Three People Bar Owners and Bartenders Should Thank

Bar and tavern owners, as well as their bartenders, should pause for a few seconds each day to give thanks to these three great men.  These men provided them the opportunity to earn a living, generate profits and be rewarded with huge tips. This article highlights the three greatest bar legends: Henry, Facundo and Jose.

Henry, the son of Wales farmer, became famous in the British Navy not as a sailor but as a privateer (which by the way - was not a pirate).  During the 17th -century. Henry earned the reputation of being one of the most successful privateers in the Royal Navy. When the British finally succeeded in ousting the Spanish fleet from the Caribbean, the King of England personally appointed Henry the Lt Governor of Jamaica from {1664-65}.

Henry did not like government work though so he resigned to become a land owner in Jamaica. On his land, Henry grew all sorts of wonderful spices native to Jamaica. Henry also loved rum - so he grew his own sugar cane so he could to distill it into rum. Henry wanted a unique flavor of rum so he infused the rum he produced with the favorite spices he grew.

Though Henry made all his rum in Jamaica he chose to call it a product of Puerto Rico - is true! - because that’s where Henry first enjoyed the wonderful taste of rum. Yes, the Henry I am talking about is none other than Henry Morgan - Captain Henry Morgan - or who sometimes bar owners and bartenders refer to just as the Captain.  So you see there really was a Captain Morgan. 

Today Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum is the largest selling rum in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and South Africa. The image of a man in a dashing, red coat, with long flowing black hair, standing on one foot - printed on every label is the actual likeness of Captain Morgan.

The Second person bar and tavern owners should thank is Facundo. Facundo was a Spanish wine merchant who immigrated to Cuba in 1830.  While in Cuba, Facundo discovered the wonderful flavor of rum.  At the time, Cuban rum was considered an unrefined drink that only the poorest of peasants would drink. Seldom, was rum ever sold in taverns or fine restaurants. Facundo however liked the taste of rum so much that he decided to use his wine making skills to refine it. 

Facundo worked for years trying to isolate the perfect strain of yeast suitable for properly distilling rum; most important - he even went one step further. He filtered all his rum through charcoal which he believed would to remove any impurities. Finally, Facundo decided to age his rum - just like wine was aged - in fresh white oak barrels.  He thought aging rum would 'mellow its wild flavor'. 

Facundo was the first person to ever produce a “clear or white" rum. Since everyone enjoyed his new rum he set up a distillery in Santiago, Cuba in 1862 in an old warehouse building which was full of fruit bats in the rafters. Working near those bats every day inspired Facundo to create his logo for his rum. 

What many people forget is that Facundo invented two very special drinks the world still loves to this day. The first one he created right after the Spanish War which he called the " Cuba Libre" (which literally means 'Cuba is Free') along with another wonderful drink he created just for the ladies so they to could enjoy his rum. He called his second drink - the Daiquiri.

Facundo always insisted Cuba was the home of rum and his rum - Facudo Bacardi's Rum - became the King of all rums. Ironically the Bacardi distillery he created and used for over 100 years was confiscated by Fidel Castro.  When Castro nationalized all businesses after taking power in Cuba Facundo's family quickly decided to move their distillery operation over to a neighboring island - Puerto Rico. 

Today, though Barcardi Rum is distilled in Puerto Rico, it is still called a Cuban Rum. Bacardi rum is the largest privately held spirit production company in the world.

And just so you no there never was a Ron Bacardi. ‘Ron’ which is on the label of every Bacardi bottle is the Spanish word for rum. 

The final man in this story of legends is really amazing. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in Mexico back in the 1500’s they were introduced to a local drink called 'pulque'. The conquistadors found it disgusting but by using modern techniques they were able to refine the distilling process of pulque and created an entirely new spirit called Mezcal.

