Whether you’re Canadian or not, it’s tough to ignore the Olympic craze surrounding us all. Tune into ‘The Straight Pour’, hosted by Paul and Ann Tuennermann, organizers of Tales of the Cocktail, tomorrow morning for some insight from myself and Darcy O’Neil on what impact the Olympics have had on Canadian bars and bartenders.

In addition, you’ll get a sneak peek as to what you can expect from this year’s Tales of the Cocktail event – I’ll be hosting a seminar entitled “Social Media: Creating Cocktail Legends” alongside Brian Rea and Camper English, and Darcy has a few, much more intelligent, seminars he’ll be presenting as well.

The show starts at 11AM EST, and you can tune in at http://www.wistradio.com. And yes, this mean’s that the downtime around Cocktails and Cordials is finally over.

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Should you ever make it to my office, it becomes apparent very quickly that I’m a very unorganized person. In an effort to remedy this, you can often find the outside of my computer laden with an assortment of Post-It Note reminders reminding me to do everything from paying bills, to emails I need to send, or in the case of the only permanent Post-It.. to update my website a minimum of three times per week.

At the slowest of times, that can be a serious challenge. To keep up with the likes of Camper English’s Alcademics, or fellow Canadian Darcy O’Neil, and his Fix the Pumps project, can be an uphill battle for sure — throw in the hundreds of other full time cocktail blogs spanning the internet, and Cocktails and Cordials quickly falls to the wayside.

But my greatest challenge, in my opinion, is the cause of an advantage that most cocktail bloggers have neglected — I’m a full time bartender and Bar Manager here in Niagara Falls. Why don’t you see this website updated nearly as often as the others? I’m so incredibly lucky to spend 60 hours per week in a bar still, 40 or so of those hours being behind the wood full time. Over the course of the past few weeks my time for Cocktails and Cordials has drastically declined, and I’m only just beginning to find more time to devote to online cocktails.

What’s taking up my time now? After an exhausting few months of setbacks, delays, and disheartening slowdowns with construction, we are getting very close to launching the second bar and restaurant for Johnny Rocco’s Italian Grill (if you’re American.. Carabba’s is a very similar concept) here in St. Catharines, Ontario. The next few days will be devoted to unpacking countless cases of glassware, and receiving a $50K wine and liquor order, and I couldn’t be more excited.

I’m going to do my best to keep you posted with our progress, but for the time being.. thank you so much for your patience. I have plenty of very exciting news to share with you over the next couple of weeks, so please stay tuned!

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Well in the spirit of the recently-passed Canadian Thanksgiving, and a new contest being hosted by The Bitter Truth and A Dash of Bitters, I figured I’d turn things around – rather than share what I’m thankful for, here’s what I’m bitter (and envious) about today.

Camper English and Alcademics
My first intention was to write about jealousy of Camper English and the extensive traveling he is privileged to as he updates his posts. If you’re a follower of Camper’s blog, Alcademics, you’ll be all too familiar with his recent trip to Cognac, France, and the different Cognac houses he visited, including Courvoisier, Pierre Ferrand, Remy Martin, and many more.

The Beefeater 24 Bitters Competition encourages bar bloggers to give a "shout out" to those their envious of.

Frustration with the LCBO
But today, I’m bitter about something else. Here’s how the plan for today was supposed to go down. I went to bed last night, reveling in discovering the last remaining bottle of Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Sweet Mash (I know, quite a mouthful) for sale in Ontario. The drive would take about an hour and a half.. but it would be worth it.

I woke up early, around 9AM, and got ready for the drive.. an hour and a half, and $130CDN away, this bottle of bourbon was about to be mine.

But alas, it wasn’t meant to be – before I had a chance to leave, the trip was over. The last bottle has disappeared from Ontario, and short of a trip to the United States (which will involve smuggling it through US Customs), I won’t get a chance to taste it, and display proudly on my home liquor cabinet.

Darcy O’Neil and Art of Drink
So in the spirit of the competition, I turn to fellow (Canadian) blogger Darcy O’Neil in envy. If you haven’t read Art of Drink yet, get on it.

A former chemist turned bartender, Darcy often (but not exclusively) takes a scientific approach to dissecting spirits and cocktails in a refreshing blog that’s updated frequently. I attended his seminar “Sugar: The Science of Sweet” this year at Tales, and believe me, Darcy brings a unique, and educated voice to the world of bartender education and communication. As a fellow resident of Ontario, I’m sure he can share in the often resentment of our liquor practices and the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO).

Why so bitter with him? You might want to read this post of his here. As for now – Cheers, Darcy on raising the bar for bartending blogs worldwide.

For more information on the “Don’t be Bitter!” competition, visit A Dash of Bitters

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