Usually our interactions with guests at our bars are fun and positive. After all, our job is to provide people with alcohol in a jovial environment, what could be better? But sometimes things don't go as planned. Guests can be socially awkward,

It's not a good idea to keep glasses of wine next to your laptop and recording equipment. - Hello again! Another month, another recap and another bottle of inexpensive Spanish wine from my corner store. I don't know why I started this tradition,

Bartenders have a complicated relationship with alcohol, to say the least. We sell it, we love it, we hate it, we know more about it, the way it's produced, its history and it's effects than most other people, and we are constantly surrounded by it.

Completely happy with this $12 bottle of corner store Rioja. - Hey everyone! Unfortunately I don't have a guest this week, you know how it goes working at a bar, things happen, people have emergencies. I didn't want to leave you hanging though,

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about all of the challenges of opening a new bar. But after the doors are open, what is it like to actually work at that new bar? It can be the old adage, out of the frying pan into the fire. Everything is new.

Have you ever been hit on at work? It's a common occurrence for bartenders, particularly female bartenders, and in the context of service and hospitality it can be a very tricky situation. It is often the kind of attention that is unwanted and inapprop...

My neighborhood corner store has some surprising wine selections. Including this Rhone blend. - Hey guys! It's been a busy month as per usual. Lots of amazing guests and a ton of great information. We spoke with Tanya Clark,

Many of us, myself included, have dreams of opening up our own bar someday, but the idea can seem daunting, even impossible. Where do you begin? How do you fund a project like that? How will your life change when you run your own place?

Customers are people too, just like you and I, though often it's hard to remember that fact. Our job, by necessity, separates us from the people we serve. This separation tends to invoke an 'us versus them' attitude,

It's easy to get burnt out in this industry. So much of what we do is mere drudgery. It's repetitive and it can wear us down after a long time. It is difficult to stay inspired and creative when you work behind the bar.