clouds gonna bust and cry down rain

[dragonlady7]

(listening to Mermaid Ave Vol II, and that's a quote from the song "black wind blowin'".)

They totally are. Dave's mom wouldn't let me ride to my bartending class on my bike today, because there are supposed to be thunder and lightning storms, and she thought I'd get struck by lightning. I don't know about that, but I do know I would have gotten soaked twice, so I didn't complain.

Bartending class... I should talk about that a bit.

I'm the old woman. Everyone else in there is under 23. Most of them are 18. There is one other woman who is 29, but she is going to continue the class in the other section, because of time conflicts. So as of tomorrow I'll be the only one my age.
The teacher is a geezer, at 30. He's a teacher now, elementary school phys ed. Bartended 11 years, doesn't really tend bar anymore.

He's fun, an amusing fellow, if a bit caustic. The class is a good group-- most of us really get what's going on, and those who don't are mostly entertaining enough that it's not bad. There are two real ditzes, who just don't get things even when they're clearly explained. The rest are prone to amusing mistakes, but generally know what's going on. There's one 18 year old boy who amusingly forgets things, but he's certainly not dumb, just forgets a lot. He'll remember if he hems and haws for a bit. I like him. The older woman (all of 29, wow) tends to do funny things like accidentally throwing her fake acrylic (non-disposable!) ice cubes into the ice bucket, or getting her shaker stuck together, or finding an ant in her bottle of fake scotch.
The one really annoying one is the chick who never gets what's going on, and then asks dumb irrelevant questions, or asks him something he just said. Also, she's usually back late from any break, and consequently misses something important, and has to ask him to explain it again. That's annoying. The other ditz is a really cute boy who's usually amusingly clueless-- probably helps that he's cute. Fratboy cute, ditzy fratboy cute, but cute.
My partner at my bar station is a former-service Air Force veteran of about 22, who was complaining that he's injured his hand and can't work out so he doesn't know what to do with himself. I'll give you one guess as to whether he's a hunk or not, based on that. Tchyeah. Anyway. Not my type, but easy on the eyes. He's a freshman in college now and is suffocating in chemistry homework on our breaks.

Insofar as the class goes, we've been learning interesting stuff-- now I have tons of ideas for what to order when I next go out. I can never think of anything.

One entire genre of drinks I'd never considered are called "combination drinks"-- they're generally made with either equal parts of two liqueurs, or a 1:3 ratio of a liqueur and a liquor. Example: kamikaze (1 part lime, 1 part triple sec, 2 parts vodka), godfather (1 part amaretto to 3 parts scotch), sicilian kiss (1 part amaretto to 3 parts southern comfort), green dragon (1 part green creme de menthe to 3 parts vodka). These can be made as shots or as rocks drinks, or if you're feeling fancy can be made up (made over ice, strained into a chilled martini glass).

We learned a lot of really good girly drinks yesterday and today-- both things people ask for, and things to make for people who don't know what they want. Lots of them are colorful, like pink squirrels (creme de noya (red almond), creme de cacao, cream) or nuclear iced teas (a long island iced tea variant featuring Midori), many of them are saccharine (like mudslides, which are 1 part baileys, 1 part kahlua, fill with cream), many of them are just plain silly (like Ti-D-Bowl shots, which are 2 parts Sambuca to 1 part blue Curucao, shaken with ice and strained into shot glasses-- bright blue and cloudy from the Sambuca which reacts with ice).

The one downside of the class is that while you get tons of hands-on experience, and get to know the physical movements required to make a good drink, you don't get to taste them, because of course you're not practicing with real liquor. you're practicing with different-colored waters. So there's no real pain involved in throwing them all out (except that it just took you two minutes of effort to make the damn thing), but you can't be certain you're making your martinis right if you can't taste that you put in a whole ounce of vermouth instead of an eighth ounce.

So I should probably get some friends together, round up my equipment, and practice making a few of these drinks for real. Shrug. Anyone want to come out to Buffalo and drink with me? :)

Ah well. I am having fun, though it's quite tiring. I think I'll be a decent bartender because I know what the hell is going on at this point. i certainly know all the brands of liquor, which is a little worrying but not really. I haven't spent much time in bars, but I've spent tons of time in liquor stores. :)

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

After July 29th, I would be a willing guinea pig!!

Danny "Already been defined"-o

[dragonlady7.livejournal.com]

Hey. I thought you were studying, Mr. Definition. What are you doing reading livejournals? ;)

Good luck. That's coming up soon, isn't it? (cue scary soundtrack music)

Hopefully by July 29th, I will be doing the drinkmixing for a living. But I will certainly be willing to continue my practicing by hosting parties at home, because hopefully by then I'll have a home of my own. :) I even have bartending equipment. I just need a big bucket o' ice. :)

So yes, I'll feed you liquor after your bar exam.

[reverend-dave.livejournal.com]

Why are 18 year olds learning bartneding skills? Is any bar going to employ someone who's under 21 themselves?

[dragonlady7.livejournal.com]

Yup.

NY State law: Must be 21 to drink, must be 18 to serve.

Managers and owners don't care how old you are, as long as you're legal to serve. What they care about is whether you're going to make them money. So, you have to be competent, honest, and have good people skills.

I am honest, and have boobs, and that's close enough. :)