Cheers for the weekend!

Here are a few good cheers for All Hallowed Eve aka Halloween! I hope you all find a great party to celebrate the occasion. For women it has become a excuse to go out dressed like a naughty nurse, dirty cop, sexy gangster or just a straight up hooker. For men it is a chance to drink and watch the free show!

"As spirits roam the neighborhoods at night, Let loose upon the earth till it be light..." - Nicholas Gordon

"Eat, drink and be scary!"

"Halloween wraps fear and innocence, as though it were a slightly sour sweet. Let terror, then, be turned into a treat. " - Nicholas Gordon

"Nothing on earth is so beautiful as the final haul on Halloween night!" - Steve Almond

"Tis now the very witching time of night, when churchyards yawn and very hell itself breathes out contagion to this world." - William Shakespeare

A Winning Halloween Party Formula

I have done a good amount of party planning in my past. Halloween has to be among my favorite holidays. There is so much that you can do with this day and the weekends leading up to it, not only things to do behind the bar but also around it to make a successful party. My biggest tip is to have a lot to do! Maybe this is my ADHD talking here but I love a party that is more like a festival atmosphere. Just all sorts of different things to do in every corner. Depending on the space you have to deal with with determine just how many things you can have going on.So here are a list of tips to creating a great Halloween party.

1) Pumpkin Carving: Now you don't want to have people having cocktails and using carving instruments. Have people bring their own pumpkins and have a contest for best pumpkin. It is not only a attraction for your guests to talk about, but also a way to decorate your party. Have slips of paper for guests to vote on best pumpkin and a few other categories.

2) Party games: Halloween has a few games associated with the holiday. Bobbing for apples, and musical chairs are always fun even for adults. a couple breaks in the regular music to play a game or two is a good way to keep the night rolling and get more people involved. You can do a Halloween theme to musical chairs by using "Monster Mash" as your song of choice.

3) Music: If you don't have a band or a DJ to spin tunes then go to www.playlist.com and pick your own play list of music or just go to the bottom of this page and hit the play button on the play list there. A good assortment of music will have people shaking there ass and dancing is always a great way to keep the party going.

4) Attractions: I like having a lot to do. So set up different booths in the corners of your space. Invite local businesses to help you with this. For Halloween I would find a tarot card reader or maybe a palm reader, a henna tattoo artist and a person doing mini manicures. Use your imagination and bring in more. The more there is to do the more people you will appeal to. If these people are brought from outside businesses then arrange a deal where they can charge the guests partaking a small fee and may hand out advertisements (fliers, coupons, etc...)
5) Lights: I tried a little experiment once. I threw a party and there were 2 rooms both rooms had the same things going on. However one room was well lit and the other was dimly lit. The well lit room was completely vacant till I went and turned down the lights. Suddenly that room was full too. If you don't have any dim lighting then invest in Christmas style string lights. Spread these all over the room and this should give you the effect you need. Lesson learned, keep the lights low and the music up! This is a party after all!

6) Prizes: Another contest here is best costume. Yes , this is a no-brainer but have something worth winning and make this part of the invitations. For a great prize reach out to local businesses again and ask for donations. A gift certificate to a restaurant, a small gift basket or a free night at a hotel are usually pretty easy to find.

7) Drinks: Of course this will play a part in the night. Have drink specials that have that spooky feel. Another thing you can do is punch up your ice cubes a bit by making a few treys of "worm and eyeball eyes cubes" to use as a garnish. Simmple to do just add gummy worms and peeled grapes to ice cubes or even better to cranberry ice cubes. The following are a few good spooky drinks:

7 Deadly Sins
1/2 oz. - vodka
1/2 oz. - gin
1/2 oz. - tequila
1/2 oz. - light rum
1/2 oz. - dark rum
1/2 oz. - dry vermouth
1/2 oz. - sweet vermouth
2 tbsp. - grenadine
1 tsp. - lemon or lime juice
Cola
Collins glass, pour over ice, fill with cola, stir. Add 7 cherries.

