THE POUR MAN’S COMPANION

Service staffs in restaurants worthy of attention are taught that guests do not frequent dining spots just to eat. The food and drink are on a list of many important motives for leaving the comfort of home and spending money; the primary objective is spending time with friends and love ones in special surroundings, looked after by friendly attendants in places that offer solid food and good drink.

 

Bars are similar, given that there are times when a martini, a glass of beer or glasses of wine have little to do with anything but offering a respite from a difficult day’s work.

 

What makes the bar experience special is relaxing with the knowledge that there is a pro behind the bar. When a skilled bartender picks up a bottle of spirits and pours in his first act of assembling your drink, it immediately invites that delicious anticipation of things to come. The bottle upended in a flash gives forth a perfectly measured pour and then, with a snap of the wrist, there it is on the bar top again; the bartender already on the way to the next ingredient before your eyes can catch up.

 

Watching the speed and grace of a confident bartender rotating the long bar spoon quietly, swiftly, around the inside of the bar glass pushing the ice and your soon-to-be gin martini ahead in a perfect liquid vortex. This act reminds us exactly why we are sitting at the bar rather than home fumbling with ice and glass. But of course, the actual moment of truth comes two sips in, when we settle into a perfectly balanced drink.

 

A bartender picking up a jigger was always a sign of a frugal owner, today that is not necessarily the case. The new “cocktailian” bars, to borrow a term coined by author Gary Regan, pride themselves on the consistency and precision in preparing these new age cocktail offerings. Bar owners like Audrey Saunders and Sasha Petraske require their staffs to use jiggers to protect their reputations for consistency. 

 

Wanna find these places that are nearby? Today we have a powerful new tool for choosing quality drinking establishments with confidence…idrinkwell.com.

 

See you next week …enjoy your drinks responsibly and don’t forget to turn the lights out when you leave.

Dale aka kingcocktail