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WlTTY, W!P.E AND OTHERWISE.
133
. In making lemonades, whiskey, brandy, gin or any kind of cocktails,
whiskey, brandy, white wine or imperial punches, juleps or any beverage con–
taining any effen-escent liquid, always
?nix with a spoon. A shaker should be
used only in the mixing of
frozen absinthes,
milk
punches, egg nogs, claret
punches, fizzes, cobblers or drinks that cannot be dissolved with a spoon; or
beverages that must be frozen.
In opening a bottle of any wine or liquor of any description, always strive
to
jar the contents as little as possible
so that, should there be any sediment in
the bottle, it will not be served with the drink, but will remain at the bottom.
A bottle of old Burgundy or fine claret is unfit for use after having been
shaken just before serving; and any connoisseur's appetite for a good drink of
wine or liquor is always more or less impaired by b eing compelled to drink any
beverage which has been poured from an almost empty bottle of any wine or
liquor.
In making
drinks req1tiring a c01nbination of sugar and lime or lemon juice,
no strict rule regarding the quantity of either sour or sweet can be adhered to,
as no two tastes are exactly alike, and the quantity of juice in different lemons
and limes varies. Therefore, a bartender must necessarily use his own judgment
regarding the blending of these indispensable ingredients. The great trick in
making punches, sours, lemonades, and all drinks neces
0
sitating the use of a
mll.'ture of sour and sweet, is to blend them so that the taste of one
will
be no
more perceptible than the flavor of the other. This can only be acquired by
practice, and is one of the most important secrets in barkeeping.
The question of "what are the exact requirements of a bartender to please
the average boss"
~s
one that puzzles the average mixologist.
Because a man cuts some ice in the effete Hub is no indication that he
will amount to beans among a lot of husky Germans, and because he made
good at Chapin
&
Gore's in Chicago, it does not sigiufy that his methods and
personality would favorably impress the patrons or the proprietor of the
St. Charles in New Orleans or the manager of the Coronado
in
San Diego.
The style of mixing and serving differs
in
various sections of the universe,
aud no two saloon men think alike unless they are in the same firm, and then
when the private office-door is shut they fight like cats and dogs.
Some people think that there are a few little rules that a clerk could stick
to that would enable him to get along with any one; but this is not true.
I once applied for a position
in
oue of Chicago's leading hotel bars, aud
when I informed the manager that I bad been employed in nearly all the
large cities of this country, besides having had considerable e_xperience in the
Orient as well as in the islands of the Pacific ancl on the contrnent of Europe,
he said: "Young man, you skip around too much; I must have some one
more settlecl in life."