Back To (Bartending) School!

A true Bartender is always learning.  Its September:  Back to School time, and we focus, more than ever on education. It the Bartender Journey Podcast Number 180. Listen with the audio player on this page, on BartenderJourney.net or subscribe on iTunes, Android or Stitcher Radio. On this episode of Bartender Journey we talk with Bar Educators Chris Bidmead and Suzanne Freedman, founders of the educational Bar Methods course. Bar Methods is a new program, focusing on Bartending fundamentals. In keeping with the spirit of spirits education, we are happy to announce that for the month of September only, the Scotch Malt Whisky Society is offering a discounted member rate with code "AMANDA" when you sign up at smwsa.com. Membership includes private access to the site, a subscription to Unfiltered magazine, invitations and discounts to events around the US and access to exclusive Members' Rooms in Leith, Edinburgh and London! Bartender Journey swag giveaway! Send an email to [email protected]  - with an example of how you used something you learned from the Bartender Journey podcast either behind the stick (for professional bartenders) or at home (for cocktail enthusiasts). Just a short write up please with "WHAT I LEARNED" in the subject line and if you are the winning entry, we will send you a Bourbon t-shirt and accompanying bourbon notebook we got a recent Angel's Envy brand event. Entries must be received by September 28th 2016, midnight Eastern Standard Time.  Full rules of the contest here.  Good luck! Book of the Week: Southern Spirits: Four Hundred Years of Drinking in the American South with Recipes by Robert Moss. When you hear “Southern cocktail”,  does the mint julep come to mind? Mix beyond the mint julep and learn cocktail recipes and their history beyond each one. From Robert Moss,  food and drink writer and culinary historian,  this book offers insight of the Southern drinking culture of liquor,  beer and wine and its influence on the American drinking culture. Cocktail of the Week: Bufala Negra This version of the drink is credited to John Greco of Philip Marie in Manhattan.

• 1 ½ ounces bourbon
• ½ teaspoon Turbinado sugar
• 1 teaspoon good Balsamic Vinegar
• 5 Basil Leaves
• 2 ounces Ginger Beer
• Muddle sugar,  vinegar and 4 basil leaves in a cocktail shaker. Add bourbon and ice and shake to dissolve sugar.  Strain over ice into old-fashioned glass filled with fresh ice.  Top with ginger beer and garnish with basil.