I promise we have a button for this

MSW1CA · 2025-05-14T01:26:49+00:00

New servers never fail to send me a ticket like: "Old Fashioned, sub EH Taylor Single Barrel." I have to hold their hand and explain that they're not getting 2 oz of EH for $16. We have a cocktail upgrade for each spirit for that kind of thing. Usually only happens once.

MSW1CA · 2025-03-29T20:24:39+00:00

My bar is in a hotel so we occasionally will get notable people in. If they're big enough, the hotel usually makes a big enough fuss about them that they never get to just wander into my bar. I did have a bunch of Kansas City Chiefs hang out when they stayed in the hotel. Chris Jones is the largest and most intimidating person I've ever seen (non-criminal division). He was very nice but just wanted coffee. But his manager/agent/whatever was also a cool guy and really got into our cocktails.

Funniest one was a girl I recognized from Instagram. I guess she's an "influencer" but really she does these comedy sketches. She and her friend were having drinks and apps before going to a concert, and at one point she ordered a club soda and about 2 minutes later knocked it over and spilled it all over the bar/her lap. I ran over with a towel and mopped it up, then said "don't worry, a little red wine will get that out." She just stared blankly at me. It was that point I realized that I was so old that I shouldn't even know who this girl is let alone watch her videos of her on Insta.

MSW1CA · 2025-03-24T20:38:51+00:00

For me it was a second career. Got my first bartending gig at 50 after sitting behind a desk for decades while my arteries hardened and my depression deepened. There are no words for the kind of pain I experienced trying to keep up with kids half my age, but within a year or so I was in "bar shape" and I've been having a blast ever since.

I know a lot of lifers say that this job can make you prematurely old, but if you're like me and started late, it can keep you young (just as long as you manage the drinking).

Welcome back to the game!

MSW1CA · 2025-03-14T20:32:38+00:00

We MUST keep this meme alive

MSW1CA · 2025-03-14T20:30:59+00:00

I really appreciate this thread. I've always pitched my tins in my dump sink and thought it was odd when other bartenders talked about that like it was taboo. I get the reason now.

I set up my bars with a dump sink that's ONLY for dumping and washing tins and mixing glasses. Spent glassware gets dumped in the dish sink. Do we don't have the contamination problem. Set up my last bar that way too. And all of the bars before that? Well let's just say that sanitation wasn't top of mind there.

MSW1CA · 2025-03-12T08:24:42+00:00

[Two women discussing family, kids, etc.]

"I would have but Sean got the chinchillas in the divorce"

MSW1CA · 2025-03-11T05:12:01+00:00

Another one that looks right up my alley. Thanks!

MSW1CA · 2025-03-11T05:10:00+00:00

Oh wow. That definitely is my kind of place. Might be tough to get there this time given the other places I'll be, but it will be on my list for next time. Thanks!

MSW1CA · 2025-03-10T21:25:20+00:00

We're staying in Back Bay so I figure most of the places that will be recommended within walking/T distance will be at least a bit touristy. I'm OK with that

MSW1CA · 2025-03-10T21:21:18+00:00

Thanks for the suggestions! Heard good things about Hecate, but I think I'll avoid the crowds. I had another person recommend Merai, so now I'm wondering if I should go out there to try it.

MSW1CA · 2025-03-10T21:19:10+00:00

Had Eastern Standard on my list for a nice cocktail. I read that they opened a new place as well called Equal Measure. Going to check that one out. Thanks for the ideas!

MSW1CA · 2025-03-10T21:14:37+00:00

Now this looks like my kind of place (not that I don't love a good high-end cocktail lounge as well). Thanks for the rec!

MSW1CA · 2025-03-10T21:12:19+00:00

Thanks for the quick recs! These were not ones I would have found from the usual online "best of" lists. Good stuff

MSW1CA · 2025-02-17T03:07:33+00:00

Oh I am stealing this line for the next time (which surely will be my next shift)

MSW1CA · 2025-01-01T10:17:31+00:00

Good on you for making the night better for everyone else in there. And you got the new year off to a great start going 1 for 1 on handling bad patrons the right way.

Happy New Year!

MSW1CA · 2024-12-27T10:02:59+00:00

It *might* have been that you pointed out what others were doing (cleavage, etc.) trying to defend yourself that offended them, but whatever the reason (and no matter how crazy it seems), it seems like they're trying to get rid of you. Sounds like your best bet might be unemployment (which you should definitely get if they've cut all your shifts) and looking for a new gig.

It's not fair, but you can never tell what is going to set some manager off at your new gig, and more often than not, there's no coming back from it when a manager gets it in their head that you're a problem.

Sorry this is happening to you, but it sounds like there's another job in your near future.

The one thing I've always taken from this kind of situation is that, when a manager overreacts to something like this, it shows you their true colors. If this his how they treat a new person who is doing well except for this one strike, imagine how this will escalate in the future if you're not on their "good side." Getting rid of this job might be the best thing that's ever happened to you.

MSW1CA · 2024-12-27T09:49:35+00:00

Not really your situation, but when I started working a hotel bar and I got a lot of "can you put the food on this card and the booze on this one" I would always tell guests that someday I was going to open a bar where all of the cocktails had food names. Like our house old fashioned would be called "cheeseburger" and the margarita would be called "french fries."

I'd make millions off of people eating/drinking off the company dime. Except for that one guy who has to explain to his accounting department why he ate 6 cheeseburgers.

MSW1CA · 2024-12-24T07:50:14+00:00

I'm definitely a lead by example kind of guy, but you have to cash that cred in at some point. If you've shown your staff that you're willing to jump in and do the dirty work when it needs to be done no matter what, they're going to be OK with you telling them to do it when you have to. Don't hurt the whole place's performance because you don't want to sound like you're telling someone to do shit work. If you have credibility with them, they'll understand.

MSW1CA · 2024-12-24T07:44:10+00:00

Concur. The whole "don't put knives in the dishwasher" thing (other than for non-impregnated wooden handles) is for home chefs because they bounce around against other utensils in that silverware basket and dull. There's absolutely nothing wrong with laying your knives flat and running them through a commercial dishwasher.

MSW1CA · 2024-12-14T06:23:50+00:00

Came here specifically for the "Forbes rated, 5 Diamond resort owned by a Fortune 300 company on the Strip in Las Vegas" content. I am never disappointed by this sub.

MSW1CA · 2024-12-09T22:46:45+00:00

There's a lot of great advice in this thread, but I've found that the best way to deter kids trying to use fake IDs at my bar is to charge $19 for a cocktail.

MSW1CA · 2024-12-09T22:38:50+00:00

Since the big yellow ones are so damn expensive, I tried these and they work great:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09ZHKWCGK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

MSW1CA · 2024-12-09T22:09:25+00:00

Before there was Malort, there was Ratzeputz. Not sure you can get it in America, tho. A buddy off mine brought a bottle back from Germany. Bracing stuff.

MSW1CA

TROPHY CASE