“Uh, okay, sure, whatever,” was probably my response. Unlike him, I hadn’t been reading cocktail sites and had never really thought about it. “If we’re going to do it, though, we should write about it.” At the time I wrote for a gaming website, plus did random reviews and such on a LiveJournal site (where we started this site!) and so it only made sense to me. Why just read when you can participate?

Who knew where that’d lead.

There’s been the heyday of blogging, the CSOWG and the Mixoloseum, and more than a few Tales of the Cocktails. There was the first time someone referred to us as “industry”. There have been classes and even a short gig bartending. There’s been lots of words but in the end, probably lots more drinks.

Some thoughts on this ten year anniversary:

I don’t drink like I used to thanks to medication. My doctor put me on naltrexone, which reduces the urge to drink, and it’s been a good thing for me. It’s helping me keep my weight down(-ish) and working well with my other meds to keep me the healthiest I’ve been at least since 2007 (geez ain’t that coincidental — but there were other factors in there too) and combined with Latuda has really done wonders for my bipolar disorder.

I don’t know if I would have come to love DC the way I do nowadays without this site. Because of this site, because of DC’s cocktail community, I’ve made so many friends and met so many amazing people (as well as folks in other cities, obviously). I spent ten years living in Charlottesville before moving to the DMV area in 2004, and that entire time, I always said I’d never move up here. I found it soulless and boring. What I found is that DC itself is an amazing city, really a small town, and the people here support it and each other.

One year at Tales of the Cocktail I gave away t-shirts that said “Ambush Marketer”. I’ve said for years how I disagree with how things are run. The event itself, when I’ve gone, has (for the most part) been amazing, though the parts that weren’t amazing no one seemed inclined to listen to complaints about. If you haven’t heard what’s happening with it, I recommend this article. I’m hoping, for the community’s sake and for New Orleans, that it becomes a more inclusive, better run event for everyone involved, but I’ve had my time there. It’s too big and too unwieldy; I love New Orleans, and will go back (hopefully soon) at a different time, just not then (nor during Jazzfest or Mardis Gras, those kind of things).

And what about us? Since we started, Marshall got himself married (which included an epic bachelor party to NOLA and Tales that we shall not write down events from here) and now has a house and a kid. He’s even working related to the liquor industry now, albeit on the law-talkin’ side. I’m…maintaining, though with a new gig that might see a lot more travel. Already it’s taken me to Seattle where I got to see so many friends (some of whom I’d never met before). I miss bartending, but over the summer did a negroni class, and depending on how my workload goes might look into doing more. Though you’re more likely to find me posted up at at the Passenger drinking a Schlitz and Old Overholt combo.

If you’re reading this: we love y’all. Thanks for sticking with us all this time. I have no plans to stop writing (“You already have!” LAUGH IT UP FUNNY GUY) and keep meaning to write more. Hit me up on Twitter if you have ideas of what you’d like to see content on…even if it’s just short things like “I”m drinking a lot of Gibsons lately” (man, I like the brine off those onions)…

So there’s lots of updates about various things but I’m not going to blast all of ‘em out in one huge post because, well,

1. None of y’all would read the whole thing
2. That’d leave me with nothing else to write about it in the short-term
3. I don’t know if my attention span is long enough to write about it all right now.

Thus, in the next little while I’ll give a big update on health and drinking as it pertains to me, but right now we are all suffering from something much worse, and he’s only been in office less than two weeks.

(“Oh my god he’s getting political stick to booze you slow-blogging blogger mcbloggerson”)

No, I won’t. I haven’t been protesting and donating just to shut up.

But the other day, over on ye old Twitter-dot-com, a site which I sometimes wish I could quit so bad and other times can’t live without (and sometimes those are the same times), Will Gordon came up with an idea of #DrinkForGood. Basically, he said he was going to donate to the ACLU for every beer he drinks.

Will hasn’t posted a ton of details yet as he’s still building up on things but there’s an article here on it.

Now, I don’t drink anything like I used to drink (something I’ll get into in probably my next post, and I get reminded of everyday by Facebook’s “On This Day” feature). And I regularly donate to the ACLU anyways, as well as the HRC and other organizations that we need right now.

