Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1882-09-09
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When . boy feels the divine afils-
!os and his young ambition inspires
him TO ssk admission in such school
a. be may eventually graduate from
with the diploma of professor Of cook
tails. brandy smashes, Rob Rows. mint
Juieps. sherry cobblers, Glasgow dips.
rum coolers, milk punches. claret
punches, Pousse cafes, hot toddies.
and cafe royales, he finds, as the sage
OF old said, that there is no royal
road TO learning, and that in liquor,
as IN literature, he must begin ut the
bottom. He begins by washing gia.
sses, freeing them from all the aroma
Of oil that Is beautiful in bibulous
way, and leaving them SO that no
faint Of what has been may interfere
with the favor of what is to be. A
probationary period enables the bar
keeper TO gauge the merit of the fled
ceiling, and il he shows that he NAV
ultimately become credit to his
'br0ugbten ups as they say in New
England, he Is taken in hand AMI put
through q course of objec: study.
tie is permitted to draw beer and ale,
and place before the customer who
takes his straight" the glass and de-
canter. He fills bottles, land when
nothing else is doing he watches the
man OF experience make the drinks
which call for nicely in choice Of
quantity of the various materials
used, and . high grade Of taste in the
selection of the Ingredients.
He is educated, too, in the aesthetic
side Of barkeeping. the arts ic place
Of crystals. and other bar decoration,
the disposition of such works Of art
IS may lend grace to the back bar and
imbibes lessons Of p0liteness to Gus
toners, for in the higher class bar
courtesy is the rule, and it isn't once
. year . rude person calls for . dex-t
ferrous twisting toward the street.
Everything is supposed to be on q
higher plane. and even when people
get over the bay. that il to say. ex-
cessively stimulsted-or, Or as COM
mon folk call it, drunk-they are ex-
pected to do it in q gentlemanly way,
aud to violate none of the proDrieties,
as prophecies 60, in the company they
find themselves in.
The youth thus learning the secrets
of the art is also making acquaint-
ances, and these acquaintance take
an interest In him, 30 that he looks
forward to his first cocktail or julep
as an artist to his first picture, or an
actor to his first leading part. And
when the drink is made. il it be salts
factory, the young man is as self-satis-
fed a. II he had drawn medal for
Q landscape, or received applause for
successful Interpretation Of some
minds chef d'Huvre.
A year behind the bar is supposed
to enable the youngster TO emerge
from his cubhood. He then becomes
second barkeeper, and can afford 10
put on few airs-subdued airs. He
has learned by this time to have q
pretty thorough contempt for ''becr
singers" and to look askance at the
fellows who hand out inferior liquors
in fifth-rate houses He has been
taught to think of them in the ineu-
phonious and coDtrovertible terms Of
''chumps" or ''chaws." and feels
that he has standing which they
have not got. At his bar he waits on
merchants and men in the profession.
and they take notice Of him. II his
eyes are wide open and they usually
archie has begun also to observe
humAuity's folllies and weaknesses.
and his first year has taught him
more than mixing drinks. He knows
by this time thing or two Of the
social undercurrent. He has branch
ed out, got tips on races. bought
some pools, looked forward to the day
perhaps when he should 60 to wood
carvcrs and decorators aud hand them
over q thousand or two dollars to fit
up little piece of nagnificence In
the way Of q barrO0m for himself
in short, he 10 fast developing into .
first-class barkeeper.. His clothes are
made by . fashionable tailor, and his
linen IL always epotless. He knows
just whom to salute with familiarity,
whom to treat with Difference, whom
to simply stare at. The couple OF
years he spends % assistant barkeepef
are his experimental period. After
the training he has had and granting
that he 10 sober and gentlemanly. he
10 always eligible to some position in
Q firsf-class bar, but his rank - hrst
class barkeeper Is yet to be made, and
this be must decide for himself by
his ability in compromising. II ne
can achieve success in making such
drinks as have been enumerated his
famc is made, and he is always good
for somewhere between tl8 and $25
a week for nine hours day. with .
porter to do the scrubbing and an
assistant to do the rougher work for