What the Kent*uck*y just happened to us? Pt. 1

In an attempt to not make this post to biographical, I'm going to take my time writing it, and also, it seems a crying shame to write this while sober. The only sobering thing about our trip to Kentucky was the hospitality of our host Cody Rossen and Makers Mark.  


What better way for a bunch of bartenders to begin a trip to Kentucky, than to pull and "All Nighter".  Since our flight left Portland at 6:30am on Sunday morning and a hand full of us had to work the night before, there seemed no need to go to bed and get 90 minutes of sleep before waking up and climbing into a cab...etc...BORING!!!  So we gather at Teardrop Lounge after they closed down.  For bartenders, it's much easier to pass the time in a bar than it is fiddling our thumbs at home.  By 4:30am, myself, Evan Zimmerman(Laurelhurst Market), Elizabeth Markham(Beaker and Flask), Tommy Klus(Bluehour), and David Shenaut(Teardrop Lounge), (Alison Webber*Gilt* and Chris Churilla *Downward Dog* were traveling separately) were properly lubed and hitched a ride to the Airport.  


I don't know if any of you have ever caught a flight first thing in the morning after staying up all night, but let me tell you....thanks to a rather generous glass of Drambue, and some delicious brownies, I recall... boarding, taxi'ing (not sure if that's a word or not)...and then the ding of the "fasten seat belt sound" and the pilot saying, "We are beginning our decent into Minneapolis".  A 4 1/2 hour flight that felt like 30 minutes.  It's the only way to fly.


We had a brief layover in Minneapolis, perfectly scheduled to coincide with the Viking's v. Rams game.  I managed to catch the first quarter and a half before we boarded our plane to Louisville.  I think I had luck on my side all week long because as I'm boarding the plane I muddle my way to my seat, and who was seated next to me?  Yes...it's a 23 year old model on her way back from Calgary to Louisville.  I showed her pictures of my wife (who's way hotter than she was) and kids, we talked life and careers, swapped I pods for a bit....the only reason why this piece of information is important is because, when we got off the airplane, everyone else proclaimed they had an awful experience on that flight.  Once I piped in that I sat next to a 23 year old model, I lost whatever friends I had before we left Portland.  

Lesson: Keep that kind of information to myself.

Stay Tuned for the next Installment...

"Nuttin' but a ham sandwich"

What do Policeman, Firefighters, and Bartenders have in common?  We all know when it's a full moon.  If you have the opportunity to ask a Policeman or Firefighter when their busiest nights if the month is, and they will most likely express "when it's a full moon".  Working as a bartenders, I would whole heartedly agree that sh!t get's crazy when it's a full moon.  This week I was reminded how lucky I am to work in a respectable restaurant as apposed to a nightclub type atmosphere, where these things happen all the time.

But I found myself in he unfortunate position of having to cut a couple people off.   And unfortunately, they were a part of a larger party, in which I had to stop serving the ENTIRE party.  Cutting people of isn't fun for them, it isn't fun for me, it just not fun.  But if the behavior of the guest mandates, you must stop that behavior by refusing service on behalf of the rest of the guests in the restaurant, then a little "verbal abuse" from an already intoxicated customer is a small price to pay for making the rest of the evening tolerable.

Being a parent of two little boys has given me an arsenal of tactics to use with drunk people.  Because, most people who get to the point where they are being cut off are acting just like that...Children.  But it's very important not to be patronizing because that will inflame the situation.  The scary fact of the matter is, bartenders and OLCC Licensees have legal responsibilities in place to keep from serving people too much alcohol.   And more likely than not, if you've gotten cut off, it's for a damn good reason, and no matter how much arguing takes place, you aren't going to get another drink.  And the amazing thing, is that people sometimes get so angry that they want your name, social security number, DOB, so they can take that information to the manager of the restaurant and argue with them about their level of intoxication.  What they don't know, is that it's not the managers call...it's the bartenders.

One of the most entertaining interactions I've had like this was at Bluehour restaurant.  There was a younger man, who was showing all the signs of being at the legal limit.  He kept asking me for a drink, over and over again.  He'd go away and come back 5 minutes later and ask for another, and of course...I kept saying "No."  Finally he looked at me and said, "Man...you really not going to give me a drink?"   I said, "Nope!".  He says to me, "Man...you ain't nothin' but a ham sandwich!!", and walks right out of the restaurant.  That still makes me chuckle.