popular article listing the 10 reasons to date a bartender. Now, to be fair, we are reproducing a very good reply to this originally mentioned in the Huffington Post.

Here are the 15 reasons NOT TO DATE a Bartender. Check it out and let us know your opinion.

15 Reasons NOT to date a bartender

1: You will not see them. When you do they will look like they are a) hungover and b) exhausted. This is because they are a) hungover and b) exhausted.

2: Whenever you visit a bar together, no matter how stunning you look, their first glance will always be at the spirit selection. If the bar has a poor spirit selection, they will be depressed and listless for the rest of your evening.

3: Unless you are willing to learn something about aged rum and the subtle nuances of various bitters, they will resent you.

4: No matter how super-smart they actually are, all your friends will think they have less than three GCSE’s to their name and almost certainly in humanities subjects like drama and home economics.

5: Other women will hit on them and they will reciprocate under the guise that all bartenders need to be “professionally single.”

6: On a sunny day, when you wish to frolic in the park, they will be hidden in a sweaty pit of duvet moaning in pain at the sunshine creeping through the window like the vampires of old.

7: Face facts, your mother is not going to be pleased.

8: Every holiday you take together will have a hidden alcohol theme. You may visit Cuba (Havana Club), Guatemala (Ron Zacapa), and France (Hennessy Silver Jubilee 1977) but you will never visit Egypt, (makes nothing) Cambodia (less than nothing), and Puerto Rico (Bacardi).

9: You will have at least six conversations a day about how c**p the tips are. Then you will eat out and they will leave a c**p tip because their tips are c**p. (This may be deemed controversial in the USA where you get on average a dollar a drink; however in the UK, Australia and New Zealand you get on average a dollar a fortnight divided between eight of you with a discretionary percentage to the kitchen, so I’m sticking with it.)

10: In fashion, both on shift and off, they will lean toward wearing more black than Johnny Cash at the height of his career (1960-1963) and only marginally less than a Hasidic Rabbi.

11: Their natural musk will be the faintly perceptible smell of Jagermeister.

12: Years of inbuilt cynicism from dealing with the general public means they will believe in no faith, creed or deity but will fly into an uncontrolled state of rapture at the mention of the name Dale Degroff.

13: Their sexual performance will be limited by a bad back caused by years of picking up heavy objects with poor lifting technique. Plus who knows what effect years of living off pizza, KFC, the bar’s complimentary peanuts and dubiously coloured staff meals has had on their sperm count.

14: Your chances of getting on the property ladder are slim, as the pay is so bad it will take you approximately 1,253 years to get a down-payment together, and then only on a one-bedroom flat in Croydon, Loughton or Dagenham, which will never be cool or trendy.

15: They will judge all your friends harshly when they order a mojito.

 

Original Source:

The Huffington Post Online, “15  Reasons not To Date a Bartender”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-miles/15-reasons-not-to-date-a-bartender_b_4267527.html

The quest to find the best bartender in the world is on TV

Wednesday, November 13th, 2013

DAVID RIOS

The Diageo Reserve World Class Bartender of the Year has earned a reputation as the most prestigious bartending competition in the world with the finest bartenders from every nation displaying their top creations to earn the glory.

This year 43 finalists were followed by camera crews as they competed on board a luxury cruise liner sailing from Monaco to St Tropez, Ibiza to Barcelona, in July this year.

“World Class showcases why fine drinking and cocktail culture sets trends from New York to Shanghai,” said Dominic Redfearn, global media and content director for Diageo.

“We’re excited that the skill and craft of the world’s best bartenders is being showcased through these programmes.”

The programme, produced by Shine North, is scheduled to air in 110 countries across the world on channels including Primetime, RTL 5, MTV, the Travel Channel, and the Food Network.

Alex Connock, managing director of Shine North, said: “The global appreciation of mixology coupled with the truly international line-up of talented, inventive bartenders makes for a compelling show with universal appeal.

“At Shine we are believers in the creative possibilities of working with brands – and the World Class event is a superb example.”

Throughout the competition, bartenders were tested on their spirits knowledge, food pairing abilities, speed, and signature serves.

This July, the Spanish bartender  David Rios, of Jigger Cocktail & Disco Bar  was crowned Diageo World Class Bartender of The Year.

 

Original Source: www.thespiritsbusiness.com

http://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2013/11/worlds-best-bartender-tv-show-launches/

 

Nothing as dangerous as a pissed-off bartender

Monday, November 11th, 2013

Police in Philadelphia are reporting an enraged bartender who turned the table on two of her patrons after one of them threw a drink in her face overnight, stabbing one customer and slashing another person in the arm.

Apparently the fight began when a patron threw a drink onto the unidentified woman behind the bar, the upset bartender then allegedly grabbed a knife and stabbed the drink thrower in the hand, police said.

She then allegedly slashed one of the man’s friends in the arm before fleeing the scene while visibly upset, according to investigators.

Officers caught up to the woman about a block away and took her in for questioning.

Both victims were taken to the Hospital in stable condition.

You can bet this lady makes a great Bloody Mary!!

Original Source:

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Bartender-Stabbing-West-Philly-231123491.htmll