As a bartending enthusiast

I think I realized at some point this year that I'm more of a bartending enthusiast than I am cocktail enthusiast. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy drinking a good drink, but I think I like the making of beverages more. This is especially true as I find myself moderating compared to, say, the pandemic days. We hosted a baby shower for a friend in February, and then had a Big Summer Blowout, and in both cases I really enjoyed making drinks for people. I even made a little progress as far as garnishes go.

Renovating the home bar last year I think was a turning point. Prior to that, we had a few bottles of things to make our favorites that we learned on cruise ships, but as I developed a drink menu, I wanted to have more room and make it genuinely functional. With all of those mixology classes on cruises, the spectrum of things that were interesting to me kept getting bigger. The base spirits, mostly rum, vodka, tequila, gin and some kind of whisky, are easy enough, but there are so many liqueurs that make drinks cocktails. I remember one bartender pointing out that you can make almost anything better with St. Germaine, an elderflower infused liqueur, or Chambord, which has a black raspberry flavor. But you also probably need some kind of orange stuff, I use Solerno instead of Cointreau, certain schnapps, Midori, Licor 43, Frangelico, Disaronno, coffee rum, an Irish creme, and of course, we use a lot of flavored rums from Wicked Dolphin. Oh, other add-ons like vermouth, passion fruit stuff, and don't forget Filthy Cherries.

The hard part is that if you want to be able to make all of this stuff when someone randomly visits, you need to stock a lot of backups. Basically everything starts at $25 for a 750ml bottle (rum and schnapps usually less). It gets kind of expensive, and when I look at what we've spent this year, admittedly a lot of it going toward those two big parties, ouch. It's an expensive hobby.

But it's so satisfying to hear people say that they enjoy something you made. It's simpler than cooking or baking, sure, but there really is a sweet spot in how you mix stuff. Too often what you get it too sweet or too boozy. In good bars, it's fine, they want your feedback and they'll remake something if you don't like it. They want that feedback. But most restaurants and lessor places, not so much. It's why I don't get a lot of drinks outside of my home or on cruises. Making drinks for people is more intimate than cooking in a commercial setting, because the person doing the thing is right in front of you.

My next opportunity to serve will be when my Seattle family is in town, and I look forward to that. And to my local friends, the bar is open for you!