Reddit reviews Mr. Boston: Official Bartender's Guide

i tended bar for years and only made one sidecar -- when i was first learning and had to know how to make frau frau drinks. nobody ever ordered a sidecar, but i sure made a lot of pink ladies, brandy alexanders and -- as somebody mentioned above in this thread -- stingers.

i love old fashioneds but, like you, i won't order one unless i know i'm going to get a good drink. for a long time, it was hard to find an orange slice in a bar.

every bar (and i argue every bartender -- and probably anyone who likes a good drink) should own a copy of Mr. Boston: Official Bartender's Guide. ten bucks, such a deal!

Yeah, take this advice with a damn grain of salt...

Light and Dark? WTF?

Nevermind, don't take this advice. Instead buy Mr. Boston's Bartender Guide and read it.

Now, don't be a cheap asshole and download the guide, buy the damn hardcover book and keep it handy...that's what a real man should do!

Right there on page 29 :)

This post came at a perfect time for me: last week my friend and I had a cocktail taste test. We decided to focus on the Aviation.

The point was to make the same cocktail using two different recipes. I have tons of books, but I decided to pit the recipe from from the reference book Mr. Boston Official Bartender's Guide. It is the recipe I've been using to "impress" friends for the last two months. That recipe goes like this:

2 oz. gin

1/2 oz. maraschino liqueur

1/4 oz. lemon juice

1/4 oz. creme de violette

It was good. Refreshing. Unique tart bite. A floral cooling sensation. But it was missing something, it tasted more bitter than I was used to at the bars I went to.

But then I got the Death and Co. book for Christmas, and man is it great. So I decided to use their recipe to go against the one I was using, and it goes like this:

2 oz. Plymouth gin

1/2 oz. Luxardo maraschino liqueur

1/2 teaspoon creme yvette

3/4 oz. lemon juice

1/4 oz simple syrup


This recipe seems very different. And guess what? The Death and Co. recipe was MILES better than the one I was using before. Everything blended together so well! It tasted fantastic. It just goes to show how different measurements and the simple addition of simple syrup go a long way.

I hope to try this test out with different cocktails soon. OP, where did you get your recipe?

Also, I checked the Savoy Cocktail book, and here is there recipe:

1/3 lemon juice

2/3 dry gin

2 dashes maraschino

!!

That's it! No violette anything! Even Esquire doesn't use any creme de violette.

I found a very interesting blog post (from a post in /r/cocktails actually) of the history of the Aviation that is worth a read.

Here are some pics of our lab:
http://imgur.com/a/cvMUV

The point is to play around with the same recipe until you really feel it is outstanding.

EDIT: Shameless plug: https://obedientingredients.wordpress.com/2015/01/14/cocktail-measurements-matter-the-aviation/

Pick up a copy of the Bible of Booze.

Depends,
if your friend has some of this stuff i wouldn't gift a set but individual parts. If your friend has nothing of this its a good start. I started with a similar set.
I don't like the labels on the glas. Doesn't look clean. But it may be helps.
If your friend has some of the stuff go for one quality addition instead of a whole set. For example:

• Friend does have a shaker and a jigger -> Go for a nice quality matt and a nice muddler
  
• Friend has some of this stuff -> go for one quality item like a really cool shaker or jigger (Cool shaker) (cool jigger) (handy jigger) to replace his old standard (set) item
  
• If you dont know what equipment your buddy has go for a book. subreddit sidebar book for beginners. I would pick The Bar Book or Mr. Boston: Official Bartender's Guide ( not on the subreddit list)
  
  Hope this helps

1 - There are bartending schools, but I never went to one, and never worked with a bartender who did. On the job training and experience is the best way to go.

2 - Started at 19 as a "bar back", which is basically a bartenders assistant. You refill ice, stock beer and glasses, etc. Not glamorous but it gets your foot in the door.

3 - Your tips largely depend on where you work. If you're in a decent sized town with a college, you can usually do pretty well. I tended bar in Charleston, SC for a good while, at a pretty popular restaurant/raw bar downtown, so it was fairly easy to pull down $300 a night. I was earning $10 an hour on top of that.

4 - The best thing outside of the money, in my opinion, was how fun it was. I was pretty shy when I started my food and bev career, and this helped me overcome a lot of anxiety. Worst part was difficult customers. Waiting tables, you just get your manager to handle an asshole. Tending bar, the asshole is often drunk, and you are usually on your own to handle it (sometimes you have another bar tender to help, but you really don't want it to even come to that). Fights are more prone to happen when people are drunk. It ruins the atmosphere for everyone, and can cost you money.

5 - My best advice is to start with waiting tables (if you already haven't). If you are looking to be a bartender at a bar (as opposed to a restaurant with a bar), then you'll probably have to start as a bar back if you have any kind of food and bev experience. In my experience, restaurants prefer to hire from within for bartenders, by promoting a server to that job. They usually only hire bartenders from the outside when they have tons of experience. Bars are the same way. Without experience, it's hard to get the job.

It's a very rewarding and fun way to make good money. So if you have an interest, I say go for it. I can't really give to much advice on how to get into it, because I don't know what your experience level is. If you have none, then hit up some local restaurants and try to get a bar back position. It's a pretty easy job, and if you pay attention and ask questions, you can learn a lot, while building a rapport with the customers and other bartenders. That'll come in handy when a bartender calls out sick and you get the chance to fill in.

Anyway, good luck.

Edit - Oh yeah, another pain in the ass is learning when to cut someone off. It's tricky, because you want that tip money, but you don't want to send a customer out on the road when they can barely walk.

Double edit - You should also pick up a copy of Mr Boston: Official Bartenders Guide.