Hey Bartender Page #8

fresh from the ground.

From that area.

It can only be better than

something harvested

You want your bar to really

express how much you care

about ingredients.

How much you care about flavor.

I can think of so many places

in San Francisco and

New York that do it.

But I'm seeing it

all over the country.

It's a really amazing feeling...

to see what the people who

have come through my doors

have gone on to do.

You know, you can go and taste

all these different lineages.

And so you gout this kind of

pyramid effect and it just

spreads, spreads, spreads

like moss up on the ground.

I just like really think it's

the best time of the century

to be behind the stick working.

So it's incredible.

America's getting it's

palette back.

And there's just so

much opportunity.

There's kind-of a bigger,

broader industry now.

There's so much training going on.

There's competitions.

And everybody now gets the

ability to go and check out

what other people are doing.

What we're consciously doing in

these craft cocktail lounges

is serving spirits in such

a way that-that

it's the same sort-of flavor

experience that

a chef does when they're

cooking in their restaurant.

I think what we're doing,

uh, we're elevating

the image of the

professional bartender.

A mixologist is to a bartender

as a chef is to a cook.

This is something different.

It deserves a different name.

It's not considered like, you

know, a bartender "slash"

something else job.

It's considered a job, job.

A couple years ago,

this young man came up to me and said

you know, I've got a question

for you, but you know,

I'm from Boise and we've only

got two cocktail bars and

I said "Wait a minute".

You've got two cocktail bars

in Boise?

I mean, that's insane.

This is or field day celebration at KA.

Our prohibition party.

And it's essentially our

celebration for bartenders.

Fourth of July, you know? Our

Independence day.

Tonight is a very special

night for us.

We celebrate our anniversary.

Which coincides with our

repeal of the prohibition.

Every year we throw a little thank you

party for our regulars and customers.

This is more about, uhm, the

second coming of drinks.

It's really, this like the

industry's night.

This a bartender's night to

go out and have fun.

And just enjoy being part

of the community.

The idea behind, uhm,

doing the smoker...

I think getting perception

from people.

Driving by, we put the signs up.

We're running drink specials,

everything else like that.

We're trying to promote

something that we

normally don't do.

It's just another effort to

try and uhm...

retain the business

that we have.

And hopefully build,

you know, additional business

because it's just not

coming back.

We spent about eight hours

yesterday, uhm, injecting

this pork butt.

We're probably gonna have

over 300 pounds of meat.

So, uh, we better have a good

turn out, you know, uhm...

Otherwise it's another thing

that we'll have to write off

and chalk it up as a mistake,

but hopefully that's not going

to be the issue.

It should be on your left side.

This is how professional tie

ties. With the iPhone.

At Employees Only we have

this awesome postcard of

the five owners.

They're uh, like standing

all serious.

I kind-of want to make it

more personal, so uhm...

I was asked to come down

and help with the photo shoot.

I've always been a workaholic,

kind-of sheltered, kinda guy.

But I've sort-of gotten

out there.

We've got a young guy

behind the bar.

And you know, girls are

throwing themselves at you

And you start to buy into

this reality,

that this is real situation.

Your ego just want to believe

that that's true and that's

the known not wise.

To follow that urge.

Although he's quite a young

puppy, Steve has an

extremely bright future

in front of him.

The way that he works,

and the passion that he has

for his work, belies his past

as a U.S. marine.

He said to me once, you know,

"I bleed Employees Only".

And that degree of loyalty

and passion is rare.

There's nothing more dangerous

than Steve Schneider

very motivated.

Hello, America, greetings.

My name is Steve Schneider

from employees only.

Steve is, Steve is a

character you know?

He's a rock star bartender.

On thing about girls from

Trinidad, I never had the

opportunity to date one, but

I've dated a Puerto Rican

that I liked.

I uh, I had the world record.

For fastest throw.

We're taking a huge group

photo of some of the best

bartenders in the city, uhm

for Time Out New York's

cocktail issue.

The first of its kind.

It's not a job anymore,

it's a way of life.

It's something that we live.

You know, I stay out all night.

I sleep all day.

That's the life that...

I've chosen to do.

This year has been a huge

year for me as far as

videos an interviews and stuff like that,

yeah I've never done

anything like that.

Mainly because I was...

I never really got out there.

And now I'm becoming

friends with

more and more bartenders.

And more and more brand people.

And uh, sort-of taken

me to the next level.

Some of the younger

apprentices, by being written

up once or twice

begin to believe that they

already are there.

And they already have

nothing much to learn.

And I will advise strongly

against that.

Whoa.

There he is.

You are only as good

as your team.

You might have some personal

qualities that make you

different from the rest. And

accentuate you personally.

But it can never be on the

expense of the team.

You know, it is

before you are a rock star,

you are a member of the band.

Being a principle bartender

is something you earn.

It's not a right guaranteed

to everyone.

We're ready to

start shaking things up.

How are you guys doing?

We will toast to the success

of Tales Of The Cocktail,

enjoy this wonderful week.

I think this is going

to be the biggest

and best year, I have

to be honest.

When I went to Tales for the

first few years I actually

used to go the seminars.

That's supposed to be what

you're there to do.

It's fun, it's crazy, it's...

way too late.

Way too early,

way too much work.

If a bomb were to go off

in New Orleans, it would

probably be the end of the

cocktail world as we know it.

At a large scale event like this,

there's multiple seminars and

it's a little bit different in that

it's all based around drinking.

Uhm, so you have to

have a cocktail

with each seminar, since most

of them are about alcohol.

So... the people right here,

I think they're probably, I think

they're making right around

five or six thousand cocktails.

Give or take a hundred

here or there,

I just arrived here at

New Orleans.

There's so many events going

on I have no idea exactly

where I'm going. When I'm

going there. I'm just sort-of

playing it by ear.

I'm going to Tales because, one,

I've never been there before.

I've always wanted to go.

And I just think this year

is the right year for me.

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