But I love this idea, so I’ll be joining in. Obviously, with a Twitter handle like mine I’ll be doing liquor and beer, but for every beverage, I’m going to donate a $2 bill (wahoowah) to the ACLU (not individually, as I only have one $2 bill on me). I’ll be tracking this on Twitter with the #DrinkForGood hashtag if you’re curious, and I’ll try to update on here with it some if it doesn’t get me in too much trouble with my doctors.

Six months ago I would’ve celebrated that by going out to a bar (such as the resurrected Passenger, which, again, I’ll get into in a later blog post) but I’m not drinking this week, so maybe this weekend we’ll get the ball rolling.

Are you interested in joining in? Tell me on the Twitter! Join our hashtag fun! And help save our republic!

– SeanMike

What do we have here?

So, remember in my last post when I talked about bartending for the first time and how I wanted to do it again?

I spent all spring basically saying that, but not really doing anything?about it. I was lazy, admittedly, and it felt weird to look for a job like that when I had a day job. Besides, who’d want to take the chance on a guy with no service industry experience?

Also, I was going out less and less. I was trying to watch my spending, for one, and also just enjoying being at home.

I also kept saying I needed a new day job. “I’m going to work on my resume,” I’d say, “and look for a new job.” Only I didn’t. Partly out of fear I’d be fired if my job found out (not likely, but not completely unfounded) but mostly out of (again) laziness. I didn’t like my job, but I didn’t realize how MUCH I didn’t like it, and I was in a rut.

Then, two weeks ago yesterday I got called into my boss’ office and laid off. One week severance for every year I’d worked there, so 10 weeks, fortunately. Also, we were 2 weeks behind on pay, so I still had a full paycheck and half of another coming.

Just to warn you, I don’t always smile like this.

After I got all my stuff from my cube piled into my car (where it still sits, to be honest), I got on my phone and posted a short status to Twitter and Facebook. “Shit-canned.”

That was a bit of a mistake, since it meant my whole drive home, trying to use my traffic app (I love Waze), I kept getting text notifications.

Still, I felt loved. And better yet: happy. I’d always imagined being laid off would be the worst thing in the world to happen to me, but instead it’s been one of the best.

One of the Facebook messages I got was from Tom Brown, who had recruited me to bartend at the Passenger NYE. He told me to come see him.

The next day I wandered over to Slipstream in Logan Circle. Tom was there and we chatted. He thought I might be a fit there but didn’t have the hours to offer me, so he told me to go meet his friend Ric at Dino’s Grotto. He needed a new bartender there. I’d never been there, but I’d heard good things about it, and later that night I made my way there. We chatted a bit, and Ric told me to come back Sunday morning at 11 AM for a brunch shift.

Erp.

Here comes Sunday. I show up in dress pants, button down shirt, dress shoes. Overdressed, obviously. And also poor choice of shoes, I was sliding everywhere. I didn’t bring a notebook or pen, but Ric had one for me. I didn’t bring a wine key or lighter. I was unprepared.

Unlike most of Ric’s new bartenders, who have service experience but not cocktail & liquor knowledge, I was the opposite. So we started off slowly. He showed me how things should be, showed me when I made mistakes, and basically just let me practice.

Tuesday I was back, and I did better. Still not what you’d call?good, probably, but better. By the end, he said to come back Thursday for a final training day. I came in, working with a different bartender, and took the lead on most of the things while she made sure I didn’t completely screw up.

Friday night I worked with Ric. He liked what he saw, I was doing much better.

Sunday I worked my first solo bar shift for brunch and dinner. In the morning I was scared I was going to screw something up; there’s so much to prepare, especially with things like mimosas and bloody marys which are only ordered at brunch. I made some mistakes, got made fun of for not having the right shoes (which were on order), but I got through the day and 13 hours of work.

Then Wednesday night I got called in, worked what’ll be one of my shifts from here on out (Sunday, Monday, Wednesday). I had my shoes, I knew better what to do, I felt more confident – and I think it definitely showed in my service. The server working upstairs in the dining room said I made more money then the previous bartender would have as she wouldn’t have worked the room as well (and that I probably stole at least one of his tables by doing that!).