King Ferninand the VI of Spain happened to grant a noble Spanish citizen a land grant in Mexico 1758 so he could start a farm in the Mexican state of Jalisco. On his new farm, this Spanish gentleman began to cultivate agave, a native plant that grows wild throughout central Mexico.  Agave by the way is what is distilled to make Mezcal.  However the Spanish farmer only harvested the best agave he grew on his land and by doing so he was able to quickly improve the taste of Mezcal. 

Like the conquistadors he also improved the distilling process for his agave and radically changed the flavor of Mezcal.  In fact, he changed the flavor so much he that he created a new spirit which he named after the village where he lived in Mexico – the village of Tequila.

However his real brilliance was that he did something unheard of. While every distiller at the time always provided their spirits in huge wooden kegs or small wooden casts, Don Jose Antonio de Cuervo decided to try using a new Portuguese invention called the glass bottle.  So Jose bottled all his Tequila. 

As a result, Jose Curveo's Tequila became the most popular selling tequila in the world. Today, Jose Curveo sells 35% of all the tequila sold in the world - twice as much as it nearest competitor.

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Should Small Bars and Local Taverns Have Legends?

We live in a world based on fact - fiction and legends. Facts are things we know for sure - like gravity. Fiction we all know is not true - like Gina can throw a baseball over a mile. But Legends - aah, now these are the things that make us wonder and occasionally smile.

Ever heard the Legend of the Lone Ranger; the self-appointed law man who wore a mask and shot silver bullets? He and his Native American companion fought injustice in the old west? What about the legendary swordsman - Zorro? He single-handedly fought the Spanish government because it oppressed and over taxed the early settlers of California.

Now neither Zorro nor the Lone Ranger can be factually confirmed as there is no official documentation about them, but every school age child and all senior citizens know about their heroic exploits. So should bar and tavern owners consider having ‘Legends’? Well some do … and those are generally the bars with biggest crowds making the most money.

Whenever I walk in a new bar I love learning about the bar's history. Some bars print their histories on the back of their menus others hang a prominent plaque on the wall. I went to a bar once that claimed Al Capone stopped in once while on the run from the G-Men in Chicago. Another bar told me that when John Glenn returned from his historic space orbit he stopped in the bar to eat his first Hamburger back on earth.

Another bar proclaimed Harry Houdini, the great magician, often came in - wearing disguises to practice his new magic routines on the locals; and I even read that whenever John Wayne went back to Iowa to visit his old boyhood hometown he would always stop in this one bar and yell out loud “Boys the drinks are on me”.  Now I am not sure if any of these stories are fact but they all sounded good and each of those legends helped make those bars a ton of money.

So if your bar doesn’t have a Legend – why not create one? 

Imagine a bar somewhere - anywhere - called Vic’s Pump Room. Now Vic bought the bar back in the late 60’s, and then sold it to his son-in-law Walther in 1992. Walther still owns the bar but now his twin daughters, April and Agnes, operate and manage it. Vic’s sells cold beer and provides a good stiff drink in a clean, friendly atmosphere. Vic’s is in a modest neighborhood in an older section of town.  It has a gorgeous carved mahogany back bar area and 70% of the patrons are locals while 30% are strangers passing through town.

Imagine people entering and seeing this magnificent older bar. They have a few drinks, order a burger then ask ‘what’s the deal’? Well the bartender replies, Vic bought the bar in the 60’s, sold it to Walter his son in law in the 90’s and now Vic’s granddaughters - April and Agnes - run it. Boring!

What if Vic’s Pump Room had a Legend - a great legend.  Suppose it was once the site of Aldo’s Fine Jewelry Shop? Aldo, a Romanian watchmaker, immigrated to America in 1921 and quickly earned a reputation for making elegant and accurate time pieces. What if Eleanor Roosevelt heard of Aldo's and was reported to have bought two of Aldo’s watches which she gave to the Presidents of Argentina and Prime Minister of Iceland when they attended an Official White House diner?

