When we do this, we feel alive. And when we feel alive, we are happy.*
October 6, 2014 10:14 AM   Subscribe

While Prohibition may have withered the American drinker’s palate and understanding & sent the most talented drink-slingers into exile, cocktails are back, and better than ever! And who are the people that have brought the all-but-dead art of America’s contribution to world drinks culture (and the profession & craft of the Bartender) back to stunning, exuberant life? Hey Bartender!

Out the depths of the late 20th C., amidst the shit drinks, dead-end jobs, & fern bars came Dale Degroff, the future King Cocktail. It was King Cocktail who, as a young bartender began bringing back the idea of recipes, measurements, fresh ingredients, and proper technique.

Degroff begat Audrey Saunders, who describes herself as the “Industry Den Mother” for all the former employees of hers who have gone on to open their own bars. Today, bartenders have a professional associations, & drinks conventions worldwide, culminating at Tales of the Cocktail in N’awlins, birthplace of the Sazerac, the first "named" cocktail.

And finally, as evidence of how the style and image of the modern cocktail bartender has taken hold: Lady Antebellum, “Bartender”.

* Dushan Zaric, Employees Only, NYC
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey (3 comments total) 14 users marked this as a favorite
 
I learned about the song "Hey Bartender" by Floyd Dixon[SLYT] from a "Blues Brothers" live album, so… I guess this isn't that FPP, hunh? Maybe I'll have a nice drink later tonight, when I am not at work, and enjoy some music and send an email to the people I used to drink with.
posted by wenestvedt at 10:44 AM on October 6, 2014 [1 favorite]


It took the new breed of overpriced, artisan-crafted cocktails in San Francisco to give cheap little dive bars that serve heavy-handed, sloppy well drinks a nearly epic allure.
posted by markkraft at 4:14 PM on October 6, 2014 [1 favorite]


I am a bartender.

Bow before me.

*spills red wine on your silk blouse*

oh shit I am so so sorry here's some mozzarella sticks on the house
posted by BitterOldPunk at 8:40 PM on October 6, 2014 [1 favorite]


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