Message 8468 of 22774 in Behind the Bar

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Hi Bippo,

I am the king of the straw-tasters, at least at my current job.  Same as you, 
I like to check on my margs, mojitos, gimlets and the like.  I found myself 
doing this a lot more when I gave up on mixes and started using fresh citrus 
juices and simple syrup (aka gomme).  I can freepour accurately, but if I 
squeeze one lime into a shaker and then syrup from my squeeze bottle it's not 
nearly as easy to be accurate with the quantity.  Most of the time I get it 
right but I'd hate to serve a margarita that was overly tart.  The customers 
who watch me do this seem to think it's cool that I care so much and am 
crafting each drink to an ideal state.  

As for Manhattans, I worked on this at home more than at work.  I first got 
the idea after reading Gary Regan's "The Joy of Mixology" in which he 
described one of the best bartenders he ever came across (somewhere in 
Manhattan) and how this guy knew exactly how much to vary the amount of SV in 
a Manhattan depending on the base whiskey.  When I read that I was inspired 
and in awe of such product knowledge and consideration going into a drink.  At 
this point I was still following recipes and wouldn't have had the confidence 
to tweak soemthing like that.  It gave me a lot to think about and something 
to aspire towards.  I love Manhattans myself, so I played around at home and 
noted things when ordering them abroad as well.  I don't feel the need to 
taste these each time I make them since I am able to freepour the ingredients, 
but I suppose that if I was working with a whiskey that I don't nomrmally use 
I might be curious about the mix.  

Just an aside, but the other day I was putting up some mojitos for a server 
and did a quick straw-taste.  She told me that at her last job (in a hotel) a 
bartender got fired for doing that.  Fortunately in my restaurant the managers 
encourage what I do and want bartenders who care about and craft great 
cocktails.  Still, I was infuriated at the idea of some moron at that hotel 
firing someone for drinking when they were obviously using the straw 
specifically to make sure it was a good drink and to be assured of imbibing 
only a negligible volume.  If that's something they frowned upon I would have 
thought that a verbal warning would have sufficed.  You shouldn't lump 
straw-tasting in with taking shots behind the bar.  


> I was reading a few posts on here and thought i might throw this one 
> out there.
> Do you find it right or wrong to taste your cocktail with a straw 
> from the shaker before you serve it so you can tweek if necessary? ( 
> by tasting with a straw i mean dipping it in, putting your finger on 
> top, and tasting the small amount in the straw after taking it out, 
> not drinking directly from it, incase anyone thought thats what i 
> meant).
> Personally, unless it is a sweet little number with loads of fruit in 
> it, i normally taste it. I like to make sure my margs, mojitos, 
> sours, and various others come out at just the right balance. 
> I havent yet had any customers complain about this, and even have a 
> positive response from people who realise what i am doing after i 
> find i need to add more gomme, or sour mix. 
> Just curious as after reading Natrone's post in the "Should a 
> bartender drink or not" or something to that effect about him 
> adjusting his manhattans with vermouth it had me thinking. Was he 
> aware of the flavours that were presented, or did he taste a few diff 
> combinations to figure it out during service one night!
> Thoughts?