The Origins of Mr. Bartender

The origin of Mr. Bartender is actually an amusing one (amusing to me anyway). It can technically be drawn back to when I was 16, and my parents thought it would be a cute idea to have their 16 year old son bartend their New Year parties. Well, being a teenager, I jumped at the chance to work with that illicit, adults-only substance, alcohol. I looked up a bunch of the usual recipes (sex on the beach, apple martini, cosmopolitan, etc.) and started memorizing them. Well, about the 2nd or 3rd year in, one of their friends got too drunk, and they cut off that practice right quick. It was too late though, I had caught the cocktail bug.

As soon as I moved out around the age of 19, I had been buying up as many different spirits, liqueurs, and mixers as I could find/afford (I had a fake ID. It's too late now coppers, you can't arrest me!). My friends and I spent many a night (sometimes day) mixing up various inebriating concoctions. Eventually, I amassed quite the bar.

A couple years later, I found a deal on GroupOn for a bartending school and convinced a few of my friends to join up with me. The classes were fun and interesting, but we quickly realized that the kind of people who join bartending schools are the kind of people who don't know the first thing about..well, alcohol. And that certainly wasn't us. I was sitting next to a girl who asked the difference between vodka and gin. The speed at which I sent my face through my palm is now up in the Guinness Book of World Records. Now, granted, she was in school, and this is the place to ask such questions, but it made me realize that bartending school wasn't for me. Eventually, my friends and I dropped out.

Fast forward a few months or a year, this one particular guy my friends and I know graduated the same bartending school that we all dropped out of. Now, to say this particular fellow was a few nuts short of a box of trail mix is a bit of an understatement. He quickly asked my roommate and close personal friend of mine to design a logo and a website for him. He had a bartending certificate, a logo, a business card, and a website. Suddenly, he was considered a bartender, and I wasn't. This did not sit well with me. This guy doesn't even know how to make a proper Old Fashioned, and I have the scotch collection of a septuagenarian!

One night, I stormed into my friend's room and requested, nay, demanded a logo and a website. I already had an idea in mind, and an hour later, through the work of a half asleep, reluctant, graphic design artist, I had a logo. And Mr. Bartender was born. Suck it other guy!

Immediately, I started looking for gigs. Anywhere and anything. Craigslist was, of course, my best bet. I started offering my services for free. It wasn't too long before I landed my first job....and then another. Problem was they fell on the same day. (Meanwhile, other "bartender" was still looking for work...suck it again...) So I went to my first gig, I sent one of my friends who dropped out of bartending school with me to the other job. And that's when Mr. Bartender took his first baby steps. The rest, of course, is history. 

Introduction to Mr. Bartender

Hi there! My name is Anthony Kaufman, and I own and operate the bar catering company, Mr. Bartender. I'd like to be called Mr. Bartender myself, but that wouldn't be doing the name any justice. We've employed up to 30 people at any one time, so considering Mr. Bartender as just being made up of the works and experiences of one man would be unfair. Mr. Bartender is a collaboration of anyone and everyone who has ever worked for, contributed to, or even hired Mr. Bartender. In that respect, it has turned into a living, ever-evolving being, which makes for a much more exciting company!

I've started this blog as a way of sharing my experiences and lessons with alcohol, cocktails, event planning, people, and pretty much everything I've picked up along the way running Mr. Bartender. Think of it as a behind-the-scenes look on the bar and catering industry as well as a more personal look into Mr. Bartender. Why would I write this? A few reasons really. For one, transparency does a company good. Those who've had a few business classes in college know what I mean. Second, the stresses of running a catering company and a small business can add up, and I find the writing cathartic. I'm sure many people can understand that. And finally, I really want to expose people to the world of cocktails and fine spirits. That is, in part, why I started Mr. Bartender.