Archive for the ‘Home Bar’ Category

A favourite site of mine, from which I glean much knowledge and even more inspiration, is the Small Screen Network.

The site features a number of wonder web series, including The Cocktail Spirit with Robert Hess and Raising the Bar with Jamie Boudreau.

A new video series called Jim and Rocky's Barback Pro-Am recently premiered on the site and features a concept I found especially interesting.

It's best explained directly from the site itself. Quote:

Jim Romdall and Rocky Yeh cajole some of the best cocktail bloggers and journalists to step behind the bar to test their skills and not-so-gently put them through their paces for Jim and Rocky's Barback Pro-Am. Writers and Bloggers surely should know something about bartending, right?

You can check out the first two videos in the series here:

Screenshot for Jim and Rocky's Barback Pro-Am page at the Small Screen Network.

This definitely hit home for me. I have worked in kitchens in the past and even had a couple of bar shifts at a place not known for its cocktails. And, although my wife and I are both semi-accomplished (I'd say intermediate level) home bartenders, the videos clearly indicate that a night behind the stick is a lot different than a night sipping Sidecars behind my keyboard.

Have you ever worked behind a bar?

The conscientious folks at GlassDharma, makers of environmentally-friendly, reusable glass straws, want you to help make a difference, and they're willing to make it worth your while.

Contest entries are due no later than this coming Saturday, April 30. All participants who meet the contest criteria will receive a free glass straw and the grand prize winner will get a $100 gift certificate for GlassDharma products.

"Beautiful Bends" glass straw (L); "Decorative Dots" glass straw (R). Photos courtesy of GlassDharma.

Basic steps for entering the contest from the GlassDharma blog:

1) Write and send a letter to a restaurant -- (up to 5 different restaurants for up to 5 free straws).
2) Copy your letter (please include full contact information of the restaurant) into a comment on this page at the GlassDharma blog.
3) Send an email to earthday@glassdharma.com with a copy of your letter and please include the contact info of the restaurant AND your personal contact info so that a free GlassDharma Glass Straw can be mailed to you.
Note: *Contact information for entrants and restaurants must include, full name, mailing address and email address.

"Decorative Dots" glass straws closeup. Photo courtesy or GlassDharma.

Please note: For a full description of the contest rules and prizes, please visit the GlassDharma contest blog post here. The post includes the other entries in the comments section to help you get started. Or you can visit this GlassDharma blog post that offers suggestions to restaurants for implementing re-usables.

The contest has already generated over 360 letters to restaurants. Add to that number and have your voice heard (and earn a lovely glass straw in the process.

Have you heard of any cool and innovative enviro-friendly products lately? If so, I'd love to hear about them.

"Shorty" smoothies (12mm) glass straw. Photo courtesy of GlassDharma.