Fake Blood
1 oz. - bourbon
1/2 oz. - lime juice
Tomato juice
1 tsp. - Tequila
Collins glass, pour over ice, fill with tomato juice, stir. Add tequila

The Espresso and Cappuccino Martini

Rise and shine sleepy-head!... Well this is not really meant to be drank in the waking hours however today I am having a bit of trouble waking up to face the new sunrise. So in respect to this I decided to present the Espresso and the cappuccino martinis. This is a great pick-me-up drink if you are looking for that second wind after dinner to head out dancing for the night. So wipe the sleep out of your eyes and get a good stretch and have a great day!

Espresso Martini
2 parts Vanilla Vodka
1 part Coffee Liqueur
1 shot of espresso coffee
Shake and strain
top with 3 espresso beans for good luck!



Cappuccino Martini
1 oz Vanilla Vodka
1 oz Coffee Liqueur
1/2 oz Irish Creme
1/2 oz half and half
1 shot Espresso
Shake and strain

Irish Cheers!

For some odd reason I am feeling a bit of longing for St. Patrick's Day. I am even wearing my "Luck of the Irish" cap. So to keep in this spirit here are a few good Irish drinking toasts to keep you in the mood! - Erin go bra.

"May your Guardian Angel be at your side to pick ya up off the floor
and hand ya another cold stout from the store."

May the winds of fortune sail you,
May you sail a gentle sea.
May it always be the other guy
who says, "this drink's on me."

Health and a long life to you.
Land without rent to you.
A child every year to you.
And if you can't go to heaven,
May you at least die in Ireland.

When we drink, we get drunk.
When we get drunk, we fall asleep.
When we fall asleep, we commit no sin.
When we commit no sin, we go to heaven.
So, let's all get drunk, and go to heaven!

Tips to setting up a home bar on a budget.

The holidays are on the way and lots of home parties with friends and family come along with it. With the economy not being what it was and all the expenses of the holidays too I figure more than a few people would like to know how to set up a home bar without the big cost.

Our categories are pretty simple. You will want vodka and flavored vodka, gin, tequila, rum, scotch, whiskey, bourbon, schnapps and a few other liquors and cordials to round out the spirits. Keep in mind you won't have everything but at the same time you will have a very nice assortment to make many of the drinks I post on this blog as well as the basic favorites.

First up is vodka. A good tip here is that if you buy a cheaper vodka try running it a few times through a coffee filter. The more times you can do this the better the vodka becomes. The major difference between cheap vodka and expensive stuff is the impurities. Even better if you have a water filter like a Brita filter use that to do the job. Depending on your guest list you might want to have a better bottle on hand as well. Stolichnaya and Absolute are both moderately priced for those more sophisticated vodka drinkers. Flavored vodka has become big in the recent past and I use many of these in my martini's. A few flavors I would have on hand would be raspberry, vanilla, citron, and chocolate. Between these 3 you can make a good number of flavored martinis.

Now these 3 will really depend on the crowd you are expecting. For scotch I would go with a Dewar's or Cutty Sark however if you have a younger crowd you can probably get away with not having a scotch at all. Scotch is usually a drink enjoyed by the older demographic and really an acquired taste. For whiskey drinks like whiskey sours, Manhattans, and Singapore Slings I would see what it on sale in the "blended whiskey" section. Now even though it isn't whiskey or bourbon a bottle of Jack Daniels and Southern Comfort should both be invited to the party. When it comes to bourbon there are a few choices here. Wild Turkey 101 or Jim Beam are the more common choices.

Gin is pretty simple. Again take into consideration your guest list. If you have a few serious gin drinkers then a bottle of Tanguaray or Beefeater is a good bet. If you don't have any of these people attending and will be using the gin mostly for mixing with other spirits then check the bottom shelf at the liquor store.

Next up is rum. There are many kinds of rum and much like vodka now there are more than a few flavors. My suggestion is a light, dark, coconut and spiced rum. Bacardi is pretty well priced but there are many other good options. Meyers is the most common dark rum. Malibu is the most common however there are several lesser name brands that are just as good substitutes. In my experiences it is rare someone asks for a certain rum by name. So the cheaper stuff should fit the bill and be easier on your wallet.

