BarNinja Podcast - The Ultimate Bartending & Mixology Podcast
The bartending podcast for home and professional bartenders. We share best practices, tips, trends, tools, hacks, product reviews, and innovations in the bartending and mixology field. We cover everything from being a better bartender to being a better drinker.
BarNinja Podcast - The Ultimate Bartending & Mixology Podcast
Uncovering the Biggest Problem with Bartenders in 2025 (required listening for all professional bartenders)
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Dive into the vibrant world of bartending as we explore the intricate balance between craft cocktails and genuine connections! At the end of the episode, we explore the biggest problem in bartending for 2025. We'll discuss the changing landscape of the bar industry, sharing personal anecdotes and insights gained from years of experience. Discover why being a great bartender transcends simply mixing drinks—it's about fostering relationships, understanding customer needs, and, ultimately, creating memorable experiences. We'll also delve into exciting new tools and trends shaping our industry today, offering tips for both new bartenders and seasoned pros looking to deepen their craft. Join us for an engaging conversation that promises to leave you inspired and eager to shake things up behind the bar! Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review!
Make sure to follow us on Instagram.com/barninja and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. Also be sure to stop by the store at barninja.com to purchase a J Plate bottle opener to help keep the show on the air! Thanks for tuning in! Mike, Bill & Kayla
Introduction to the Bar Ninja Podcast
Speaker 1Hey Bar Ninja Nation. Welcome to the Bar Ninja Podcast, where we talk about everything from trials and tribulations, from life behind the bar to tips and tricks to make you a better bartender and a better drinker. Join your host, Bill Thornton, Kayla Lowe and yours truly, Mike Garrison. Let's go have some fucking fun.
Speaker 2We just see your mic. Oh, that's good. At least we're a step ahead, we're already one step ahead.
Speaker 1We're recording. That's the story there we go.
Speaker 2Now we can see part of your face.
Speaker 1It's not just the mic man, I was like I haven't seen either of you guys in a while.
Speaker 2It's been a minute I know it's been a hot minute. You know what's crazy. I was thinking about this today. I was actually talking to my dad and january felt like a whole year in itself. And then febru. I'm like wait, we already went through February, Like it's almost March. Really weird, I don't know. Yeah, I cannot believe how long January was.
Speaker 2Yeah, but February, it's a blink of an eye. February just started. We're already talking about March and I'm like whoa, which I'm honestly happy about, because I'm exhausted from the cold. I get very seasonally depressed, so I'm over it, you should be here in freaking trees falling down land.
Speaker 3I'm looking at a chainsaw, a tucking apart chainsaw chains for the chainsaw. Oh no, I'm a blind guy. I shouldn't be using a chainsaw. It's not really.
Speaker 2It did snow here today.
Speaker 1Yeah, a little bit today.
Speaker 2Yeah, I was like. No, I just want to be on a beach and sweltering in the sun we were ranked top 10 bartending podcast.
Speaker 1We got number nine on feed spot and we only actually did four episodes last year I was like we do good despite ourselves I was literally thinking this.
Speaker 2I was like we need to send out the calendar invite and just have it reoccurring every thursday evening with the riverside link, and it's just, we don't even have to think about it. And then of course something crazy comes up. We can just move it, but that way we'll get a ton of content plus, I can schedule interviews for thursday.
Speaker 1You know, I just tell people hey, thursday at eight yeah, jump off for a half hour yeah, it's so much easier yeah, that's exciting. We've got the new site up to sell the new bottle openers, the j plates, so that's rolling. I'm gonna get the bottle ninjas back online, so I'm going to put those on this week. So let those go roll out there's not a ton left. I mean, I don't even know what's going to happen when we run out of those. Those will just be a collector's item.
Speaker 3Yeah, we should just list them right now for $99.99.
Speaker 1There you go Because they're a collector item, but they'll probably have maybe nine of those shakers left the CD tool shakers, which is still the sickest shaker I've ever touched. Yeah, it's like a pound and a half US stainless steel made in an old. They found the machine in an old factory. It's literally crazy, turned it back on still worked, and so they're hand-making shakers, and then we got them to make a fuel for us with that laser etched.
Speaker 3I tell you about my buddy. When I handed it to him he flipped it and it's. You know it's heavy. So he's behind the back and just chucked it across the bar like I'm like, well, that's the first drop. So you know it looks fine.
Speaker 2Yeah, it definitely feels unlike any other shaker ever.
