Raising the Bar at No.38

I would like to apologize for not being able to blog for 2 months. I have been busy with school, consultancy and some events. For those who have been following the fan page as well as my twitter, that’s where I am also occupied with since it’s easier to upload pictures and videos as well as get connected with the rest of the world.

What better way to be back in the blog world by educating everyone a little bit about semantics in the Beverage and Bartending industry here in the country.

What is BAR TOUR? When I was in college, this was a requirement we had in our HRA105 (Beverage Management). The mechanics was simple but complete: we were supposed to go to 3-4 bars and observe the following aspects: service, barlist, menu, the bartender, sanitation, ambiance, price and overall experience. Afterwhich, we had to make a report and present it in class. Looking back, I thought we looked like mystery shoppers and bar consultants. I retained this activity in my memory for it was both fun and interesting and I eventually applied it to some of the schools I taught in.

Another meaning of BARTOUR may mean like a promotion or launch of a product or a person/group. I remember when I used to bartend for Bacardi, we had a Bar tour to Launch Bacardi Limon in several bars in Manila. This was a one month run.
Unfortunately, some sales people from the business took advantage of this and infused this as part of their menu and coined it “bar tour”. But it’s actually a bar seminar which focuses on a few aspects about bartending and focusing on the company. To make this appealing, you carry a famous brand name and offer it with a free meal with drink plus a certificate…and voalah!!! The cash register rings.

In other countries, a seminar is coined as “Raising the Bar” which is very appropriate because when a participant is already exposed in bartending this can be a refresher course or a totally different experience for him.

This concept is what I applied together with my partners so as bartenders we can “walk the talk” so to speak. The No. 38 “Raising the Bar” series is a seminar held at No.38 Sports Bar located at 114 Jupiter St. in Makati City. We will only focus on what you need for your class and not those that you will teach so as not to be redundant.
So far on our first run with Polytechnic University of the Philippines, it was generally SWEET.

You can visit our fan page or my personal page to see the pictures.

We accept a maximum of 50 persons per batch.

For details and bookings you may contact us at 09176117441.
See and know the difference. We raise the bar up a notch once again for Philippine bartending.

Holy Week Reflection: The Only Constant thing is Change

The title of this blog maybe the most cliché saying but this holds true especially this holyweek. As a devoted practicing catholic, tradition dictates that Holy Week is a time for reflection and solitude. But last Maundy Thursday, I had to see for myself it this still holds true nowadays. I decided to go for a swim with my buds and we went to one resort. Alas! We weren’t able to come in because this resort was packed. So we decided to look for another spot. And well good thing they still had a space for us. I was shocked. The resort had 5 pools in total and all of them were full. Not to mention the cottages, tables and the verandas. Where have all these people come from? It wasn’t as “holy” here than outside. People were laughing, running around, drinking, smoking and swimming of course.
As I sit and observe all of these things happening, I rationalized things in perspective. My conclusion: To each his own. As long as you still have your faith in tact and you observe holy week in your own way then I raise a glass to that. I am not saying that everyone has to go on vacation during holy week but that’s just the way it is. FREE WILL as they say. Just be responsible with your actions.
It’s the same thing as bartending. There is no absolute STANDARD. Everything evolves. Everything is dynamic. One cannot be stuck. You just have to accept that change and integrate it in the present. Old school meets new school.Simple.

SUMMER BEER ALERT!!! SMB.SARAP MAG BEER BUT PROVIDE US FRESH BEER!!!

If you would look for some information regarding beer in Wikipedia, it states there that:
Beer is the world's most widely consumed alcoholic beverage and probably the oldest; if you watched the movie “Beowulf” then maybe you would agree; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. Beer is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cereal grains—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), and rice are widely used.

Most beer is flavoured with hops, which add bitterness and act as a natural preservative, though other flavourings such as herbs or fruit may occasionally be included.

Summer time is here!!! The Philippines is also known for its’ beers.
We generally have 2 major beer companies: San Miguel Corporation and Asia Brewery.
Well both would have almost the same line of products although the first one would have a little edge in terms of variety in my opinion.

I had the privilege of tasting beer when I was 8 years old I when my tatay would tease me that it was brown water and I would puke and scream after tasting it since it was bitter. When I went to highschool I was pressured to love beer since it meant being a man if one drinks this. And in college, I indulged in it having been trained in recent years.
But when I became a bartender, I slowly began “appreciating” beer and its contents rather than love it.
In fact, I can say that here in our country, since most of us like anything sweet, even the beers were tailored in that direction. I will not name a brand but well in the US this brand is very bland but strong, but here it has a touch of sweetness.
Here’s the catch, beer can taste either, bland, bitter,malty or sweet, but NEVER SOUR like vinegar. I experienced this when I was working with Virgin Café ( it’s now the spoof of DOLCE). A certain ex-basketball player turned government official came upto us in our bar and almost poked a gun at us because we weren’t aware that we served him a bottle of sour beer 3 times. The following day we investigated and found out that some of our beers were exposed to the sun since there was no more space for storage.
When exposed to the sun, since beer is fermented it is prone to further fermentation which can lead to being sour.
This year, it was like dejavu, a friend of mine let me taste his beer when we went to one bar. It did have a faint touch of sourness. We changed it and still had the same result. But I am quite certain that this bar had no issues when it comes to storage.
The next day, I was driving along the highway and I noticed a beer truck without any cover, all the beers were exposed in the heat of the sun. This made my eyes big and it made me think that this is the reason for the beer fault.
I hope this blog reaches the proper distributors of our beers. Please make sure that the beers you deliver are fresh by covering them and making sure they are not exposed to sunlight. When your trucks are at a standstill during traffic, all your beers are exposed. And to the major beer producers, I hope you orient your distributors properly with regards to beer storage.
Let us enjoy beers the right way. CHEERS!