DrinkedIn Trends

At some point, you’ll have to ask yourself “How much is my time worth?”  The answer is a fair amount, actually.  Start by thinking about what you expect to make in an hour as a bartender.  The session isn’t likely to be any longer than an hour– and might be quite less– but also factor in the time you’ll spend preparing (shopping, practicing, etc.).  

Some people will charge based on the number of people attending, e.g. $30/screen.  However, a flat rate can make everyone feel a little more secure in how much is being paid. If two people drop out at the last minute, you don’t want your fee to be a topic of conversation all over again – you’re supposed to be at the fun part!  

Also consider the size of the business you’d be working for and how much they might be able to afford.  A smaller, locally-based company may not have the same financial resources for this kind of event as, say, the local office of a large tech company.  For your first outing, asking $300 is a pretty decent place to start, knowing you can go up later as business increases.  

What’s also important, though (especially early on), is letting the potential client know that you’re flexible on price.  Some verbiage along the lines of, “For an event like this, I typically charge $XYZ, but I also want to make sure that it fits in your budget as well. I’m sure we can find a price that works for both of us,” can go a long way to putting a potential client at ease.

Vodka’s early rise was limited by the existing distillation technology. Pot stills had to be cleaned between each distillation and were very inefficient for producing a clear, neutral spirit. The column still patented by Aeneas Coffey in the 1820s would revolutionize production. Column stills are able to distill continuously, eliminating the cleaning step; and they can distill to over 95% ABV, well above the traditional products such as Polugar at 38.5%.

One of the first producers to take advantage of this was Lars Olsson Smith in Sweden; he began advertising his Absolut Brannt or “completely pure” vodka starting in the 1879. Olsson’s brand name was later shortened to just Absolut.

This increase in efficiency was a boon for the Russian Tsars who raised money by auctioning off regional distillation rights, coming to a peak when Tsar Nicholas II ordered the construction of over 100 distilleries. As a result, Russian vodka consumption per capita peaked at 14 liters or 3.6 gallons of pure alcohol per year by 1914! That’s the equivalent of about 3 ounces of 80 proof vodka every day for every man, woman, and child.

Despite its incredible growth, vodka’s chance at becoming an international spirit would come to a screeching halt during World War I, the 1917 October Revolution and the nationalization of industry, which included distilleries. In the USA, the First Red Scare would come to a head in 1919 and Prohibition would arrive a year later, making it a bad time to try selling Russian alcohol. It would only begin making scarce appearances in European cocktail books in the late 1920s.

Following the repeal of Prohibition, vodka was still seen as a foreign oddity in the USA, drank primarily by immigrants and visitors from Russia and Eastern Europe. Charles Baker in the popular 1939 book The Gentleman’s Companion weighs in that “vodka is not necessary to a small or medium sized bar.” 

Having trouble getting that smoky flavor? Here are a few additional tips.

Smoke will not adhere to a dry glass. Although the smoke may settle in the glass for a few moments, once it has dissipated into the air, it will be gone or barely noticeable within the drink. Smoke needs something to adhere to within the glass. 

One way of dealing with this issue is to rinse the glass with a liquid, whether with your cocktail’s base alcohol or perhaps another ingredient you would like to highlight. 

Smoking the entire cocktail as a whole once it’s already been made is another way to ensure that the smoked flavor will stick to the drink. Just remember: If you smoke a completed cocktail too long, you run the risk of over-diluting the cocktail or letting it “die” (allowing the ice to melt too much, watering down the cocktail before the customer has even had a chance to drink it).

Even ice can be smoked for a short period of time, allowing the smoke to penetrate the small pores and cracks within the ice, giving the smoke an almost time-release effect as the ice melts into the cocktail.