Speaker 1It destroys ice, so hopefully we can get them to do another round they want to try to get them on the podcast too. Yeah, because they have a really cool story about making the first US company or two veterans and they make barware in the US. So it's pretty. It's pretty cool that you haven't checked out their stuff. It's C&D tools. You should definitely. It's not for novice bartenders. It's definitely pro level equipment.
Speaker 3It's the chef knife comparison. It's not such a good.
Speaker 1Yeah, people would be like $200 shaker. What do you know? And I'm like man, that's US stainless steel, handmade. Yeah, that's probably three times the amount of stainless steel as a chef knife and no one has a problem paying $300 for a handmade chef knife. It's so true and a handmade cocktail shaker and they're like $199. So, yeah, you can't go back Like everything else just feels like garbage. It's facts, big facts, it's facts, it's facts. Yeah, definitely. What have you guys been drinking lately?
Speaker 2Always beer. Beer, it's kind of my yeah, and also always love a mezcal Negroni.
Speaker 1Just always. Yeah, we've been jamming on a little mezcal Negroni. They've been for a minute. It's so good.
Speaker 2There's this one place it's called the Crunkleton in Charlotte and incredible cocktail bar, and we went for our anniversary and it's the one place I'll definitely get a mezcal Negroni, no matter what is going on. It's so good. There's barrel-aged Two of those. You're going to walk out feeling a little loopy, but there's delicious, so delicious.
Speaker 1Yeah, with like 80% of the margaritas and Negronis I've had lately we've been using Mezcal for that Mavita. So good, the green behind it.
Speaker 2Yeah, I know I need to actually get some just to be able to make it here, because I only get them at, like, specific cocktail locations, because otherwise, like it's not that, it's one that you like can really mess up.
Speaker 3But it's also, if it's not made right, it's just okay and it's really not worth it, but especially when there's, like some, that are so good. So I need to kind of perfect, making that one put on a bit of a dirty gin martini kick. I haven't made it, I haven't had. The end of the summer was kind of a bombay sapphire tonic, fresh squeeze of lime phase trying to hold on to summer. And then I opened it up. Like you know what I'm gonna make a bombay dude that's 12 months a year from now I get it yeah, fever tree, little bombay and fever, it's so good.
Speaker 1Yeah, it's so good all day long. We have a navy hill is really good too. In richmond, I guess, locally made tonic. They do a tonic and a soda plus tonic I've had navy hill.
Speaker 2That's really good that's good.
Speaker 1Um, that's another one we use, but the uh. So when you're making your martinis, I used to hold the pour spout and then do the vermouth around the rim and let it kind of fall down and then roll it and then spit it. How do you make yours?
Speaker 3I first started because that's my professional pour clocked in. But I really wanted to do, instead of kind of blessing the glass with the vermouth, I really wanted to have that flavor profile because I've always been a vodka martini guy and nine out of ten times I'm just going dirty anyway. So I kind of did the structural build with, you know, the quarter ounce um of the vermouth and it really I've like, with the first sip I took of it it was kind of a. We were just chilling, relaxing. I was like I just want to drink after dinner, and it was just perfect. I was like this is so good a drink after dinner, and it was just perfect. I was like this is so good.
Speaker 1Is that what you call a blessing?
Reflecting on January and February
Speaker 3Yeah, it's always terminology I use and I don't know where I came up with it, but it was, you know. I've also heard people compare it to where you just wave the bottle over it.
Speaker 1Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, it kind of coats it well. Like a lot of people I have done it for, like oh, that's, this is one of the best martinis I've had. I'm like, all right, it's just the way I was taught to make it and some people just want straight gin, straight vodka. Really smoke a little bit of flavor yeah yeah, mescal, mescal and grody's have definitely been hanging on. I was at a bar the other night.
Speaker 2Seems like the old espresso martinis back too I had one of those actually this past weekend. I'm still haven't really been drinking too much, so it's like when I have my drinks, it's like I'm way pickier about it, it's, yeah, it's not just like yeah, like, I'm not just like oh, whatever, yeah, no, like now, like if I'm having a drink, it's like okay what do I? Really deeply want, and so we went. We went to an escape room the other night and then we had espresso martinis prior to escape rooms and I'm, I'm, I'm very smart, but escape rooms aren't my type of smart like.
Speaker 2I'm, totally like, I'm like the accessory, I'm like oh look, I found a shell that has a number on it. I don't know what this means, so ben's great at them, I'm just like I actually did better in this one than I usually do, so maybe it was the espresso martinis gave me an extra, like kick, I don't know, but yeah yeah, there's a place around here that makes great ones the old uh van gogh, double espresso days.
