Foreword by Admin – Kathryn Mikoski has written this excerpt from Betty Deavy’s book in response to me posting about my adventures in the wine world. It’s a lovely piece about their adventures in bartending in the 80’s.
I was contemplating a career change and was exploring the possibility of Hotel Management sometime before we bought the house at 446 Westminster Ave. To this end I signed up for the Hotel Supervisory Diploma Course at Algonquin College. The first course I chose was deadly dull but proved to be very useful – Basic Accounting. Betty decided to join me for the next one which was much more interesting – Menu Planning. The third (and as it turned out last) was the best of all – Bartending which we began in January 1982. We both found it surprisingly demanding but fun.
Our instructor, Bill Vineer, had a connection to the National Library as he was an aficionado of pipe organs (he actually had a few organs in his home) and had consulted Music Division staff about this passion. He informed the class (all young people except the two of us) that there would be 5 written essay assignments plus a final written exam and a final “practical” exam. The class was set up with mock bars, fitted with appropriate bottles of coloured water. Part of each evening class would be devoted to a lecture about some aspect of the business followed by practical work at the bar learning about various cocktails. We would be expected to memorize 85 different drinks including their contents, proportions, proper glass and required garnishes. The practical exam would test these. Our text book was Grossman’s Guide to Wines, Beers and Spirits. The classes were 3 hours, once/week for a 3-month term. He invited those who were interested to come to practice drink mixing on Sunday afternoons. Practically everyone came to these sessions as they were a lot of fun. He informed us that at the last practice Sunday we could choose a “real” drink to mix and he would bring the ingredients. Up until then we had to be satisfied with coloured water. We chose a champagne cocktail for our final “real” drink. I thought it was a waste of good champagne.
Champagne Cocktail: Place 1 cube of sugar saturated with 1 dash of aromatic bitters in cocktail glass. Add cube of ice. Fill glass with chilled Champagne and add twist of lemon.
And so, the year began with lectures on the history and making of wines, beers and various spirits like vodka, rum, whiskey and gin. We heard about the various wine regions of the world. He also discussed legal issues, hygiene and even the psychology of dealing with clientele. But a lot of focus was on the practical making of the drinks. Bill impressed upon us that in a successful bar, speed was of utmost importance. Therefore, there is a “classic” way to set up the bar so that you can grab the required bottle, glass and garnish without even looking. We had to memorize where each bottle would be placed – some at the back and the most important ones at the front.
Betty and I made up flash cards for the various cocktails we needed to memorize. We would test each other at coffee breaks at work. Our colleagues “appeared” to be entertained by our tales of this experience which was unique amongst librarians at the National Library. We worked on our essays as their deadlines came along. I believe I did one on the making of champagne and another on gin. Betty remembers researching whiskies (probably because of her previous tours of the distilleries along the Spey River in Scotland).
The last essay of the year was to analyze and write about a real bar in the city. Bill did say that we could work as a team so naturally Betty and I chose to work together. But what bar to choose? We really were not experts. There was the lounge at the Delta Hotel where we occasionally had a buffet lunch. But the bar was not really very noticeable. I suggested that we might consider the bar at Mexicali Rosa’s canteen on Bank Street in the Glebe. I had been there once or twice with friends and found that it was “hopping”, crowded and very cheerful. I recalled that the bartender was a bit of a character. So, we “girded our loins” and picked a quiet time mid-day, probably a Saturday, to introduce ourselves and ask whether the bartender would mind being the subject of our assignment. Paul Nolan, a large exuberant man seemed quite pleased with the idea. We made arrangements for follow-up visits to tour the bar and the restaurant, to alyze the drink menu, and to discuss with Paul how he made his drinks and managed his bar. And of course, to take pictures and sample the food along with the signature drink – a Margarita or perhaps a pitcher of Sangria.
Our paper was 5 type-written pages long, covering topics such as: location, history, atmosphere, clientele & business volume of the restaurant. This was followed by a detailed analysis of the bar: design features and problems, discussion of the cocktail list, the bartender history and qualifications. Finally, we addressed his client management policy. We followed the text with 4 diagrams of the restaurant and bar, and the glasses used. We included the restaurant food and bar menus and photographs. Our instructor liked the effort and we enjoyed the research!
At last, the day of our final written exam arrived. We had taken the course seriously and studied so we were prepared. The exam was a mixture of short “essay” responses and multiple-choice answers. Betty and I left feeling quite comfortable with our efforts. Betty asked me which three essays I had picked to answer. I stopped short and realized that I had only picked two!! What a goof! It was not that I couldn’t respond to three, I simply mis-read the requirements. I was devastated. However, there is a sequel to this error which Betty will never let me forget and which she takes great pleasure in relating to anyone who will listen.
Then came the ultimate test – the practical exam. Three bars were set up in the exam room. Three people would be called in at a time. Five cocktails (from the 85 we had been asked to memorize) would be written on the blackboard. We would have 3 minutes to make all 5 drinks. Our instructor would be observing. I have never been so nervous (except perhaps my piano exams). It was something about the hand-eye-brain coordination that seemed much more difficult than a written exam. The 5 cocktails were fine – I knew them all. I think Betty did too. She was at the bar beside me, but I didn’t take the time to look at her. My first drink required grenadine which had always been available during our classes and as the weeks went by, became thicker and stickier in the bottle to the point of requiring a good hard shake to get out a few drops. Of course, the bottles of grenadine had been refreshed for the exam and my good hard shake filled my glass! I screeched (or so Betty told me, but she didn’t take the time to look). I had to quickly dump the glass and start over, so I had 6 drinks to make in 3 minutes. By some miracle I made it.
Our instructor invited the class to his home for a party when it was all over. As we arrived, he greeted us warmly and congratulated me on achieving 100% on my final written exam. He turned to Betty and said “you did very well too, Betty. You got 98%.” Betty has always wondered how I managed to get 100% when I only answered two out of three questions? I wonder?
PS: Did we get our money’s worth from this course? Most definitely! Yes, we did offer cocktails to our friends but much more valuable were the stories we were able to tell. As to the other courses, Menu Planning was fun and at the time Betty and I toyed with the idea of a restaurant business (thank goodness we came to our senses) but since we were planning to offer only breakfasts and an occasional evening meal, it was not really relevant to our B & B business. Basic Accounting on the other hand, proved to be useful as year after year for many years, Betty and I found ourselves spreading out our journals, ledgers and appropriate receipts and working for hours to balance the books in order to submit our Income Tax.
