Tag Archives: bar

A little out of my league.

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While I adore the Drinking With Chickens blog and Facebook page…

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And was thrilled that the author published a cocktail recipe book…

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Loaded with fabulous birds…

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And beautifully crafted drinks…

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I have to admit her concoctions are a little out of my bartending comfort zone.

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And as much as I’d love to dazzle our friends ( if we ever see them again post plague) with these truly gorgeous creations..

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I fear the barn bar, which will be fully stocked with assorted liquors and accompaniments, will more than likely be devoid of fresh persimmons and kumquat thyme syrup.

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Calendula blossoms and cardamom pods? That might be a bridge too far, even for me.

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One tequila, two tequila….

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Because if you need a cocktail recipe book?

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It might as well have a literary slant and begin with one of my favorite quotes.

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Ole Dorothy knew her stuff.

But seriously, this is a great little addition to any bar with easy to make classic cocktails.

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The play on titles and snippets of fun facts will amuse even your drunkest friends.

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You can’t go wrong with Gin Eyre, trust me.

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Cheers!

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Not worthy of their own posts.

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We drove through a small town the other day where I saw a building named after me.

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But it was a gym and not a bar, so clearly they have no idea who I am.

In news from the grocery store, it looks like there was a run on kitty litter.

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Are we hoarding that now? Damn. I didn’t get the memo.

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Ha! You have to love clever ad men.

And finally, I bought a calendar for the barn bar.

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It’s appropriate as fork.

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Hey bartender….

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https://youtu.be/PknRSaRq6l4

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Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.

While the husband was teleworking yesterday, I laid claim….

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And started bringing glasses and accessories out to the barn bar. Wine, whiskey, mule, margarita, pint and martini glasses… check! Shot glasses, strainer, muddler, shakers… check! Two more shelves need to be installed on the left, but I made a dent.

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And noticed the husband had beat me to the rubber mat and Marine Corps coasters placement.

No matter, I stashed my cheat sheets…

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And my favorite cocktail recipe books.

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And then I found a prominent spot for what I’ve been dying to add to the barn bar ever since my husband began sputtering about building one.

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No bar should be without one.

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Word of the day – adaptation.

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Adapt or die, you’ve all heard the phrase. And never has it been more crucial for small businesses to do just that.

Bars and restaurants have been especially hard hit by the pandemic and though take out food helps them stay afloat, it’s in the bar that establishments realize their largest profit.

Enter The Great Lost Bear.

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A veritable institution of alcohol and beer consumption in Portland, Maine for the past 40 years. With 80 rotating taps…

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And a large creative menu, it’s worth the hassle of trying to finding a parking spot on the always crowded Forest Avenue.

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(If you’re a fan of John Connelly’s books? This is the bar Charlie Parker uses as a makeshift office.)

Sadly, we haven’t visited this paragon of drunkenness for quite some time but I was pleased to see they’re adapting.

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With outdoor drinking during good weather…

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And cocktails to go when Mother Nature says no.

Brilliant!

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Some of them sound quite tasty.

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And now that we have our own bar, I might have to mix a few.

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Pie in a glass?

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Who doesn’t love that?

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Floating shelves that don’t float and non existent outlets.

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Now that the bar construction was complete, it was time to outfit it. And while we’re still waiting for the chairs and wall shelves to be completed….. I wanted some shelving inside the bar for glasses and various drinking paraphernalia.

Enter the floating black shelves I found.

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If you’ve never put up floating shelves? I don’t recommend it. They look and sound lovely…. though they’re anything but for the poor schmuck who has to install them.

And I think we all know who my poor schmuck is.

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Two shelves and two hours later, my other half was less than pleased with my choice. He was even less pleased when I told him I would be buying two more.

Moving along…. the mini beverage fridge was slid into place.

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And plugged in.

Although that didn’t go well either.

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Considering the electrical outlet is on the opposite wall. This is something the husband didn’t contemplate when he bought the fridge and though I did…. I kept quiet and let him discover it all on his own.

I’m thoughtful that way.

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( The electrician will be here in two weeks to add outlets. )

And one more thing… while reading the instruction booklet for proper beverage cooling procedure? I had to laugh.

( read marked lines )

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Something tells me this unit was not made in the good ole USA.

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Because one day I might be under it.

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As previously reported, the barn bar construction is finished and now it’s just a matter of waiting for chairs.

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But on further inspection, I noticed this.

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Not visible until you’re slightly under it (which I may be some day in the near future, don’t judge) was an exposed lip of pressboard used to support the top.

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I wasn’t loving it and decided to turn it into a nice little black strip.

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What a royal pain in the ass that was.

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I didn’t paint the whole thing, just the trim edge. But it looks better.

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More finished.

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And it picks up all the other black accents in the room quite nicely.

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It took me forever, but there. Mission accomplished.

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We have a bar!

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An honest to goodness, sturdy and well built, fully stained and polyurethaned, ready to dance on (or fall under) bar!

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It was a long time coming but we’re pleased with the result.

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The wood grain is lovely, the top is smooth and shiny.

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And once the custom ordered chairs and shelves are ready, it will be time to get down to business.

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The business of mixing my first Barn Mahal cocktail.

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And they say drinking doesn’t pay.

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At the beginning of December we gave $10 to a fundraiser for our local food bank which we wouldn’t have known about it if we hadn’t been sitting in our corner at the local pub.

We drank…

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And lo and behold, it paid off.

Because yesterday when we stopped in for a burger and a beer? This was placed in front of me by the bartender….

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The husband joked that they didn’t need to bribe us to drink there…

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But damn. For $100 gift card? I’d drink anywhere.

Apparently our donation was part of a raffle and we won a prize.

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Who says drinking doesn’t pay?

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