(Beer. Beer is great. Learn how to serve it right.)

This site is more than just another run-of-the-mill recipe site; there are already dozens of those floating around. What this site hopes to offer is a bit more insight into the history, traditions, tips and tricks that bartenders know about not only serving cocktails, but the tiny, individual details that give each mixed drink its own history and personality.  I’ve made it my goal to make sure you have the ability to wow all of your guests, clients, friends and coworkers as you impress them with what will become a vast knowledge of mixology.

Any fool can simply “drink [another person] under the table,” but everyone remembers the classy individual who taught them how to make that amazing drink, or the refined, savvy sales associate who knew exactly which interesting new cocktails to order for the group while discussing business over lunch.

Every cocktail I cover in this blog will not only have the recipes for each one, but I will explain what kind of drink it is, so that you know exactly which “ritual” to observe during preparation. It’s these rituals which help foster the kind of ambiance that  creates a fun, classy adult party atmosphere that will make yours the event to remember.

Welcome to Underground Bartender. The way to introduce this site upon launch that makes sense is to explain what this site is all about. Simply put, this blog is not just a drink recipe site; my goal is to teach you anything and everything the professional bartenders know; this blog will be as much about what goes into your bar as it is about what goes into your drinks.

I first learned the “art of mixology” around five years ago, and have worked at a couple of bars and quite a few parties while putting myself through college. Every now and then, I still work a party if it seems like an interesting enough event, but most of the bartending-related work I’ve been doing has been as a tutor; teaching a few well-heeled individuals how to be tend bar at their own parties. After doing this on and off for two years, I came to the understanding that there were a great many people out there, who wished to learn how to do what professional mixologists do, but only for the sake of being a better host at their own parties.

I come from a family filled with teachers, so from early on, I’ve been indoctrinated with the belief that if you know something of value, and you know how to teach, you should teach people. I’ve also been a web designer and a blogger for many years as well, so it stood to reason that I would build a blog about bartending, and use it to teach everybody who’s interested all of the finer points of bartending.

So here we are. Hope you find it as fun an interesting as I do, if not more.