Speaker 1We used to just leave that stuff in the freezer and just pull it out and do shots of that in colorado colorado man, it was uh espresso martinis and we would do shots of double espresso vodka. And then to waka we would do. That was like the bartender's handshake in color. It was like Tawaka or Fango Good times. I read something the other day. It said the bartender's handshake now has moved on from Frenette. Well, it's Blueberry Stoli. I don't know if I believe the article or not.
Speaker 2What, yeah, why, I don't know.
Speaker 1Stoli making a little promotion, yeah, promotion, I, yeah, I mean and why blueberry I don't know what do you make with that? No, it's just like. Like you know, a bartender comes to your bar after their shift whatever they used to call the bartender's handshake and so yeah it was for net for a long time.
Speaker 3Yeah, I was at a local bar and a kind of a notorious customer around the lake I was. I just paid my tab, so I was leaving and he said is it, can you make me an espresso martini? But with like no coffee. And I was just like I'm gonna go, I'm just gonna go a decaf, I don't know it's like oh yeah, I haven't been back to be like, well, how did that work out for you?
Speaker 3because I've heard a lot of the silly stuff across the wood and I was like he was dead serious yeah, like, how do you say, how do I make this without, without espresso being an espresso martini?
Speaker 2that's funny. Yeah, just vodka, baileys essentially, or not baileys? Or just vodka baileys and klua and then just I don't know, yeah Was that a shot?
Speaker 1Was that some Faka Bailey's? No, no, no, kalua Bailey's and Grand Marnier? Remember we used to just slam those Bill.
Speaker 2B-52s and the ski lifts. There was a baby Guinness shot too.
Speaker 1Which one was that? That's just Kalua with Bailey's.
Speaker 3Okay, I used to love those when I was in college, which kind of makes sense, it's just sweet, and we used to take those. Yeah, we put a little bit grandma on the top, go float on the top man. Yeah, I kind of miss all those old, weird the old you know 90s, 2000, because that was portside, that was massanut and that was mangoes it's another lake bar still stuff we make that whole bar scene.
Speaker 1It was crazy how it just changed to craft cocktails and like that whole shooter scene just disappeared.
Speaker 2We went through the green tea shots, purple gatorade, oh yeah. And then fire. I mean, fireball is still a thing, but just I remember when fireball became like such a hot thing and I, you know, I I don't know. I think it kind of goes two ways either love fireball, you hate it. I definitely hate it and I've had horrible experiences with it.
Speaker 3Just I don't know, just like it rips up your whole inside it's not my thing to work on, uh, some of the tree stuff we were doing, and for whatever his mo is, he always shows up with, you know, like a airplane, bottles of fireballs.
Speaker 1I'm like man, when in rome, whatever, no, I just had fireball for the first time last weekend first, no way she had never had it.
Speaker 2Never had it.
Speaker 1I don't know, I mean what did she think? She's like it tastes like a Red Hot and I'm like, yeah, it's like the thing.
Speaker 2Yeah, I don't know I just there was another shot that was like with. It was with Rumchata and Fireball and I forget what it was called. But then those became a hot thing too.
Speaker 3That is cold.
Speaker 2I forget what those were. That's cold. And then there were blowjob shots. That one was like just like. I think it was just Baileys and whipped cream.
Speaker 1Oh man, when Bill and I were bartending at the ski lodge it was like they were bizarre. Remember the brain hemorrhage, oh God, where you do Baileys with grenadine and and it would curdle in the glass and look like a brain and then people would drink that for some reason They'd pay for it.
Speaker 390% of the blowjob shooters I've poured. The guy sits on the bar with the shot between his leg and the girl takes it with her hands behind her back. That was a big Blacksburg College thing. Yeah About the entire show to watch that.
Speaker 2And there was a pickle shot Like the pickle juice shot.
Speaker 1I forget which one that one was. It was actually uh, I forget what it's called. It is good actually. Uh, cure hangover, it was that well, I forget what you.
Speaker 2It's just it's actually way better than I expected. I remember being like there's absolutely no way I'm drinking that, and then I actually liked it.
Speaker 3Uh, fairways, I had some of Candy LaPerna's famous homemade pickles and I'd saved the brine. So I went in and was like I'm going to make piccolinis today, just to do it. And it was just like the whole bar started chugging piccolinis. It was this is decades before the pickleback type thing. It was just this little craft cocktail that I threw out to the regulars.
