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the Glen Moray

Glen Moray, a speyside scotch distilled and written from a single malt. I poured myself a 6cl glass, first stirring it with the large side of a tin shaker and adding a couple dashes of angostura bitters.  The primary notes on first sip are akin to dampened sour cherry, quite rich vanilla, and mossy bog types of notes, which then becomes that peach cobbler as advertised. This specific batch was aged in presumably oak, then finished in chardonnay casks, which invites the acidic fruitiness the wine is famous for. I'm not sure I loved it neat, but on the rocks (my preference I think for all whiskeys I've had) it was very nice.  While it's not the priciest scotch, I don't have a clue of what to put it into drink wise where it would be a welcome base. Of course it makes a great old fashioned, but other than that, I'd think it would meld well with other fruity notes, perhaps floral. It might even be a welcome split base to something on the bitter end of liquor or spirit.  ...

about this blog

This blog will represent a sort of documenting of the experience of bartending from the ground up. I started as a barback (glassy/dish) about half a year ago and just recently landed a job as a real bartender. I'll also try to breakdown and take notes of cocktails here and there with recipes. As with any good cooking blog, the recipe won't ever be hidden under 10 paragraphs of personal story or ads. I think that kind of stuff is really quite annoying, and if you're here to read the story and reaction you'll get it after a short run down of recipe and method behind whatever drink I'm putting down.  The other section will mostly be reviewing books, as I get them, tinctures and bitters I make or somehow get my hands on, and the general experience of the milieu of bartending in Sweden and having to navigate that under the umbrella of the alcohol retail Monopoly that is Systembolaget. But I'll try to keep most of my griping private as I'm more of someone that enj...

So... you want to be a barkeep

 6 months is both a long time and really quite short. Relatively speaking, in a career, it's one of the shortest times and marks the path with a humble beginning. In terms of bartending, it's hardly enough to get your teeth wet. But in terms of serving the general public, it's really quite an easy job to learn. Things that come with time are speedy habits, excellent sales techniques, deep knowledge of your product and your clientele, and maturity/refinement in stressful situations.   The knowledge of the job that comes quickly should be perspective of what is needed, such as glasses, ice. The simples, and the foundation. After that, pouring a great beer with a perfect head and properly serving a wine both at a table and out of the counter count for quite a lot of the sales one will be making at the bar. Generally, the hard customers stick out, but the ones that fill out the fodder are the ones that are easy to please, purchase another drink, and don't need anything else...