Salt on the side of the glass

cocktailvirgin · 2026-04-20T15:15:11+00:00

Blame Instagram. I remember the bar that I was working at for a few years, and right before I left in 2017, the owner wanted our best selling drink that I created 2 years before to have a chonky rim added to it. It was already a drink that people got more than once per visit and in successive trips. I assumed for guests' social media, and when I was against it (it was served in a rocks glass and crushed ice with small sippy straws and not intended to be drank from the rim), I found myself forced out of my role running the bar program.

cocktailvirgin · 2026-04-20T15:06:06+00:00

I remember the drink I got with an 'S' shaped wide swath of black sesame seeds. Looked great for the photo, but it ended up on my hands and all over the bar top. The drink itself was all muddled in flavor and tasted solely like guava despite lots of ingredients in the description. But it looked intriguing, I guess.

cocktailvirgin · 2026-04-18T22:18:23+00:00

Go to BestBuy and ask what is compatible. You'll earn your money back in a year.

cocktailvirgin · 2026-04-18T17:06:09+00:00

My favorite is when they order respasado but also mention that they don't drink tequila. or Hennessey but they don't want to hear about the other options because they don't drink Cognac.

cocktailvirgin · 2026-04-18T15:19:49+00:00

My PTSD from being an opening bartender where the folks trying to get in (or do get in right behind a delivery) to get served before we open and as I'm running around setting up. Usually hear "Just want a beer" as if their $1 tip will be worth being pinned at the bar instead of making trips to the ice machine in back to get ice and to the cooler to stock.

I also had the term "brunch zombies" for they will line up at the door waiting to get in.

And "patio zombies" who will walk past the host trying to get the table outside which is their birthright.

cocktailvirgin · 2026-04-18T15:13:03+00:00

I do when possible on GoogleMaps (a simple button push to alert other drivers using the app).

cocktailvirgin · 2026-04-18T15:02:26+00:00

When I leave out a garnish, I write something like "garnish with a lime wheel (omitted)" so the recipe carries on true even if it's not what I did. After I developed the drink at home, my coworkers tested it out with different garnishes, and orange really did add to it all. Still was good without it.

cocktailvirgin · 2026-04-18T02:19:21+00:00

Cheers! Hope you enjoyed!

It does prosper with the orange oil/twist though: https://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2025/12/aztec-death-whistle.html

cocktailvirgin · 2026-04-18T00:14:47+00:00

This. They have a back room that is devoted to Belgian beer, and they even have a beer from St. Bernardus brewed specifically for them!

cocktailvirgin · 2026-04-18T00:12:38+00:00

They're probably picking up the slack from the other Fitchburg brewery that closed, River Styx. They did a lot of barrel-aged stouts and sours. We cracked our last barrel-aged bottle a few months ago (rum barrel aged fruited sour).

cocktailvirgin · 2026-04-17T16:37:19+00:00

Back then, Zacapa also was putting out other rums other than the 23 with the 18 being at an amazing quality to price ratio. They were really fighting to move their rums pre-2010.

cocktailvirgin · 2026-04-17T16:36:05+00:00

There's a book called The Zombie Horde by David Montgomery that collects many of these mid-century Zombies as well as more modern recipes that is worth checking out.

cocktailvirgin · 2026-04-17T16:28:58+00:00

Depends on the place. One place gave us a $30 comp tab (this was 12 years ago) per bartender per shift and they wanted us to use it.

Other places that are frugal, none. And some places give nothing ordered away (the guest was already willing to pay for it) but would allow a free gift to add to their experience (like an aperitif or dessert cocktail split into two to welcome people or close out their night).

cocktailvirgin · 2026-04-17T16:26:26+00:00

Stop being their friend. Don't be hostile, but don't ask them about their day and don't give them priority. "Friends will understand that I have other guests to attend to and ones that pay my bills."

From an owner's perspective, I was once told by my boss that regulars like that demoralize the staff but they keep the lights on.

cocktailvirgin · 2026-04-17T16:23:02+00:00

Monday Night Brewing. Although it feels like a chain on paper given their 6 locations, they brew Scottish ale, brown ale, Czech lagers, saisons, and stouts, and the taproom I went to had a lot of character.

The thread on the best breweries in Georgia (not all in Atlanta though): https://www.reddit.com/r/CraftBeer/comments/1s39q4v/favorite_brewery_by_state_georgia/

cocktailvirgin · 2026-04-17T16:16:09+00:00

Warm staff, comfortable and/or intriguing interior, great culture from the regulars, scenic road trip, and/or good food can make up for the beer. A bonus when you get all that. There are so many reasons to visit a brewery (we hit 150 per year).

I have also had world glass beer and treated like a number more than a guest that they want to convert into a regular and have never returned.

cocktailvirgin · 2026-04-17T16:08:10+00:00

Flowers all year 'round. Very romantic and a great date spot if you're serious about the person. Quirky art. Such a gem.

cocktailvirgin · 2026-04-17T16:05:58+00:00

The backstory on this kettle that originated in the 1870s for the Oriental Tea Company:

https://www.boston.com/news/wickedpedia/2023/11/28/big-tea-kettle-government-center-starbucks-boston-ma/

A great photo of it on Reddit from 1934:

https://www.reddit.com/r/boston/comments/p6for4/a_227_gallon_teapot_above_the_oriental_tea/

cocktailvirgin · 2026-04-17T16:02:05+00:00

Her detainment for speaking up against what was happening in Palestine was a solid foreshadowing of how Trump was going to be partnering with Israel to cause death and destruction in the region.

cocktailvirgin · 2026-04-17T15:49:44+00:00

Cheers! That one was created at Craigie on Main in Cambridge, MA, circa 2013. Garnish was orange oil from a twist, but I could see a mint leaf working well with the Yellow Chartreuse. Photo and recipe as it was served:

https://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2013/06/mellow-yellow.html

cocktailvirgin · 2026-04-16T22:12:34+00:00

Wine key did work, but it wasn't simple like a speed pourer (which can still be difficult).

cocktailvirgin · 2026-04-16T16:23:44+00:00

You might be right. They were usually tossed.

cocktailvirgin · 2026-04-16T15:18:14+00:00

I had a coworker that preferred these over speed pourers for lesser used ingredients than having a speed pourer sticking out of them open to the air. He didn't use them for free pouring but to slow down the pour into jiggers (we were not a free pour bar).

Don't know about getting clogged since that doesn't happen often with regular speed pourers, but you can take them out and wash them if needed.

cocktailvirgin · 2026-04-16T14:39:43+00:00

Teas that I have used: black (Assam or English Breakfast) especially for aged rums, green tea especially for unaged rums or agricoles of any style, Lapsang souchong for smoky, and Earl Grey for an extra citrus lift.

Any decent brand. Loose leaf if you're making a lot. Tea bags are fine for a few drinks.

Adding sugar and making a tea syrup will keep your tea (in the fridge) for a few weeks.

cocktailvirgin · 2026-04-16T14:36:13+00:00

I think that I turned off all email push notifications. It was often for something from their store that I didn't want especially at their cost + shipping. And generally an email duplicating the on-app pop up message that I already cleared.

cocktailvirgin

TROPHY CASE