Speaker 1That's wild little craft cocktail that I threw out to the regulars. That's wild, Awesome. I'm going to we've teased this before, but I'm going to try to get with Tony Maloney or Toby Maloney that did the bartender's manifesto and see if he'll come on and talk about mixology. Cause man, it's the best book on the market for learning.
Speaker 3I keep seeing all these influences on the tiki-taki that are just such good bartenders, that have so many funny things to say. I would love to. I might just start reaching out.
Speaker 2You need to start reaching out to them on the tiki-taki yeah.
Speaker 3I've never, heard it called tiki-taki.
Speaker 2We uh, yeah, Bill, bill, bill, and you reach out be like I've been following you on the tiki talk and I was going to interview craft cocktails.
Speaker 3He somehow got the trademark or whatever. I've sent you the link before. He's a really big jack bartender in Vegas, does a lot of flare instruction videos. Every time I talk to him he's down to hang out and have a little podcast action. He also on the Tiki Taki. He's on there.
Speaker 2We gotta get on Tiki.
Speaker 1Taki. We need a Tiki Taki. We need a Bar Ninja Tiki Taki.
Speaker 3He's on there. We gotta get on Tiki Taki, on the Tiki Taki. We need a Tiki Taki, we need a Bar Ninja Tiki Taki. Yeah, and make sure you call it that too, I'll get a Tiki Taki. We have a million followers.
Speaker 2Follow us on Tiki Taki Bar.
Speaker 1Ninja Tiki Taki. Not yet. We're not there yet, but as soon as we get a tiki-taki.
Speaker 2As soon as we get a tiki-taki, then we can make t-shirts First things first we need to crank it reals Bill.
Speaker 3I'm all about some silly-ass content, that's for sure. I was literally with all this stuff that's going on down here. I'm like I just need a film crew, I just need somebody following me around, and just the silly-ass shit. It was snowing like crazy. I didn't put my contacts in so I could wear my dark sunglasses, so I had my best vision. So I had to go to the local store because I ran out of gas. I needed to get gas mixed and I'm driving on snow and the road which I know very well, and I'm on the road, it goes to the left and I just, for whatever reason, I was in whiteout mode and I just drove into a ditch. No big deal, oh no. But I was in whiteout mode and I just drove into a ditch, no big deal, put it in four wheel drive, oh no, put it down in four wheel drive. But I was just like, yeah, roads over there, like nobody drove by Goodness.
Speaker 3But it was very like yeah, why don't I have a driver's license? Shit like this. This is exactly why Valid Sounds pretty valid. I can't believe I just did that and I've I've done it before I really have back. I would have been great tiki-taki, great tiki-taki video there you go.
Speaker 1So I look in the other day at bars. We're just kind of paying attention. When I go to bars it seems like bartenders are a little more competent than they were post-COVID but still not really creating like connection or community. Like it doesn't seem like anybody, even like bars that should want to have regulars are you know like hey, what's your name? I've seen you in here five times. At that point I'm throwing my hand down hey, you come in all the time. What's your name? Here's my name. Like I feel like the bartender should be the first one.
Speaker 3I am flabbergasted at how bartenders are, and this has happened multiple times recently.
Speaker 1They go to the end of the bar and start getting on their phone. They just don't know, they just don't trade.
New Bottle Openers and Bartending Tools
Speaker 3And I'm the only customer at their bar. For lunch I was in Roanoke and went to a very established restaurant that has been there for decades. Turned out he was the owner's son and he didn't even speak to me. You know, it was like it was hard for me to get his attention and I was just like what? Like when you have one customer, like you should. I've seen it.
Speaker 1Eye contact has been an issue Like they don't. People just don't make eye contact. You know what I mean. Like, or even like in a local place where I've been in a couple of times, usually like if somebody did that to my bar well, you know, bill, we were, I mean we just we completely crafted the community at those bars, like we had all the people we wanted yeah, I kind of think it's like almost just a huge cultural shift and it's in line with just the way not like the whole world, but just ultimately everything's going.
Speaker 2Even like you mentioned, you know people, the bartenders are there and then they just grab their phones and they get on them. Everything is so digital now and like that's like where a lot of the connection is that fostering and creating that community and like really cultivating. It is such a rare and find and such a gem. So now, like where when we were all in the industry, it was something that was expected and if it, if that didn't happen, then you wouldn't really go back to that bar, like it was an actual standard, where now I feel like the standards, unfortunately, are just much lower. And so if you do do those small things and I know we've kind of hit on this in other like podcasts before but it makes a big difference.
