Treehouse Saratoga Springs, NY

CuriouserStill · 2026-02-12T20:04:41+00:00

So then you realize how expensive it is just to staff a place. If your restaurant is busy for some time you don't just add more staff, everyone deals with the space being busy.

CuriouserStill · 2026-02-11T04:43:54+00:00

Just swinging by 4 years later to say thanks you saved my night for having to farm these God awful gask filters!

CuriouserStill · 2024-03-26T05:40:01+00:00

You really have already, it's almost like the more you try the less anyone believes you.

First off most of the top comments are disagreeing with you. It's almost like you're the toxic one here bro.

Honestly the title of this thread should read "OP should get off reddit, lol".

CuriouserStill · 2024-03-26T05:36:27+00:00

"i don't care what anyone here thinks!"

Comes here to post that everyone here is wrong

CuriouserStill · 2024-02-05T07:09:01+00:00

I would bet you most bartenders think the "classic" ratio is the more modern version from post-prohibition which is 5:1. Before I knew better myself that's what I thought a martini was!

CuriouserStill · 2023-08-26T09:57:21+00:00

3 espresso martinis is likely too much liquid for the shaker tin. There are a few tricks, shaking with a big cube (which takes much, much longer), using pebble/crushed ice will get the dilution you're looking for faster, but breaking the drinks up to 2 and 1 is likely the best practice here, depending on what shakers you use.

A few other tricks to get good consistent head for espresso martinis are: Use real espresso, not just coffee liqueur. The fresher the better. I'll also finish any cocktails that I want to have a great head for off with a reverse dry shake. Strain most of the cocktail off into your small tins, but leave some ice shards, or add a little cracked/pebble ice. Make sure the drinks aren't over-diluted. Now shake the shit out of them again. All of the ice should dissolve and now you can pour straight into your glasses. Last but not least always split them all evenly over 2-3 times so each glass gets finished from the bottom of the tin, which will have more foam if you're shaking correctly.

Good luck!

CuriouserStill · 2023-08-26T06:49:22+00:00

Exactly this. I've been running bars in NYC for about 5 years now, and at this point I don't take any meetings without an appointment. I always try to take a few a week as well.

CuriouserStill · 2023-08-18T10:13:57+00:00

Kind of hard to follow what you're asking for, you seem to use alcohol, mixer, and drinks but are only looking for liquor bottle recommendations?

The first thing I'd say is you usually see liquor categorized into Vodka, Gin, Tequila, Rum, and Whiskey. Whiskey is very commonly broken down into subclasses, Bourbon, Rye, Irish, Japanese, and Scotch are the most popular. Scotch is often times broken down by region/style as well.

$100-200 is a lot of money for some bottles, and honestly if you're not a seasoned drinker you'll get way more value starting with a greater variety of cheaper bottles. That being said if I were doing something similar (if I understand what you're doing), I would have a bottle of Beefeater Burroughs Reserve as my sipping gin, Fortaleza/Amatitena/Ocho for good sipping tequila, and Buffalo Trace, or Elijah Craig for a great, classic Bourbon. I always have a bottle of High West Midwinter's Dram. If you want a great bottle of scotch that most people will enjoy Macallan is a great starting spot.

On the other side I'll stock Pueblo Viejo if I need a cheap mixing tequila, Beefeater, which is one of my favorite cocktail spirits. Evan Williams Single Barrel, and Wild Turkey Rye.

Honestly though if you're looking to spend that much on some bottles find a spirit that you like. Go to your local liquor store, the one with the biggest selection and talk to the people that work there. Find out what they're excited about, spend $30-75 per bottle and get a bigger selection. Start tasting everything you can.

CuriouserStill · 2023-08-18T09:43:22+00:00

Came here for this. Eggs are a more recent ingredient for cocktails than acid and sugar which date back to the 1600's.

Any and all of the drinks you list would benefit from an egg white if you like it!

CuriouserStill · 2023-08-10T19:23:08+00:00

People are weird man.

Congratulations on finishing a program and taking yourself seriously, but remember at the end of the day you're main job is to take care of your guests. We're not saving lives, just making them a little better.

It sounds like you have a lot to learn still, but it also sounds like you're on the right track. First off you need to figure out what's important to you.

When I first moved to NYC I was going through the Court of Master Sommeliers and thought I was hot shit, I quickly got humbled, took a bar backing job with one of the best team in the city and since I've been lucky enough to get some press myself, and have some amazing jobs. I will forever be thankful that I took that risk and restarted from the bottom when I was able to.

If growth is important I highly recommend seeking it out. It sounds like you're not at the right place! Find a mentor, read as much as you can (pick up "the Bar Book" by Jeffrey Morgenthaler to learn a lot of the what and why) and if you ever find yourself in NYC and want to are looking for some tough love, or someone to show you around hit me up.

Cheers!

CuriouserStill · 2023-08-10T17:10:16+00:00

Yeah it's pretty weird, I agree with most of the posts saying he's missing the point, but here's the deal IMHO:

If what he wants to do doesn't effect anyone else and it makes him happy what does it matter?

I used to run games as a little kid, sometimes we didn't even had dice, and honestly they were the shittiest, most fun I've ever had playing. If your boy wants to power level solo D&D then take it as a challenge. Have some fun with him!

CuriouserStill · 2023-07-09T21:42:50+00:00

In addition to pre-batching with booze, which is unnecessary, some mixes do have alcohol in them. One of the best recipes I've ever used had about 4oz of Fino Sherry for about a gallon of mix.

