On Writing (About Drinking)
Last night I was speaking with Duggan McDonnell of Cantina, where I was drinking for the third time before it officially opens on Thursday. It turns out that in addition to opening a culinary cocktail bar, Duggan is also getting his MFA in creative writing in his spare time. He was asking me about the world of booze writing, as it would make sense to combine his two passions.
Though I had no practical advice, what I should have said is, "Don't quit your night job." Writing is a terrible way to pay the rent, and even dive bar bartenders make twice the salary in half the time that I do. But it did stimulate some thinking: What are the ways that people write about cocktails and drinking?
- Recipe writing. Some people, many of them coming from the bartending world, write recipes and fill in the space around them with information. I do this for Frontiers Magazine, and Gary Regan does this in his column in the SF Chronicle.
- Technique writing. Shake or stir? Proper muddling, not-so simple syrups. There is more and more of this writing as people become interested in home mixology. Imbibe Magazine specializes in it, and many magazines have DIY advice as part of stories.
- History. People like Ted Haigh and Eric Felten of the Wall Street Journal will track every reference of a drink to find its origin, creator, and cultural popularity. This makes great bar conversation topics for the rest of us after they do all the hard work.
- Industry. Both the liquor industry and the service industry have trade publications following them and educating one another on what the competition is doing. Magazines like Bartender, Sante, and formerly Patterson's Beverage Journal cover these topics.
- Reviews. In the Web 2.0 world, bar reviews aren't as important as they once were, but the public still needs to know which bars are where and what they're like.
- Trends. A combination of industry news (three more organic vodkas launched) and reviews (three more bars serving flavored mojitos launched), trend writing is really my bread and butter.
Labels: industry_news, trends
**This is the Alcademics archive- most posts can also be found by going to www.alcademics.com under the same date**
posted by camper at 5/23/2007 06:06:00 AM
6 Comments:
And then there's some wierd combo of "all of the above".
I've parlayed my own creative writing degree and bartender experience into a pseudo-lucrative career as a consultant, trainer and all-around opinion-giver.
How do I know I'm successful? The inimitable Stephen Beaumont subscribes to my feed (no, seriously—that's how I define success, because if I just looked at my income I'd be toast).
You missed writing about the Craft of Bartending.
Jeffrey Morganthaler's excellent blog is one of my favorite resources that often covers this subject.
Gary Regan's book, "Joy of Mixology" and Dale DeGroff's "Craft of the Cocktail" are the two best published sources.
Well, there's also fiction, and dramatic non-fiction.
Bartending memoirs and biographies of notable potables and their makers.
You missed the lowest of the low: blogging.
Just kidding.
Enjoying your stuff, thanks to a recommendation by A-List cocktail blogger, Jeffery Morgenthaler. Keep up the good work.
- Lonnie Bruner
Making fun of blogging is super cool- if it's still 2006.
Just kidding.
Mr. Morgenthaler has done wonders for my traffic. Hello, new people!
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