Speaker 2It makes a huge difference. But yeah, I mean I do agree that they're more competent than like right out of COVID. I think after COVID everyone was just like what just happened to the world? Like what the fuck's going? That do cultivate, that, especially in the bar industry, I think is very rare and it's it's weird. It shouldn't be that way. But yeah, it's more of just kind of like the revolving door Come in, you come out, and there are some people like I mean, just because I have we have a lot of connections in the community, so there's people that we're friends with the bartending. It's a little bit different, but otherwise, yeah, like I see the same people all the time and they're not like, oh my gosh, great to see you again. And when that does happen, I'm like I am coming back here.
Speaker 1You know, I feel like all bartenders should have to read how to Win Friends and Influence People. Yes, you should have to read that book to be a bartender.
Speaker 2I need to reread it. It's such a good one.
Speaker 1But people's name is the most important thing to them. So if you just ask somebody's name, even if you don't remember it, you know say oh, I'm Rick, you know, you know what's your name. Oh, I'm Mike. Oh, hey, mike, I'm Rick. Shake their hand. I mean, your tip just went up 10%.
Speaker 3Oh, you're literally adding 10% to your income yearly. Yeah For sure.
Speaker 1Just by doing that, and Look, I might not remember it, but just remind me next time you come in Just wanting to connect with somebody, especially if they're coming to your bar multiple times. It's just weird to me, you see that.
Speaker 3I've always kept it in my bag. Now I put it in my bag.
Speaker 1But I literally have these Well, and there are notes in your phone. You can easily be like yeah, met this person and take some notes Starting back.
Speaker 3I do it when I meet neighbors. Oh yeah, yeah, I do feel like at the house in christiansburg, but I've got a lot of these going back to blacksburg to massanut tom and nancy have this you know 38 foot scarab boat. They live, you know, on the other side of the lake. They drink this. That's like just the little notes that I've kept to build regulars over the decades, like this one was one of them yeah, and then there's apps to keep track of it too.
Speaker 1But I mean, if you take those notes and then even like what their kids' names are, their dogs' names, things like that, like especially if you have regulars, you know like you're not going to go that deep with everybody. But if you've got 15, 20 regulars. You're seeing all the time and you're keeping those notes and you can kind of refresh yourself, I mean, and they're like just how was your day, type stuff, just the most basic of interactions that we're used to the bartenders having.
Speaker 3I'm like what is going on? That being said, I've found there's not much of that at all.
Speaker 2Like there, really isn't anymore and it's like. I mean that used to be like. Why I'd go to bars is to like you know talk to people and interact.
Speaker 2We've talked so much about that too. And I mean, ultimately, you, you know, sitting there talking to somebody at the bar is different. But and even kind of going back to other things we've said is, the bartender is kind of like the host, you know, like they're the ones that set the tone for what people feel like when we're at the bar. So if the the bartender is kind of being standoffish and not really engaging, well, everyone else is going to be like, well, they're on their phone. I'm just like your mind too you know it?
Speaker 1just it sets the tone. It's almost like they feel like their job is to make you a great drink cocktail and then their job is done.
Speaker 2Old fashioned, but that's only half the job.
Speaker 3It's half the job Right, you're not in the right job.
Speaker 1Yeah, you're kind of on stage when you're back there, and I still think that that hasn't come back to the level it used to.
Speaker 2Oh, not at all. Like I said, I think ultimately it is kind of just like a cultural shift, you're right cultural shift.
Speaker 2There's a big shift in general and the way people even interact nowadays too. Even building the jet set and everything. We're so, so focused on building and cultivating the community, because that stands out. I mean, there's so many places to go eat, there's so many places to go work out, and what really stands out is the environment you create and the people that want to keep coming back. Of course, the product that you offer, offer and everything. There's so many things that go into it. But like one thing that can really make you stand out is the community that you cultivate.
Speaker 2But yeah, it's just so interesting, like I said, it just feels like the revolving door. Everyone's like so fast paced, going through the motions and just I feel like ultimately just very distracted. And you know, we have so much going on and then every single day we're just constantly absorbed with so much stuff in our phones and I think it really takes a toll on the way we interact in person, because we're constantly interacting with something or someone on our phones. And then, when it comes down to personal connection, especially for people that necessarily maybe aren't super personal, I mean all three of us are like we'll talk to a brick wall any day and be able to start a conversation. But some people that's just not kind of in their who they are so I was an introvert before I bartended.
