Post #266486 by Molokai Mike on Mon, Nov 13, 2006 6:00 PM

On 2006-11-13 15:41, tomdyerFLAIR wrote:

It just shows that most people really couldn't give two sh*ts (except other bartenders) how a cocktail is made and with what. Most customers hardly know anything about bar tending, they just want their drinks.

Not the readers of this forum, buddy!!
and yes, Flair has been aroung a long time. Atomic Cocktail's quote from Vic Bergeron's 1948 book proves this.

"Let me point out right now that fancy twirling of spoons, flipping of glasses, and tossing bottles into the air are not the earmarks of a good bartender. Such antics not only do not produce good drinks, they slow any bartender down to a walk. Any guy who goes through a lot of gymnastics behind a bar is just putting on the flash. I've never seen one yet that made good drinks or made them fast...My best advice is to make every drink as though it were to be the best you've ever made, and you can't do this if you don't measure. Novice or professional, measure your liquor. You won't spoil any drinks and your customer will always know that they're getting what they pay for."

Vic Bergeron
Bartenders Guide by Trader Vic. (1948) Page 15.

This doesn't mean that it results in a good, well-balanced cocktail. It didn't then and it does not now.
I have never seen a chef throw together ingredients, without measuring them. Can you imagine Emeril spinning a bottle of Olive Oil behind his back and then pouring an unspecified amount into his creation? Why should a bartender? Ever baked a cake?- you throw in too much self-raising flour and you have a mess. (Classic) Tiki drinks are no different.
As a previous poster pointed out, it's too make up for the lack of complexity in a single pour. That's fine in the right atmosphere - young, hip hop crowd where the drinks are usually secondary to getting f**d up! It just doesn't work with Tiki drinks. Period!!