So I’m learning. It’s fun. It’s creative, it’s physical, it’s demanding, and I like it a lot. I bought a nice new wine key and I’m about to buy a back-up. If you’re around DC, come by Shaw (9th St NW between T & U) and visit Dino’s Grotto. We have great food and great drinks. And you might be able to tell me what mistake I’m making this time.

(And maybe, sometime, we’ll be able to do some Scofflaw’s Den type related activities there!)

– SeanMike

DC bias: We do cover other cities from time to time – for instance, when one of us travels to another city, or if one of our friends is doing something special in another city that we think interests our audience. For all intents and purposes, we do not travel to other cities in order to cover events. If you are interested in having us cover an event that is not in the DC area, you may contact us, but to be honest, the answer will be no unless expenses are covered. For all of us, this is a “second” (or even “third”) job, and travel takes up a lot of time and money that we do not necessarily have.

Some events, either in DC or elsewhere, we do cover because we plan on being there. In that case, we’ll cover it as we wish. If you do wish to sponsor us in order to cover your event, please contact us and we can discuss it – but please note that we will clearly label any content produced in that regards as “sponsored” so that our readers will know. We also will not edit our content in order to please a sponsor.

Cocktails, et al: We mostly cover the liquor-related industry. We like to talk about bars that we’ve visited, bartenders we know or have met, drinks we’ve enjoyed, distilleries, etc.

We do NOT cover: general restaurant news, travel, hotels (except hotel bars), general food news, anti-alcoholism or other rehab ventures, e-cigarettes, or really anything that doesn’t involve alcohol in some form or cigars.

We also do not cover tools or ingredients that we do not feel live up to what we strive for in our own personal bars. For instance, we do not cover artificial pre-mixed mixers or flavored vodkas.

– SeanMike

• Obviously, our thoughts and prayers go out to everybody impacted by Monday’s shooting. Fortunately the one person I know who works there was out that day.
• Also on Monday, I was diagnosed as diabetic with blood sugar around 180. You might remember that Marshall had the same issue. To be honest, I’m not surprised by the diagnosis, as I haven’t exactly led the healthiest of lifestyles the past few years…decades…Still, it makes one stop and think. Fortunately for me, I’d already started exercising 4-5 times a week with running, biking, push-ups, and yoga, and lost some weight. I’ve also been eating better in general, having lots of grilled meats and vegetables during the week instead of going out so much. My doctor put me on 1000 mg of metformin a day, but finally the side effects have worn off. I’m going to continue to work out regularly and try to eat even better, but it did kind of depress me this week. I’m feeling confident about my ability to fight it but I’ll probably be keeping a much closer eye on the types of mixed drinks I have when I go out.
• I visited friend of the Den Rachel Sergi at her new gig at Lincoln last week. It’s a pretty cool place. I had a great barrel-aged Last Word, and my date later that night told me she’d tried the bacon-infused Manhattan and quite enjoyed it. The happy hour specials were quite nifty too. I’m going to have to swing back by and try some of the food.
• Before I get into the next bit, a reminder: comments are broken, so if you submit one, we can’t even see what it is. I’m torn about reinstating them – we haven’t had much problem with them here, other than a flood of spam, but I’m not sure how much use they actually are any more. If you’d like to follow up with us on one of our posts or just in general, I usually suggest Twitter. (I’m on there as HighwayStar, Marshall is VAScofflaw, and Anthony is DLDGLG. Ashley doesn’t know how to do it.)
• IT’S FALL YAY YAY YAY. Fall is my favorite season. What’s your favorite drink of fall? I’m thinking this fall, for me, it’ll be a rye Manhattan with a splash of Averna.
• Oh, and thanks to the wonderful Mr. Angus Winchester, I won a first edition copy of Ted Saucier’s?”Bottoms Up”. I’ll post pics when I get it!
• Finally, we need to upgrade some of our WordPress software for ze blog. There’ll be some downtime scheduled soon. If any of y’all notice any issues now (other than comments, natch) or after, please, let us know.

Cheers y’all!

– SeanMike

– SeanMike

To commemorate this milestone, we are hosting a party on October 7, 2012 at The Passenger in Washington, D.C. The party starts at 4:00pm and lasts until 8:00pm. But knowing us, we’ll be sticking around for quit a while after that.