Tequila is a pretty easy one to have on hand. Jose Cuervo is the biggest name in the business and Tequila can be expensive. Patron silver can run you a cool $55 and you don't want to be doling this out to people who could care less about the difference. Again here is where you must know your crowd. If you don't have serious tequila drinkers or just a bunch of young people who want to do tequila shots and care less about the flavor then I would go with a bottle of simple white tequila. There are many types of tequila and I am not trying to under sell or understate all the great agave nectar out there, but keep in mind we are trying to keep this on the less expensive side.

Alright now we need our schnapps. There are many different flavors out there so if you have a tropical theme to your party I would steer you towards banana, melon and strawberry. However baring a theme such as this I would have the following flavors on hand: melon, chocolate, cinnamon, apple, peach, butterscotch, creme de menthe and Razzmatazz. Triple Sec (an orange schnapps) is a must as well. Schnapps come in pretty much all one size and are for the most part fairly inexpensive. Look for coupons in this isle that are redeemable at the time of purchase.

Cordials and other essential ingredients to your bar are here. In this section I would have an Irish creme. Bailey's is the most common here but there are more than a few options that will work just fine. Chambord is a raspberry liqueur that is also a staple of a good bar, but if push comes to shove you could get away with Razzmatazz. A coffee liqueur such as Kalhua, Lemonchello (clear) and amaretto round out the list of alcohol.

So here is the list for the liquor/ package store... (* = type depends of crowd expectation.)
Vodka: *Non-flavored vodka, vanilla, citron, chocolate and raspberry.
Gin: * Possibly Tanguaray or Beefeater
Rum: Light, dark and coconut rum
Scotch (maybe omitted depending on crowd)
Blended whiskey,
bourbon, Southern Comfort
Jack Daniels
Tequila: white tequila, possibly another gold tequila depending on the crowd.
Schnapps: Triple Sec. melon, chocolate, cinnamon, sour apple, peach, butterscotch, creme de menthe and Razzmatazz.
Cordials, etc.: Irish creme, coffee liqueur, Chambord, amaretto, and Lemonchello

Now for all the other ingredients of the non-alcoholic nature...
Juices: Orange, Pineapple, cranberry, and grapefruit
Soda: Coke, Diet Coke, Tonic water, club soda and ginger ale
Fruit: Limes, lemon, orange, and cherries
Condiments: Concentrated coffee, olives in the juice, and sour mix

And now the equipment: a blender, bar spoon, a strainer and tin with strainer.

Now some final tips to keeping the bill to a dull roar:
1) When at the liquor store keep in mind the higher price spirits are on the shelves at or above eye level. So when looking for the less expensive look lower.
2) Keep an eye out for coupons redeemable at checkout. Many companies like to entice you with mail in rebates because so few people end up sending them in.
3) Whenever you can go with the lower end spirits. In the bar business we call this "well liquor."
4) Buy pint bottles for things you will not use much of.
5) plastic bottles are always less expensive than glass.

Alright now you are armed with enough knowledge to create a great little home bar. Cheers!

October Cocktails

This week the only real inspiration I am finding is that it is October. Haloween in around the corner and so here are a couple good cocktails for the months namesake.

Red October
2 oz - Gold Rum
1 oz - Light rum
3 oz - Arbor Mist Passion Wine
2 oz - Cranberry juice
Serve over Ice

October Revolution
2 oz - Vodka
2 oz - Amaretto
5 oz - Chocolate Milk

Shake over ice and strain into a Martini glass

and then there is this shot as we approach Halloween...

The Brain Hemorrhage Shot
1 oz - Peach Schnapps
2 tblspn - Bailey's (float this)
A few drops of Grenadine on top for good measure.

This weeks cheer!

May you be in heaven fifteen minutes before the devil knows you are dead.

Just Plain Funny

I realize this has nothing to do with bartending or the bar world however it is just plain funny and I needed to share it. Seeing as this blog is mine, here it is.
I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can
think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell
my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves
me.

-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you
realize you're wrong.

-I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to
have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and
sticks when they've invented the lighter?

-Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're
going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to
be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the
direction from which you came, you have to first do something like
check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to
yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're
crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

-That's enough, Nickelback.

-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

-Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know"
feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose
not to be friends with?

-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't
work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically
fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all
know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards
or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

-There is a great need for sarcasm font.

-Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and
suddenly realize I had no idea what the f was going on when I first
saw it.

-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually
becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting
90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's
laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little
bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the
only one who really, really gets it.

-How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than
take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

- I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear
your computer history if you die.

-The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to
finish a text.

- A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the
spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

- LOL has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

- I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

- Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron
test is absolutely petrifying.

- Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart",
all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod
and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

- I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up
to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in'
examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete
idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and
said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

-What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

- While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and
instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I
know how to get out of my neighborhood.

- Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the
person died.

- I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the
shower first and THEN turn on the water.

-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty,
and you can wear them forever.


-I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

- Bad decisions make good stories

-Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their
profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got
the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if
I do!

- Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?

-If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring
would probably just be completely invisible.

-Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go
around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly
nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be
a problem....

-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work
when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything
productive for the rest of the day.

-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't
want to have to restart my collection.

-There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are
going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me
if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I
swear I did not make any changes to.

- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

-I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people
watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will
they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't
watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and
leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'

-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?
Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and
goes to voicemail. What did you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone
and run away?

- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not
seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

-When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she
hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light
internet stalking.

-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle,
then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

-Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising
speed for pedophiles...

- As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers,
but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

-Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still
not know what time it is.

-It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

-I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to
answer when they call.

-Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.

-Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car
keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the
Donkey - but I’d bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze
button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time
every time...

-My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would
happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?

-It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and
the link takes me to a video instead of text.

-I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they
drive behind obeys the speed limit.

-I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

-I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or
Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

Blood & Sand

Every so often a customer will come into my bar and tell me about a drink I do not already know. I have never claimed nor will I claim to know them all. The reason I tell you this is if anything as to not take the credit for this particular cocktail. They where a married couple who where both former Air Force Officers. They were a lot of fun and they had a lot of great stories from their adventures in booze-ology. Including telling me quite a bit about the Makers Mark distillery. Even better they left me a generous tip, and gave me a cocktail called Blood and Sand for that I will dedicate this post to them (they know who they are... I hope.)



Blood & Sand
1 part - Scotch Whiskey
1 part - Sweet Vermouth
1 part - Cherry Brandy (or Cherry Ciafa)
1 part - Orange Juice
2 dashes - Lemon bitters
Shake over ice and strain into a martini glass
Garnish with a flat slice of orange peel
Twist for oils and rub rim before dropping in the glass
Drop in 1 cherry
Dash with bitters

Tapping into Twain Oktoberfest and Hartford, CT

This past weekend Hartford, CT was the scene for the "Tapping into Twain Oktoberfest. The deal is a great one. $40 gets you all the beer you can drink, all the food you can eat and live music. The beer was the star of the night with over 20 breweries and 80 different craft beers from local New England breweries ranging from Long Trail Brewery in Vermont to local City Steam brew pub in Hartford just down the street from the event.

Now I will have to say this first. There is a definite difference between a beer guy and a beer snob. No one likes a snob. My first beer of the night was a Toasted Blonde a great beer. Seriously good stuff and I would have gladly tried more of his craft brews if it weren't for this simple fact that Jeff Browning, The Head Brewer at The Bru Rm Bar in New Haven, CT seriously needs to get bent. Get back to being a beer guy. A guy who can carry on a normal conversation with the average beer drinker. You would think we were completely wasting this guys time and energy in telling him he had a good beer. No one and I mean no one likes a snob! Dude it's a beer not a cure for cancer you self important ass.


