1946 The Roving Bartender by Bill Kelly

THE ROVING BARTENDER

In wiping glasses use two towels. The first wipe stand the glass up so the air can get at it. On the second wipe turn down ready to be moved to back bar. Bitter decanters should be well-filled and if you are using bitters out of the original package, as some bars do, keep one for filling and fill up close to the neck as this keeps the dashes more equal. When mixing a drink, never take the mixing glass out of sight of the customer.If it's only a plain water highball, bring the water in a fresh glass up to the drink and the customer then can take as much as he wants. Ice-tongs and scoops are made to be used. Gum or that which is called simple syrup is now widely used especially in service bars where it makes for speed and in the tropics where different bugs,roaches, etc., get into the sugar, but for real life in a drink give me sugar. Just try a collins with the sugar added last and drink it as it fizzes and you won't want to give anyone dead syrup. Both the Tom and John Collins were originally morning drinks and were made to be drunk while they fizzed the same as our gin fizz. Now they are taken anytime and mostly sipped through a sipper. The difference between Tom and John Collins is very little, but the Tom Collins you drink today is the original John Collins or nearly so. These drinks originated in England and the first was John and was made with two halves of lime muddled in a 12 oz. or 14 oz. glass several pieces of cracked ice, a drink of dry gin then filled up with Schweppes soda and lastly the sugar to give it life.Tom was made the same way but Tom Gin was sub stituted for the dry gin.This recipe came from old English bartenders that I worked with in Canada a long time ago. Today,John Collins is made with whiskey instead of gin in the U.S.A. and there are some people who believe that

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