There will be a friendly cocktail competition between SeanMike and I. We’ll each create a cocktail that will be for sale at the bar. Everyone who shows up will get a ballot and can vote for their favorite drink. To entice you to try each drink, and to prove we’re not completely self-centered guys, we’re mixing for charity! The proceeds from The Passenger during our party will be donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Museum of the American Cocktail. We will also have a donation bucket for additional acts of kindness.

Additionally, we’ll be talking about a few upcoming projects and general direction of Scofflaw’s Den that is a bit of a departure, though certainly complimentary, to what you’re used to seeing.

At the party you’ll be able to order some great cocktails created by the Passenger folks using some of our favorite brands and sponsors of our party, Chairman’s Reserve Rum, Catoctin Creek Distillery, Edinburgh Gin, Green Chartreuse and Diep 9 Genever. We’re still working on a few other sponsors and hope we can announce them soon. BTW, if you rep a brand and are interested in being part of our celebration, shoot SeanMike an email.

There you have it! I hope everyone reading this will be able to make it to The Passenger on Sunday, October 7th between 4pm and 8 pm to celebrate our 5 year anniversary and support two fantastic organizations!

Cheers!

I’d like to introduce everyone to our first contributing author Ashley Schmidt. Ashley, meet everyone. Everyone, meet Ashley.

Ashley is a bartender at Jack Rose Dining Saloon in Washington, DC and will be contributing articles on Scofflaws Den from time to time. She’ll be writing about her experiences behind a small intimate cocktail bar and a faster paced high-volume cocktail bar. She’s also free to share her thoughts on cocktails, spirits and mixology in general. Here is her bio:

Ashley is a craft cocktail bartender at Jack Rose Dining Saloon in Washington DC. ?How did this all begin? ?She started as a shot girl on the weekends at Martini Bar in Florida and slowly worked herself up the ranks as customers took to her charm and charisma for life.?Her love for craft cocktails began in Washington DC at a small craft cocktail den on Mount Pleasant Street called Last Exit. ?It was here she learned the art of mixing cocktails and gained understanding of the meticulousness of each spirit’s essence. This neighborhood bar gave her the time to practice and create. ?Almost a year later she would approach Jack Rose Dining Saloon to begin a new chapter in her bartending:: mixing craft cocktails and?catering?to high volume patrons.

Her love for bartending?can be related to her love for the world of science. ?In her mind, creating cocktails is like understanding the art of science; it needs to be appreciated and understood done to the smallest nitty gritty details. ?Having an academic background, with a masters from Tulane in public health, she currently works another job in the pursuit of a global health career as well. ?Ashley has a love for helping people and making life more beautiful along the way. ?Bottoms up and cheers to discovering a whole new world.

Last Friday, August 10th, I celebrated my birthday. Today, I joined AARP. Now before I get all sorts of “old timer” jokes (looking your way SeanMike) I’d like to state for the record I haven’t reached the century mark. Yet.

No, I’m proud to let everyone know that as of this week, I am the official cocktail writer for the AARP Blog. Each week I will be contributing an article on cocktails, their history, recipes and the general state of cocktail culture in the US.

So what does this mean for Scofflaw’s Den? Nothing but good things! First, the additional publicity and readership should be great. More importantly, I’ll still be writing here and covering home bartending, original recipes, the DC cocktail and restuarant world, our classes and other special events and my hijinks in the booze world. If anything, you’ll be seeing more articles around here from me because I’ll be spending more time focused on the spiritous plane. Occassionally I’ll cross post between the sites, but I plan to keep that at a minimum.

So if you’re interested in what’s going on over at the AARP Blog, check in each week!

Cheers!

It’s been over four years and we decided things needed a little bit of a sprucing up. We had some great help getting the new design up and running and want to give a big thanks to Jason “Reggie” King at Oreginaldeisgn for dealing with our (read: my) nagging about things. This guy is great and if you have some web work to do, I highly recommend dropping him a line.

Lots of things coming up including Tales of the Cocktail so you’ll see, and read, much more from us.

So look around, kick the tires and let us know in the comments what you think of the new and improved Scofflaw’s Den.

Cheers!