Back to the Rack!!

Well everyone, Its that time again! Speed Rack Season 3 is ending this Sunday here in Chicago!! If you have never been to Speed Rack, I'll give you a quick breakdown. Speed Rack is in its 3rd year. It was started in February of 2011 by bartenders Ivy Mix and Lynette Marrero. The competition focused on the women of our industry, celebrate them, and raise money for Breast cancer research. I have been to speed rack every year it has been here in Chicago, and even had the opportunity to go to Speed Rack, on my 1st trip to Portland for cocktail week in 2011. So Imagine 8 of the best female bartenders in Chicago, on stage, duking it out, all while you are cheering them on, and enjoying punch, cocktails and food from some of the great sponsors. AND you ll be drinking and eating for a great cause!! My family has been affected by Breast cancer, and other types of cancer, so I will ALWAYS support anything and anyone who is supporting finding a cure for this horrible disease.

Tickets are still available if you follow this link...
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/speed-rack-chicago-tickets-5688081204?aff=eorg

And you can donate at the door as well for $25. Remember all proceeds go toward breast cancer research.

Check out the vid to see what you'll be witnessing...

So be there!! I will be!!! You can find Mr.Mixologist aka  the " Boobie Bandit" running around on the floor all day Sunday!

Until Next Time
Mr.Mixologist

Top 10 moments of Portland Cocktail Week

Portland Cocktail Week.... 1 word. WOW!!! I spent some of last week in the state of Oregon with about 200 other bartenders from all over the country. This was a great event to learn, associate, drink( we are bartenders) and generally remember why we chose this profession. This was my second time at PDXCW and this event has really set the bar for events in the future. So instead of just giving you a long recap of the entire week, I want to share with all of you my personal Top 10 moments from the week. Some will have visuals included.. Well the visuals that i can share.. lol

So here we go....

10. Winning 2nd Place in the Templeton Rye Shoes and Cue Horseshoe tournament.
Never played Horseshoes before, but drank plenty of Templeton and myself and my teammate Toki made it to the finals.

9. Swig and Swine 2013
The Bon Vivants did it again!! Always a great party, always for a good cause. Trashcan punch and plenty of Pig. AND all proceeds go to charity. I think Im going to gather all my Pig and Punch and Swig an swine t-shirts and have them framed.

8. Hale Pele
No other words be spoken.. Great Tiki Bar in Portland run by my main man Jesse Card.


7. Education
2 days, 8 classes. lots and lots of information. My course was "Beyond the Bar" TOok classes on sponsorship, Brand Ambassadorship, Dealing with the Press, Making cocktials on Camera, just to name a few.

6. Hennessy Dinner
The Uptown Billards Club was turned into the Hennessy House for the evening, where my Bar Major group enjoyed a 4 course meal paired with 4 cocktails made with the different expressions of Hennessy Cognac.

5. Rum Club shenanigans
Hanging with my "Superfriends" group of bartenders. the 6 of us shut down this great Portland cocktail bar 2 nights in a row. Thank you rto Adam and the rest of the team there for the cocktails.

4. Bar Mashup
1 night, 4 bars. We traveled by limo and Party bus between 4 bars in one night. Oven & Shaker, InterUrban, Hale Pele, and St. George Mobile Libation laboratory. Not to mention we shut down Rum Club after... EPIC night!!

3. Man I love them Strippers
 Im sure we paid a few ladies college tution over the past week, lol and I wont name names but we sure enjoyed our after school wind down time at Union Jacks, Sassy's and Mary's to name a few....


2. Field Trip Day
On the 3rd day we all had field trips to choose from. Mine was sponsored by Talisker and I had the opportunity to learn how to navigate and sail a sailboat. A once in a lifetime opportunity and I truly enjoyed being out on the water for 3 hours watching fighter jets fly above, and sailed right into Mount Hood. A religious experience

AND THE NUMBER 1 MOMENT OF THE WEEK WAS..............................

1. Murray Stenson
We had a service class and Mr. Murray Stenson was once of the speakers. If you don't know who he is, google him. He is a very instrumental person in the service industry and he got a standing ovation upon walking up to the podium. I even got the opportunity to chop it up with him for a moment and felt like I knew him forever. Great, GREAT person.


So that didn't even begin to touch how great of a week I had, or even all the things we did., This was just a few of the highlights for myself that stood out. I cant wait until next year to go back again.. Cheers to everyone I met last week and to my old friends who reconnected with me. I cant wait to see you all again!


Until Next Time
Mr.Mixologist

Shaken or Stirred

" I like my Martini shaken not stirred"- Sean Connery as James Bond in Goldfinger

Happy Saturday Afternoon everyone! 

So this topic has came up because of something I posted on my business Instagram page ( IG- DomBarService). I tell this story that I was at a 5 star hotel in downtown Chicago for a wedding reception. While waiting, myself and a couple friends went to the hotel bar for cocktails. I proceeded to ask the bartender for an Aviation. She responded we don't carry those. So now you can just tell the look on my face at this point.....lol but I digress. So, I asked for a Negroni( one of my favorite cocktails).  So since they " had those" lol I watched the bartender prepare it. And right at the end of the drink SHE SHOOK IT!!! Imagine my horror as I watched that beautiful blend of Plymouth, Campari, and Antica shaken agitated, full of air bubbles, cloudy and just not very appealing when it went into my glass.. Needless to say, I ordered a beer and sent the cocktail back. 

