Who Are You, Person Making Me Cocktails?

Who Are You, Person Making Me Cocktails?


Arunas Bruzas of Acadia

Danny Shapiro (Scofflaw, Slippery Slope) seemed to bristle when I asked him if he considered himself a “mixologist,” which has been a commonly applied term to those who mix drinks and do more than simply pull beers and pour shots.

“I’m just a bartender,” said Shapiro, notwithstanding that Chicago Eater recently referred to Shapiro as a “bar dude” [http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2014/05/13/scofflaw-team-opening-slippery-slope-tomorrow-night.php]. While it might be no more offensive than “mixologist,” the “bar dude” designation may easily confuse the person behind the bar with the bros sitting at the bar.

“Mixologist,” said Ryan Hoover from behind the bar at Blackbird [http://blackbirdrestaurant.com/], “is not a new term: it’s an old term,” and this little bit of etymology seems accurate [http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2013/08/history-origins-of-the-term-mixologist-nineteenth-century-drinking-bartenders-jerry-thomas.html].

“What I don’t like about the word ‘mixologist,’ said Hoover, “is that it suggests that we’re focusing on making the drinks rather than serving the customer.” He added that like Shapiro, he’s fine with being called a “bartender.”

But “bartender,” to me, though pleasingly humble and workmanlike, seems too restrictive a term. Guys like Shapiro and Hoover are not simply “tending” to me and others at the bar: they’re crafting fascinating beverages, combining ingredients I’ve sometimes never heard of with liquors I’ve never tasted, and they’re not just serving them at the bar: cocktails are regularly served at white tablecloth restaurants, and sometimes, as at Coppervine [http://coppervinechicago.com/], they’re paired with multi-course meals. So these guys seem to be so much more than just bartenders – not that there’s anything wrong with bartenders. These guys seem to be more than that.

Over at Acadia [http://acadiachicago.com/], Arunas Bruzas had just made me his Maine Campfire (rye, mezcal, cocchi, cedar, juniper & honey elixir, tobacco, juniper and cocoa nib tincture) when I asked him whether he liked the term “mixologist.” He winced, saying he associated the word more with tattooed hipsters. The term he prefers is “barman,” which I kind of like.

“Barman” gets away from the custodial connotations of “tending” as well as the possible pretention of “mixologist.” I ran “barman” by Hoover at Blackbird, and he said, “I like it. It says what we do, like a fireman or policeman.”

So until further notice, the guys who have made it their life’s work to stand at a bar and amaze with their cocktail craft will be known, by me, as barmen. And just as “dude” can be applied to males and females (as anyone knows who watches “Broad City”), so too will “barman” be, for me, gender-neutral.

“Another round, please, barman.”

Yes, that works for me.

So until further notice, the guys who have made it their life’s work to stand at a bar and amaze with their cocktail craft will be known, by me, as barmen. And just as “dude” can be applied to males and females (as anyone knows who watches “Broad City”), so too will “barman” be, for me, gender-neutral.

“Another round, please, barman.”

Yes, that works for me.

sorry, barman 'gender neutral'? are you kidding? it only sounds gender neutral if you're male. but it doesn't signify anything different than the word 'bartender' does, which at least IS gender neutral, so i'm sticking with that term.

justjoan wrote:

So until further notice, the guys who have made it their life’s work to stand at a bar and amaze with their cocktail craft will be known, by me, as barmen. And just as “dude” can be applied to males and females (as anyone knows who watches “Broad City”), so too will “barman” be, for me, gender-neutral.

“Another round, please, barman.”

Yes, that works for me.

sorry, barman 'gender neutral'? are you kidding? it only sounds gender neutral if you're male. but it doesn't signify anything different than the word 'bartender' does, which at least IS gender neutral, so i'm sticking with that term.

Dude, chill.

What about barkeep?

NeroW wrote:What about barkeep?

Not bad, and it has a certain Old West ring to it that I like.

David Hammond wrote:Dude, chill.

Now that is an appropriate banner quote for LTH

David Hammond wrote:

justjoan wrote:

So until further notice, the guys who have made it their life’s work to stand at a bar and amaze with their cocktail craft will be known, by me, as barmen. And just as “dude” can be applied to males and females (as anyone knows who watches “Broad City”), so too will “barman” be, for me, gender-neutral.

“Another round, please, barman.”

Yes, that works for me.

sorry, barman 'gender neutral'? are you kidding? it only sounds gender neutral if you're male. but it doesn't signify anything different than the word 'bartender' does, which at least IS gender neutral, so i'm sticking with that term.

Dude, chill.

I'm with Joan, David, and your comment is condescending and rude. BarMAN is not gender neutral, nor is Dude. Not all words for providers of service have to be gender neutral, sometimes finding another word is awkward. But don't call this word gender neutral and try to make us think you're doing something special for women here.

leek wrote:

David Hammond wrote:But don't call this word gender neutral and try to make us think you're doing something special for women here.

You guys! Did I ever say I was trying to do something special for women here?

Your charge of condescension seems based on that misreading. I re-read what I wrote and nowhere do I suggest that I'm doing "something special" for anyone anywhere.

One correction: Danny Shapiro has ascended to $tartender level and is no longer a regular bartender.

=R=

Whatever you call him, Arunas is one of the best in the city. Nice to see him get some recognition here!

My husband grew upstairs from his father's bar, where the females serving drinks liked to be referred to (he insists) as "barmaids." If that's the gender opposite to "barman," I think I'll stick with bartender.

ReddiWhipSmart wrote:Whatever you call him, Arunas is one of the best in the city. Nice to see him get some recognition here!

