- ABOUT THIS BLOG
- Everyone has done it – you’re in a bar, looking for a scrap of paper to write a woman's name and phone number on, or just want to make a note to yourself so you don’t forget something. You grab a cocktail napkin.
- (In the TV series The West Wing, a political consultant decides that Jed Bartlet – played by Martin Sheen – should run for President. He takes a cocktail napkin and writes down the slogan, “Bartlet for America.”)
- I work in bars. Over the years, I’ve accumulated enough of my own cocktail-napkin notes to fill six liquor bottle boxes.
- Here are the people and stories that wound up in those notes -- real-life characters like Jackie Rabbit and Maude the Broad, the narcotics cops Paul and Sonny, mafia guys, some shameless tramps and one suicidal young man. You'll meet an old-time boxer who wants to take me into the gym to teach me his trade, and a woman who thinks God is on the stool next to her, urging her to have one more whiskey and ginger. It's life behind the taps.
Popular Posts
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Recent Entries
- LIFE ON A COCKTAIL NAPKIN, the book—a story of the joyous, free-spirited, and sometimes unsettling early years in the life of a city bartender in the 1970s— is now available on Amazon
- DANNY (sample chapter)
- BLINDFOLDS AND BINDINGS (and then a big step)
- THE BRUTAL LESSON (last sample chapter)
- JOHNNY D’S IS CLOSING . . .
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Check out the stories you’ve been missing in our Archives (below). And my sincere thanks to all of you who have visited here!
Archives
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Blogroll
Author Archives: MikeQ
AN IRISH SHOT (and two other notes)
Last week’s video showed how to use a traditional “four count” to pour an exact shot. Apparently in Ireland, they have their own count. This just in from our good friend and fellow barman on the emerald island, Diarmaid D: … Continue reading
Posted in Life on a Cocktail Napkin
3 Comments
How to “Free Pour” like a Pro in 10 minutes (or less)
Ever wonder how professional bartenders easily free pour so accurately — one ounce, one and a half, or two ounces — all without using a shot glass or jigger? How long does it take to master this skill? Check out … Continue reading
Posted in Life on a Cocktail Napkin
21 Comments
WHEN SOME OF THE CUSTOMERS ARE GANGSTERS . . .
I’ve been lucky in this business. I’ve always liked the places I worked . . . always thought highly of the regulars, the staff and the owners. In part, that was simply good fortune — lucking out in getting … Continue reading
Posted in Life on a Cocktail Napkin
11 Comments
BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING (Overwhelming response from Boston and beyond)
“We just heard from Oscar,” Stefanie told me, “He and his crew are all fine.” The news about the terrorist bombing in Boston had just broken, and Stef … Continue reading
Posted in Life on a Cocktail Napkin
11 Comments
VIVIAN (an old-school barmaid)
This post will be a quiet one . . . no bells and whistles, no big bang at the end. Today we’ll look at a simple, thoughtful moment — and the lasting image of a veteran bartender doing something beyond … Continue reading
Posted in Life on a Cocktail Napkin
31 Comments