Which brings me to today's post. Some bartenders don't know when to shake and when to stir. Myself I generally follow this rule, when the cocktail is all spirit( base spirit and modifiers) I ONLY stir. When I have a cocktail that requires any type of citrus or juice, eggs, or cream, I shake. Cocktail example to stir would be a Negroni, Manhattan, Rob Roy. Some cocktails you would shake could be margaritas, daiquiris, and long islands. (Yes a well made, shaken Long Island can be a very tasty cocktail. But that's for another post on another day).

With a stirred cocktail you don't want any air bubbles or ice chips in the cocktail, and shaking it agitates it waaaay to much for my taste. So generally when making cocktails and creating new ones I follow these simple rules to making them tasty. So why did James Bond want his martini shaken and not stirred?? We may never know.. But what we do know is that following these simple cocktail rules will produce some very tasty cocktails every time. 

Until Next Time

MrMixologist

Happy Repeal Day!!!

Happy Repeal Day everyone. On January 16th, 1919 congress passed the 18th amendment outlawing alcohol consumption and sales. Repeal Day is the day that Prohibition ended with the passing of the 21st amendment of the United States on December 5, 1933. This year marks the 79th anniversary of this great day! 

During Prohibition, people continued to produce and drink alcohol, and bootlegging helped foster a massive industry completely under the control of organized crime. Drinking in speakeasies became increasingly fashionable, and many mothers worried about the allure that alcohol and other illegal activities associated with bootlegging would have over their children.  
The most effective depiction of prohibition era bootlegging, in my opinion,  and some of the tactics and things that were going on in this time of history is on my favorite television series Boardwalk Empire. Ironically I found out that the state of Utah(a Mormon state) was the one who ratified the 21st amendment, giving the 3/4 threshold needed to enact the 18th amendment. 


So take this day today, go out and celebrate responsibly, and enjoy a classic cocktail. Ill be celebrating with some friends this evening over some Zacapa Rum cocktails. I'll leave this posting with a few visuals from Prohibition and post Prohibition... 

Cheers,

Until Next Time
Mr. Mixologist

Back to the Rack!!!! *****Updated******

******* UPDATE!!!!!*******

With Hurricane Sandy hitting New York and New Jersey, we will not e able to attend Speed Rack this weekend. Speed Rack will be postponed and the tentative date is December 10th. Be on the lookout for details. To get involved with helping the USBGNY and donations for NYC visit the speed rack website here---> http://www.speed-rack.com/

Last year I had the opportunity to work at a very special event. Speed Rack was introduced to me and was one HELLUVA event!!! What speed rack is, is an all female bartender competition, created by female bartenders, where the bartenders get graded on speed, technique, and accuracy. All the proceeds from Speed Rack go to fight Breast Cancer. So its a great cause and worth donating monetarily and your time.

The way it works is Speed Rack is a National competition that focused on certain markets. In each market bartenders go head to head, a square off if you will, and have to make a round of drinks randomly. Each bartender is graded on speed, accuracy, taste, and presentation. Its a round robin elimination comp, and the winners of each market will meet in the final event of the year for a winner take all showdown to be named Miss Speed Rack!! 

From personal experience of serving punch at this event last year this is a GREAT time. Great people, Great cocktails, and an even BETTER CAUSE!!! So get out and look for speed rack in your city. Next up is NEW YORK CITY on November 4th. I will be there and supporting my NYC ladies!! NYC come on out!!!! 

For info check out http://speed-rack.com/

Check out this Speed Rack Teaser

Until Next Time 

Mr.Mixologist

National Margarita Day!

Whether you like it Straight up, On the Rocks, or even frozen, the Margarita is a true classic.. This drink never gets old. Easy cocktail to make a home or at the bar. Quick, effective, and when handmade can be a very refreshing cocktail. Margaritas come in so many different colors and variations(I'll share one of mine in a moment) But i typically enjoy this recipe the best...

Margarita
2oz Reposado Tequila
1oz Lime Juice
.5oz Orange Liqueur(My preference is Cointreau)
2 Teaspoon Superfine Sugar
Garnish with a lime Wedge


Combine all the ingredients in a shaker and give a good hard shake. then strain into a chilled Margarita Glass or in a rocks glass over ice(your preference). The original Margarita cocktail calls for Blanco tequila, but my pallet likes alot of flavor in my cocktails so I chose to go with the Reposado Tequila in mine.

Now as I said earlier yo can make your margarita in a number of different ways. Typically if you substitute your lime juice, for whatever you favorite juice is, or cut your portions to balance between the lime and your favorite juice, you will have a great cocktail!

Now Ive been playing around with Tuaca. Tuaca is a Vanilla Citrus Liqueur with hints of Brandy, Orange and Vanilla. But the Vanilla is the dominant flavor. It really comes thru in cocktails that this is added too.. So here is a way to Spice up your margarita if you have a little bit of this on hand. My friends at the Baddish Group sent me a sample and their recipes, but this is what I came up with one my own..

As an ode to the neighborhood that my parents met.. Here is the "Bronzeville  Margarita"

Bronzeville  Margarita
2oz Tuaca
1oz Olmeca Altos Tequila(Blanco)
.5 Lime juice
.25 Spiced Simple Syrup
Muddled Raspberries

Muddle Raspberries, syrup, and lime juice. Add Tuaca and Tequila. Shake and Double strain into a ice filled rocks glass. Cinnamon the rim of the glass and garnish with 2 raspberries.

So with happy hour a few minutes away(Chicago Time) order yourself a Margarita and enjoy National Margarita Day!!

Until Next Time
Mr.Mixologist