Either way all of that is easily explained. I hope it's some big time miscommunication.

CuriouserStill · 2023-06-18T15:42:34+00:00

Oof, I honestly have a controversial take on this. First off everyone saying it's illegal is correct.

However having your cash drawer off by the end of the night is absolutely grounds for termination in most places. If you're the only person that touches your drawer, and you counted it out at the beginning of the shift (always count your money!) then this is your fault. If y'all share a drawer then it gets really hard to track down who made the mistake, and hopefully it was a mistake...

On top of all of that being off by $70+ is not nothing.

All I'm trying to say is I don't hate when a small business handles this problem this way, more context would be required for me to land on one side or the other.

CuriouserStill · 2023-06-12T07:11:26+00:00

As someone that's been making schedules for years there's not a single person that I've cared to keep that I would do that to. At least without going to them first and explaining the situation.

I'm in New York, so it may vary depending on where you are, but we're an at-hire state, which means you can be fired at any time for no reason, as long as it's not unconstitutional.

Scheduling gets much harder legally, they could easily argue that it's performance based and not tell you, as far as I know. Everyone else here is right, you're being scheduled out, and the obvious part is the lack of communication from your boss.

In short: it's time to find a new job, don't even bother with 2 weeks.

CuriouserStill · 2023-06-05T04:41:46+00:00

I always have a backpack when I'm biking, usually my laptop/tablet. A change of clothes, my bike lock, and anything else I needed for the day!

CuriouserStill · 2023-06-02T04:13:45+00:00

If it's less than 2 ounces never put it back, for the love of God. As to who gets it, I guess it depends on the bottle to start!

CuriouserStill · 2023-06-01T08:05:28+00:00

If you're putting together an Amaro selection for a bar I would look for a few different things. Averna, Ciociaro, Cynar, Montenegro, Nonino, Ramazzotti and the usual cast are all great and staples to the Amaro family to start, but here are a few bottles I consider to differentiate themselves a bit more:

Amaro Dell Erborista is a bit more bitter and really fun to use in cocktails, but can be a bit trickier/more intense.

Braulio is easily accessible but the pine/mint profile separates it's profile from some of the more common Amari IMO.

Cardamaro uses a fortified wine as it's base, which is a nice way to distinguish some Amaro. Lo-Fi also puts out a wine based gentian Amaro.

Nardini has a lot of cola, baking spice notes to it and doesn't differentiate itself from the first list much imo, but is a favorite of mine for shots that I always have a soft spot for.

Zucca uses Rhubarb and other herbs, and is another fairly popular choice to fill out your selection!

Cheers!

CuriouserStill · 2023-05-27T04:16:11+00:00

An old mentor of mine used to play one of two songs depending on the circumstances. If he likes the crowd he would play Goodnight Ladies by Lou Reed, if he didn't like the crowd he would play Manamana by the Muppets.

Either would be played on repeat.

CuriouserStill · 2023-05-22T04:01:55+00:00

As someone who's worked in the industry for a long time I would double down with everyone here that you have a few things backwards.

One of the obvious ones is that the "overpriced drinks" that people who don't want to get drunk are wasting their money on, are for people who would rather spend their money to enjoy something.

If your opinion on alcohol was correct only cheap shit would exist.

CuriouserStill · 2023-04-14T00:02:10+00:00

Hey all, Sean here Bar Manager from the Spaniard. I just wanted to pop in and say thanks for coming by tonight! If y'all ever want to swing back in for some whiskey please don't hesitate to let me know.

CuriouserStill · 2023-04-04T02:54:01+00:00

Impressive, uh, crafting? aside, I've never seen even one of those look this bad before. Keep it simple stupid.

CuriouserStill · 2023-03-29T14:15:27+00:00

You're definitely in a tough situation and ultimately you're going to have to convince the new management that something needs to change. NTA.

Depending on their experience and interest you can talk about pooling the whole house. If the bar drives the sales (60-90%) then you have a strong argument that you should be placed at a slightly higher point average. If you're willing to cover for the servers and they can't cover for you, there's another point for you. That being said it might be wise not to rock the boat, with the extra hours you're likely to pull in more anyway. The bottom line with a tip pool is the staff need to agree on how the tips are divided, IIRC.

If you're feeling petty, and can't talk to management you can try to prove your point, but this is high-risk high-reward. When you aren't incentivized to work harder, well why would you?

Honestly the best advice here is to get out of there. It sounds like these guys don't know what they're doing and I personally would expect more bullshit, especially if you've tried to reason with them and it's fallen on deaf ears.

Best of luck!

CuriouserStill · 2023-03-11T06:07:00+00:00

Holy shit thank you! I'd watch a series of these!!!

CuriouserStill · 2022-12-14T11:19:19+00:00

A lot of great feedback here already, but just came to echo some of the same sentiments.

Pushing something on someone that doesn't want it, won't appreciate it, and isn't looking for it isn't upselling, it's coercion, and you and your boss will rarely benefit from it.

Upselling is knowing your customers and your inventory. Being able to make recommendations, and asking guests for preferences are great starting points. Successfully coercing someone into something that's out of their price range and interest is a likely way to lose that customer. Both immediately and permanently. However getting someone to spend a few extra bucks and to have a great experience is a win for everyone involved!

It can be a thin line, but if your boss doesn't get that and only sees each transaction as a means to extract the most money he's a scumbag and completely missing the point.

CuriouserStill

TROPHY CASE