What if Aldo’s Jewelry shop flourished until members of the notorious Simpson gang out of Wichita came to town and robbed him. As Aldo tried to defend his store he was over powered by two gang members who broke three fingers on his right hand thus ending his watch making career. Needing money to return to Romania, Aldo sold the building to the Malone brothers: Jeremiah and Jeddah - two local taxi drivers. 

As the Malone’s drove their taxis through town each day they saw a need for a conveniently located fun bar. So they converted Aldo’s old Jewelry Store into the beautiful bar you see today. They operated it successfully until Jeremiah was stabbed by Lefty Cohen for cheating during a dice game in the back room.

Fearing for their lives the Malone Brother’s fled town and Vic then bought the bar from them. Vic renamed the bar the ‘Pump Room’ because of the huge red cast iron water pump down in the basement.

Now I ask you – which sounds better? A bar with a blah-blah history? Or a bar with a fantastic legend?  When you are ready to create a legend for your bar - contact me and let's do it right.

Eba G is a bar analyst who helps bar and tavern owners increase sales and maximize profits. Isn’t it time you increase your bar or tavern’s sales and profits?  Join Eba G. on Face Book.  It’s easy just search ‘Eba Gee’ and friend me.     

Something Every Bar Owner, Bartender and all Wait Staff Personnel Should Think About.

Bar Tender Trivia -- Why are There 18 Holes in a Round of Golf?

Here is a wee bit of history every bartender should know and and share with their friends.

Why are There 18 Holes in a Round of Golf and not 10, 15, or 20?

Legend has it that during a discussion of the founding members of St Andrews Golf Course in Scotland back in 1858 when the game of golf was being established, a senior member pointed out that it takes exactly 18 drams (the Scottish equivalent of shots) to polish off a good bottle of Scotch Whisky.

All the founding members of St Andrews agreed; by limiting players of the game of golf to one shot of Scotch per hole a round of golf would be officially be over when the Scotch ran out or at the end of 18 holes.

Bartender Trivia - Parcheesi

As many of you know I am a big fan of trivia.  Customers who come in to your bar or tavern when you are on duty do not want to be burdened with problems.  They want to come in, relax and have fun.  So why not entertain them with great trivia.

Parcheesi is a board game that many of use played as children.  Few people however are aware that Parcheesi is a board game that originated in India.  Parcheesi was a game played by only the ruling class of India.  

The game (Parcheesi) was played outdoors in the palace garden(s) and the pieces - get this - which were human servants -  beautiful young women who served the ruler. 

The game pieces actually walked across color tiles placed in the lawn. The goal was to get all the pieces (the young ladies) home.  Home was the center of the garden were the lord of the house sat with his friends. 

Bartender Trivia - Drive In Theaters

As many of you know I am a big fan of 'trivia'.  I think bar owners and bartenders who know good trivia - really good trivia entice their customers to come back.

Its a fact, Customers who enter your bar, tavern or pub when you are working do not want to be burdened with 'problems' - your problems, your business's problems or the communities problems - they have problems of their own. 

Customers who enter your bar come in to relax and have a good time.  In other words they want to have fun and escape from their reality.  So why not entertain them when they are in your bar? Entertain them with some really great trivia. Trivia they can enjoy and trivia they can relate to.

See if they know this one ... The first driven-in theater in the United States was opened in Camden, NJ.  It was built by Richard Hollingshead. 

To create his drive-in Mr. Hollingshead strung a sheet between two trees and mounted a project on the hood of his car. 

Here is the kicker.  Why did he create a drive in theater?  Well he said his mother was the inspiration for his idea. 

His mother was a very large woman who always felt uncomfortable sitting in the small seats found in movie theaters of the day.  By showing his movie outside his mother could sit in the front seat of his car and enjoy the movie.  

Trivia for Beer Distributors and Bar & Tavern Owners

Bar Humor ... So a Guys Walks in a Bar

So a guy walks in a bar and orders a beer. After the bartender pours him a beer, the bartender asks "Would you like something to eat with that?"  "What are my choices asks the customer."  "Yes or No" replies the bartender.