Speaker 1I mean, I worked at the restaurant that I'd bartended at and I think I was there. Some people are like you worked here for six months before I ever heard anything out of your mouth, like I was just kind of shy that's kind of crazy to me. You get to bartending and it just it's a role. So you feel like you get to bartending and it's just it's a role. So you feel like you had to like and it goes back to the stage.
Speaker 3Fulfill that role, stepping on the stage and going into not necessarily a character, but I've seen, you know it's like well, there are plenty of introverts out there now that are still bartending, and when you hang out with them and they're not behind the wood, they're not as outgoing and stoic. There's also the burnout factor, like I just can't deal with the fucking public anymore, so I'm gonna be over here drinking my guinness and you know, just don't talk to me.
Speaker 2So I always find yeah, well, that's like in any job, yeah, yeah, it's like you get off of talking to people and you're like okay, don't speak to me, nobody I definitely.
Speaker 3Having that buffer of the wood across from you is so, so nice, and I'll be out in public now and be like I'm gonna go. I don't want to talk to any of these people anymore I'm socially people yeah, no, we all are.
Speaker 2Ultimately, I mean that's, you know, we're talking about going to have like a good, you know experience of people talking at a bar and then. But you know, I agree, it definitely hasn't come back you know, completely, at least for the way that, like I remember it.
Speaker 3By any means. That'll be a good next time I run into a bartender like that. I'm trying to carry my uh, my lapel mics wherever I'm going. Now I'll get them on a quick little. You know two minute. You know what. What makes you bring your personality to work? You know so many bartenders now. It'd be a good opportunity to go out in the field and get some people on the mic.
Speaker 2Yeah, ask them to rate their personal connections. How would you rate your personal? Connection as a bartender On a scale of one to 10?
Speaker 3It just it's mind boggling to me because we, you know we've sold desserts to upsell to. You know I did anything to increase my income, knowing through reading the books and all this stuff. So just as a bartender, you have to know you're going to make more money being personal instead of just going through the motions, the cocktail build.
Speaker 1Especially in a neighborhood, a neighborhood restaurant you can build yourself busy seven days a week.
Speaker 3Oh yeah.
Speaker 1You know you can have your bar slammed at all times. Build yourself busy seven days a week. Oh yeah, you can have your bar slammed at all times and we worked in a tourist high volume bar Bill, but people would come back every year to see you and to see me and to talk to us and have the drink that we made. It's pretty cool when that happens. I used to have it in Nags Head, have it in Colorado, have it in.
Speaker 3Yeah, between here and, and we also would get that in Blacksburg for football games. You know you're slammed, but you would still be like oh hey, it's good to see you Came in from Maryland to catch the game blah blah, blah, blah blah. It is really yeah.
Speaker 2I mean, that's even, that's like when I was in college, too, and I was working at the local bar.
Speaker 3I mean it was every single night.
Speaker 2I knew who was coming, money I was making from the people I was serving. It's crazy that, like I don't know I don't know if people think of it that way or if it's calculated to a certain extent, it just doesn't feel that way. You know, in a lot of places at least.
Speaker 1I've noticed that. And then prepping the bar, it seems like sometimes bartenders are really busy because they don't have what they need for the shift behind the bar. So then you know you're running back to the kitchen. Oh, yeah, yeah and uh.
Speaker 3So I've seen a lot of that lately tiki bars where they run out of limes because they've sold so many coronas. I'm like I don't know what to tell you. You got to cut seven million lines. It's the first thing you have to have them.
Speaker 2All the drinks, all the margaritas, yeah yeah the, the late I don't know, it's weird and I'm also.
Speaker 1Yeah, the cocktails have gotten better, but the service has gone down a little bit. And is it worth the sacrifice? These days?
Speaker 3not all bars, not all bars yeah, yeah, and this is the kind of thing that starts the conversation to where people actually think about it. And I've. You know some of the bartenders I've trained similar recently.
Speaker 2I'm seeing them behind the wood and I will watch them, with six customers, jump on their phone and I'm like get over here and talk to this person, but the training begins yeah, it's insane to me, like when you walk in and like you, nobody makes eye contact with you or greets you within the first three seconds, quite frankly, but that happens way more frequently than it ever used to. I know that. And again, it's not all places by any means, but it definitely happens which is just mind-boggling.