Okay now with that said the rest of the brewers where just what I said before, "Beer Guys." They where all very happy to tell you about their brews and what you should be tasting and even a bit about how they crafted the beer. One of the all stars of the show was Brett at The Red Hook Breweries. Seriously the guy was just a normal man's man who just loved his craft and it showed. No pretentious undertones, just a cool brew guy. He even brought out a special beer from his personal stock to show me. This was a coffee Porter that had some serious flavor. Brett was gracious enough to share a good taste of this along with a website www.GreatBrewers.com. I would tell you what Brett had to say about this site but to be honest after a night full of drinking over 80 different kids of beer I was already half in the bag and couldn't really remember much about it. Bottom line go take a look for yourself if you want to know more, or maybe I will take a peek at it and get back to you. Aside from the Coffee brew he also had a Barrel Aged Brrrbonb Beer and a Prickly Pear brew as well as many others. Brett also had a hand in a few other breweries being represented this evening. The Blue Point Brewing Company was among them with a Pumpkin and Blueberry Ale that where both tasty beers as well.

Other honorable mentions where, The Olde Burnside Brewing Company brought their local Ten Penny Ale voted a local favorite. Thomas Hooker Beer Company had a amazing Octoberfest and Irish Red on hand. The John Harvard House brought a few sweet brews as well. These where just to name a few.

The best eye candy went to Harmony from Narragansett and The Willimantic Brewing Company who also sported a Six Shooter Stout. Please drink Narragansett so Harmony is back next year! Then again there where lots of co-eds from some of the local colleges as well to look at also. To paraphrase Matthew McConaughey playing the part of Wooderson in the movie Dazed and Confused. The great thing about college chicks is no matter how old you get they stay the same age... But I digress.



There was a good amount of good food as well. Most events like these sport snack type food and small portions. Not so here with area restaurants chipping like full on Burgers with all the fixings from Catsup & Mustard and other dishes from local eateries like Shepard pie, sausage and saurkraut, sushi, baked goods and sliders. There was no skimping on the food here.

Even the band of the night Acoustic Smack Down was laying it down incorporating instruments like the jug, the washboard, and the spoons to play classic rock favorites.

Now for the strategy I should have employed: 1) Pace Yourself! 2) Go for the lighter beers first.The heavier beers should be left for later in the night to keep from filling up to fast. 3) The hot dishes like the Shepard's pie and burgers should go with the lighter beer to have something good in your stomach for later but not too much of it. 4) Pace yourself! 5) Understand as the night goes on the servings of beer go from a taste to a full glass. The vendors do not want to be stuck lugging all this beer back with them 6) Stick around till the bitter end and find a brewery that brought a lot of product you like. You can ask the brewer if you can have the extras or they just leave them there for you to take home. 7) Pace yourself! 8) Do have a DD or a way to get home or where ever you are going next. The police are out there and aware there is a brewfest going on. 9) Whatever you do, don't switch to vodka when you hit the bars in Hartford after the festival. Trust me do not switch to vodka! (I may have been in violation of this one and paid for it dearly the next morning.) 10)Lastly, pace yourself!

This was a great event. Be sure to check it out next year. Beer, food and music at a low price is always a winning combination and this Oktoberfest was no exception. A great time!

Drink Specials for the Fall Season

So the leaves up here in New England are starting to change and the air has that crisp feeling while the sun still keeps us warm in the day. It won't be long till all the highways and byways around here will be covered with New York and Canadian leaf peepers. So to celebrate fall here are my drink specials for the weekend.

Candy Corn Martini
1/2 oz - Vanilla Vodka
1/2 oz - Orange Vodka
1/2 oz - Creme de Cocoa
1/2 oz - Butterscotch Schnapps
1 oz - Orange juice
Rim the martini glass w/ OJ & cocoa powder Shake all inexpedience & strain
Garnish with a piece of candy corn at the bottom of glass

Pumpkin Pie Martini
1 oz - Vanilla Vodka
1/2 oz - Creme de Cocoa
2 Tablespoons - Pumpkin Puree
Splash - Milk
Shake all and strain
Rim Martini with Honey and Graham Cracker crumbs Garnish with a dash of Pumpkin Spice or Nutmeg



Apple Pie Martini
3 oz - Vanilla Vodka
1 oz - Brandy
Splash of Dry Vermouth
Rim the glass w/ Cinnamon Sugar Garnish w/ a apple slice