Yes, I really enjoyed chatting with Arunas while he made me tasty things to drink. Good guy (of the male persuasion).

bfolds wrote:My husband grew upstairs from his father's bar, where the females serving drinks liked to be referred to (he insists) as "barmaids." If that's the gender opposite to "barman," I think I'll stick with bartender.

While I was diligently "researching" this post, the term "barmaid" came up, and I had to immediately reject it. Too Moll-Flanders-Miss-Kitty-of-Gunsmoke-like.

Barkeep, though uncomfortably close to bartender, has kind of a nice feel to it, and barman (besides being now clearly a hot-button trigger point) has less of a lineage and so feels more trendy (though not as trendy as mixologist). I like barkeep.

David Hammond wrote:(besides being now clearly a hot-button trigger point)

I really hope you're not being facetious here. I mean after all, a fireman is now a firefighter, and a policeman is now a police officer. I think bartender works just fine.

I just don't know why no one wants to go by cocktologist. What's wrong with that?

Teresa wrote:I just don't know why no one wants to go by cocktologist. What's wrong with that?

Love it! This is the first thing we've ever agreed upon!!

David Hammond wrote:

Teresa wrote:I just don't know why no one wants to go by cocktologist. What's wrong with that?

Love it! This is the first thing we've ever agreed upon!!

I'm glad I finally got to make that joke to the right audience. Bartenders do not appreciate it for some reason.

Interestingly, I had a similar conversation recently with a friend who is a bartender. He visibly shuddered at the term "mixologist." He preferred bartender.

I suspect "mixologist" is received the same way "foodie" is

Cocktologist for the win.

Alcoholista?

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Alcoholista?

=R=

That's the female form of Alcoholisto. We're looking for a gender-neutral term.

Alcoholista like Barista? That's gender neutral.

TCK wrote:Alcoholista like Barista? That's gender neutral.

That was my thought when I suggested it.

Personally, I always try to learn bartenders' names immediately. I introduce myself and from that point forward, address them by name. So, how we label these fine folks has never really come up for me. Frankly, I'm more likely to remember a bartender's name than a distant relative's. They're generally kinder, and I enjoy spending time with them more, too.

=R=

TCK wrote:Alcoholista like Barista? That's gender neutral.

I was being half-serious, but you are totally correct. As I researched the name "barista," I came up with this relevant lexical note:

The word barista has developed from the same word in Italian, the gender-neutral term for 'barman'.

Source: http://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/b ... rista.html

Geez, this thread. The traditional and gender-neutral term IS "bartender." Glad to see that the silly suggestion that "barman" is gender-neutral did not float.

"Barkeep" makes as much sense as "housekeep."

If anyone meets a highly skilled and experienced female bartender who actually likes being called a "cocktologist," I'd be very surprised.

Katie wrote: The traditional and gender-neutral term IS "bartender."

Yes, that's understood, and I tried to explain, in the original post, why I found that term inadequate and, incidentally, why the newer term, mixologist, didn't seem to be working, either.

Katie wrote:"Barkeep" makes as much sense as "housekeep."

If anyone meets a highly skilled and experienced female bartender who actually likes being called a "cocktologist," I'd be very surprised.

"Barkeep" has been in the language over 300 years, and "housekeep" for about half that, but no, you can't just add "keep" to a noun to get a sensible word. It does, indeed, not work to call a grocery clerk a "foodkeep" or a valet a "carkeep."

Barkeep, however, is part of the language, and gender-neutral, like barista. You don't think "barkeep" makes sense? Several centuries of common language usage suggest that it does make sense to a lot of people.

Cocktologist was intended as a tongue-in-cheek suggestion that several of us thought was funny. Oh man, the burden of having a sense of humor...

My wife, a certified mixologist, takes great offense to all of this. She graduated summa cum laude from Authentic Bartending School in Edison, New Jersey, which earned her a fellowship at Engine 41 in Allston, Massachusetts. After three dedicated weeks of pouring Guinness, she was promoted to sous-mixologist. Her responsibilities included choosing Tuesday’s drink special, and determining at which point on Friday night they would transition the patrons to solo cups. The pay and tips weren’t great, but she wasn’t there for the money, she was there for the art. That was twelve years ago. Since then, she has become jaded with the entire field of mixology. However, she never was able to stick with one thing. After double majoring in fine arts and philosophy at Amherst College, with a year abroad at Glasgow School of Art, she is sadly no longer painting or philosiphizing. Somewhere in between, she earned a 176 on the LSAT(which she took for fun) and laughed at the idea of law school; a free spirit. Now a chief medical resident at Northwestern Memorial, it’ll happen any day now: “Honey, I don’t want to be a doctor any more, it’s making me dull.” “That’s alright Sugar, you still have your certification in mixology.”

Don’t you take that away from her David Hammond, don’t you fucking take that away.

Also,

David Hammond wrote:Yes, that's understood, and I tried to explain, in the original post, why I found that term inadequate and, incidentally, why the newer term, mixologist, didn't seem to be working, either.

http://youtu.be/SL7tppbw62c?t=1m43s

.

Teresa wrote:

David Hammond wrote:(besides being now clearly a hot-button trigger point)

I just don't know why no one wants to go by cocktologist. What's wrong with that?

"Cocktologist" was coined by the students of Masters and Johnson and does not refer to purveyors of drinks, but is related to the study of activities that often follow the consumption of said drinks.

It'd be so helpful if, like Facebook, LTHForum.com had a "Like" button, because I would have used it at least twice this afternoon.

Besides a like i wouln't mind a dislike.

I like barkeep/bartend. It reminds of what a goalie is called in soccer and ice hockey; one is goalkeeper, the other goaltender.

[quote="David Hammond"]Who Are You, Person Making Me Cocktails?

Where's H.L. Mencken when you need him?