Speaker 3And there's a lot of blind jokes in there, facts, and I've had customers be like kind of hearing me out with those dark glasses man, and I'm like I'm blind, but there's a lot of jokes here. If you want to, oh, I'm so sorry, it's okay, it's completely fine. Trust me, the regulars will start picking on me as soon as they get here. I was talking to another bartender about a regular.
Speaker 3that is a jackass. That is, you know, there every day, good for a $20 tip but runs other customers off. Is a big gym guy, meathead, typical angry guy and the ownership wants them there. You kind of want them there, but it just changes the room. I know people that will not go to this bar because they know he's going to be there. But yet he's your regular and he's worth five grand a year in tips or whatever the number is. It's such an interesting little conversation I want to have with more bartenders. I don't put up with shit. Somebody really pisses me off. They're gone and that's just how it's going to be. But a lot of establishments you really can't do that. So it's unique to know and that I'm sure there are just thousands of bartenders. There are hundreds of bartenders out there that are putting up with that regular that they don't really like that much. But it's just part of you know, part of the business and I feel like that's why we used to curate our crowd.
Speaker 3Yeah.
Speaker 1And so one you would have. It would get drowned out a little bit by all the other people that were there.
Speaker 3It's more the difference between the grouchy regular because we've all had those, they're out there for sure and the offensive regular, I guess is what I'm trying to articulate. So I'm going to go to the paper's house when we get off the podcast. Got that going for?
Speaker 1us. There's that. Anything else you guys want to talk about? I had just the bottle openers on my list.
Speaker 3Have you seen the J plate yet, bill? I saw a grab bed blancher somewhere.
Speaker 1It might have been something that popped up instagram, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's probably instagram campaign. Yeah, so we got the j plate is our old flat plate bent on the corner. So, bill, when you put it in your pocket it sticks out and you can just flick it with your finger.
Speaker 3It is 10 times faster than oh, yeah, I think it'll be a regular flat plate or speed plate and every pro is gonna get absolutely so it uh, yeah, everyone that's got one loves it.
Speaker 1Um, I got 60 of them made. These are. I found a laser engraving place in richmond down the street, so I actually finished them here in richmond and then got them laser engraved with the B logo the same way.
Speaker 1Yeah, I bent them myself. I made a press break and then I bent them all myself and then like I've got the perfect angle. You know, I like tried out a bunch of different angles and that's in the Outer Banks, man, we always used to bend our flat plates. We either used the bent flat plate or the church key, and then somebody's like why don't you patent that? And so finally I've got the DeWitt Ross and Stevens, our IP attorneys, are actually patenting it right now.
Speaker 1Yeah, so we'll have a patent on that I've already got a provisional patent, so it's already patent pending, and then they're doing the real patent. Yeah, but it's sick, man. You can put it in a side pocket, you can put it in a holster, you can put it in just like. Even when you'd have a flat plate and a holster, you still had to kind of like get your finger in the little loop part. This thing you just flick it right out, and when it's laying on on the bar a flat plate was like harder to pick up because it was like flat on the bar surface this thing lays at an angle, so no matter if it's, you know, upside down or right side up, you can just grab it. You can either pop it up or you can just grab it right off the bar, so like it's so much faster in every shape way and form.
Speaker 1So, um, I'm figuring those things will sell out real quick. We just started selling those this week. So jump over to barninjacom. You can buy them or you can get them on barninjajplatecom. Yeah, so go just head over to barninjajplatecom. Yeah, so go just head over to barninjajplatecom, it's all one word. Or barninjacom. Our podcast website has a link over to it too, as well. But grab them while you can, because they're going to go quick.
Speaker 1I put it online and like six people bought them before I even I was like wait, hold on who's buying. How does anyone know this exists yet? So it's funny Go over there and grab them and then we'll put the old Bottle Ninja, which was our novelty opener First product that Bill and I ever did. What were we doing? What's the story on that? We?
Exploring Recent Trends in Cocktails
Speaker 2were making fun, I was making fun of Brad.
Speaker 1No, you were flipping, I was flipping the wine key around Shoulder to shoulder two pitchers. Brad bought a real Bollie Song knife then yeah, yeah, yeah, like he was a militant guy.
Speaker 1He brought a real, like switchblade or whatever a butterfly knife to the bar Every day. He was like the lunch bartender and he always had some type of weapon that he wanted to show you during shift change. And today's day was a butterfly knife. And so then I'm making fun of Brad and I took the wine key and I was like look, I'm Brad everybody. And then opened a bottle of beer with it and then Bill's like oh my God, we're going to make a butterfly knife bottle opener. And I was like what are you talking about? He's like I got a guy, I got metal manufacturer. We're going to Blacksburg, sure as shit. Five days later we're at a 40 000 square foot metal manufacturing facility with an actual butterfly knife on a metal grinder and we grinded that sucker into a bottle opener, like we took the blade, dulled the blade and then cut it into an opener and then we just we only made one.
Speaker 1We're never trying to sell them. And then, um, bill was the blind ninja at the bar, and then, when we would use the thing, he was like oh, I'm the blind ninja and you're the bar, ninja, and that's where the name came up with it, or we came up with the name. This is like 2003.
Speaker 3We came up with bob and then we would have. We had one of them that we made a bar and then everyone that came in was like where'd you get that?
Speaker 1and I want one and then we were like we just made this video, this thing's a joke. Um, did we lose bill? That's crazy. But uh, yeah. And then someone was like people would start offers like a hundred dollars for it and then we were like dude, we should probably make these so that's why we started making them, and then we started selling them um that's awesome.
Speaker 1That's a really cool story though yeah, the whole thing just started as a joke, um, but they're fun because you're like bored behind the bar and you just flip it around you do it, yeah, and we can go.
Speaker 3I don't. It's awesome I don't know.
Speaker 2He just fell off.
Speaker 3I fell off, y'all fell off a second.
Speaker 2Did his iPad die. Can y'all hear me? We know, we know you're going to love it yeah.
Speaker 1Uh, cool. Well, it's good seeing everybody. Probably see you guys next Thursday. Yes, for sure. I want to start getting more into doing interviews with bartenders and then like more mixology.
Speaker 1We got so stuck on the soft skills. I'm also going to launch that soft skills book, hopefully this week too. It's all it's written. So it's bartending, soft skills, kind of all the stuff we talked about on the podcast the last couple of years Just because it's just what's missing in bartending right now. Yeah, I agree, it's like. As much as I want to get into the mixology part, I'm like the other half of bartending is more messed up, like the cocktail side.
Speaker 2people are doing a pretty good job on yeah, it's the actual like building part of being a bartender besides making the yeah, the fundamentals.
Speaker 1Yeah, because I mean, if you're a bartender, you kind of are the product as much as the drink is the product yes, the drink is the product, but also, like I, will go to a bar that has a really good bartender over one that doesn't that's the thing.
Speaker 2The product's everywhere, like product is everywhere. There's so much competition that ultimately, if you don't stand out, then there's no reason for me to go back. You know I go try something else new, and there's new places opening constantly and turning over. So if you don't make it, if you don't have the right soft skills, then yeah, I mean what you know there's five restaurants make it, so at least do everything you possibly can to make it yeah, customer service is everything training in general is probably like restaurateurs, chefs.
Speaker 1They do all these things, make them look nice, they make the restaurant they kind of hire. You pay tens of thousands of dollars to get a cocktail menu, they make it look fancy, but then they don't train the staff. Training, training, training.
Speaker 3Kevin Alpin all his stuff in Charlotte, the top shelf the best ones are.
Speaker 1It's stated to stick around or train, but I think definitely it's a needs improvement area for the entire industry, for sure. And, on a good note, go buy a Bottle Ninja. Go buy a J-Plate Go buy a shaker Make great gifts, if you can get one, yeah, buy two. You know what Gifts I have a three-pack.
Speaker 2Buy four get one for free. One price for shipping. Buy as much stuff as you want on that website.
Speaker 1It's only one price for shipping, not a promo yet.
Speaker 2I oh yeah, I'll work on that False advertising.
Speaker 1Honestly no, I'll put that together. By the time this comes out there'll be a buy four, get one free. We'll do that, never mind, I lied, no false advertising, it's true.
Speaker 2We just created a promo.
Speaker 1We just created a promo. Yeah, this is board meeting podcast, everything, all in one Yep.
Speaker 2That's awesome.
Speaker 1All right, podcast everything all in one Yep, that's awesome. All right guys.
Speaker 3Great podcast. Love it All right.
Speaker 2I'll see you guys next week. Bar Ninja out, all right, bar Ninja out. Bar Ninja out.
Speaker 3How do I get off this?
Speaker 1thing. See you guys later, See ya. Thanks for listening to this episode of the Bar Ninja Podcast. Please be sure to subscribe to us on your favorite podcast player and join the Bar Ninja Nation that has over 7,000 bartenders in it by going to wwwbarninjacom and you can enter your email. Until next time. See you then. You.
