ANTHEM FRIDAYS MIXTAPE II – “THE ANTHEMS”

ANTHEM Fridays MIXTAPE 2 – THE ANTHEMS by mygayhusband

TRACKLISTING

DJ Drama – oh my
Big Sean featuring Kanye West – marvin gaye
JayZ & Kanye West – bros in paris
Waka Flocka Flame – groove street
Young Chris – racks
Lil Wayne – how 2 love
Lil Wayne featuring Drake – she will
Big Sean featuring Nicki Minaj – dance
Rick Ross featuring Nicki Minaj – you the boss
Rick Ross – i love my bitches
Chelley – I took the night(Clean Radio Edit)
Stromae – Alors On Danse (Remix feat. Kanye West & Gilbere Forte)
Kid Sister – Daydreaming (Douster Remix)
Beyonce – Countdown (DJ Nita Remix)
Rihanna – We Found Love (featuring Calvin Harris)
Calvin Harris – Feel So Close (Extended Mix)
MNDR – Cut Me Out (Drop The Lime Remix)
Spank Rock – Car Song (featuring Santigold)

Craft Cocktails – How Far is Too Far?

Recently I was asked to sit on a panel at Victoria’s Art of the Cocktail, a 3 day cocktail gathering of Spirits, brand ambassadors, enthusiasts and bartenders. The festival runs the first weekend in October and brings together some of the brightest minds in cocktail culture. I have attended the past few years, but had never sat on a panel or presented before. What an honor!

The topic of the debate was simple: How does a bar decide whether to make or purchase products? The panelists: Cameron Bouge – Beverage Director for Earls, a multinational corporate chain with 69 venues. Dani Tatarin – Manager of the Keefer Bar, a boutique cocktail room and President of the Canadian Professional Bartender Association, Craig James, owner of Fentimans Sodas and Myself, Beverage Director of the Donnelly Group, a group of 7 pubs, 3 nightclubs and 1 cocktail bar.

A quick introduction of my time in the bartending industry: I came into this business with virtually no professional food or drink background, learning the ins and outs of a corporate environment driven by costs and numbers. Virtually all bar product was purchased and delivered by a distributor. The most we did “in-house” was cut a puree with citrus or make a thickened cream to “spec.”

Fast forward a few years and I have now moved onto a “one-off” cocktail bar where cocktails are craft made, classics mixed as close to original recorded recipes as possible and contemporary recipes unique and creative.

About 3 years ago I was asked to take over the cocktail program for a small group of pubs under the same ownership. I provided cocktail direction and very minimal training other than providing step-by-step recipes and small history lessons on chosen classics. As the job developed, I found myself helping out with venue walks and recipe checks.

I recall an instance about 2 ½ years ago where I saw a young barman tearing open multiple packets of white sugar meant to be in a caddy for coffee service while the hot water tap in the sink ran beside him. The contents of the packets were being emptied into an empty washed out liquor bottle. I made my way over to the barman and asked him what he was up to and he replied to me: “I’m making simple syrup, sugar and hot water and you mix it up.”

Without digressing too much, I can tell all of you right away that this sort of behavior is a major factor in my decision process when choosing house made items versus manufactured goods. After Cameron and Dani discussed their points on the subject, and Craig went through a great presentation on how his products fit into each of the three concepts, here is what I had to say on the subject.

There are five main factors in no particular order:

Number 1:
When choosing between house-made or bought goods you have to give in to the fact that you as a bar manager will not always be in house to quality check the final syrup, tincture or infusion. You may be out of town, you may be caught up with another project, you may be sitting in Victoria telling stories. At this point, you are now relying on your most recently promoted day bartender who last night was a bus boy who is covering the staffer who called in sick and who is now making your simple syrup in the way is was once off-handedly described to him by a show on the food network. You might have hired and trained the best assistant bar manager in the city, but with turnover and instability in this industry, people move on and people call in sick. So my number one factor is: can anyone follow the steps to make this product no matter what, who or when the prep is required?

Number 2: You cannot always buy a flavor.
Today’s fresh food market, combined with the availability of wonderful flavored syrups, sugars and sodas give bartenders seemingly endless possibilities of flavor combinations and at very little time spent. But what happens when my local grocer or distributor de-lists a soda I have been using in a signature cocktail my guests have grown to love? Or when the inflating costs of buying the product exceed the target margin of profit? At that point it is time to consider new tactics. Perhaps investing in an isi infusor, or the new Perlini units that are so hot right now. A one time investment in a unit will in no time pay for itself in the money saved in the $2 per 12oz I am no longer paying for the manufactured sodas. Also, I can start combining herbs and flavors into varieties the big boys haven’t thought up yet. And now I get to put “house-made” on the menu. But what was my first factor? Oh yeah, who is my biggest risk factor, and can he/she use this process as consistent as I can? Hmmm.

Number 3: Spoilage.
I have never worked in a bar or restaurant that canned its own preserves on a regular basis. I know places like this exist and I know it isn’t all that difficult. I have played around with house made tomato juice (the color wasn’t quite like it was in the can, so my Bloody Marys looked a little different). The other issue was longevity. If I chose to make my own ginger beer or tomato juice company-wide or even in 3 or 4 of the venues, how do I know how long it will keep fresh? What is the drinkability date? Can I rely on every employee to properly rotate these products to attain maximum freshness? A product like Fentimans has quality checkers and packaging machines that determine all these things for me. That my friends, is a big relief. Potential spoilage, is a major decision point.

Number 4: Labor Cost.
If I can somehow maneuver past all these first three factors and decide to create some amazing house made syrups and sodas. I first need to consider what it will cost me in time to dedicate a staffer to create them. I am not simply talking about the $8.50 per hour minimum wage costs. What I am truly worried about, is dedicating that staff member to be creating and infusing while they are supposed to be serving customers, prepping for the dinner rush, keeping up with glass-washers, running food, table maintenance and so on. All the little things that can easily fill a busy lunch or day shift. Will he or she have time to go into the kitchen and watch ginger beer ferment? That is one major what-if given today’s high standards of service. I will either need extra time for prep pre-open, or a second pair of hands.

Number 5: The point of difference.
If absolutely everything I used behind my bars was available for purchase from the grocery store then each and every one of my cocktails could be easily replicated at home and there would be less need for a restaurant experience. My kitchens spend countless hours tasting and tweaking sauces and items to be served at the table so they can boast their originality and creativity. The bar should be no different. There is always room for an original infusion or house-made syrup to create a point of difference from your home to my bar to any other bar in the city. I know that my syrups and tinctures will be different than Dani’s. I also know that I can’t wait to try her new creations. If gives me something to look forward to and it gives her an edge over the other great bartenders in the city.

These are Five of the factors of my decision process when weighing the options. Of course, each of these relates to the others and some are more important than others. Whichever the result; the process always starts off with an idea, and ends with a cocktail.

Muppets X Opening Ceremony

This is interesting… The Muppets have collaborated with Opening Ceremony to create a 20-piece collection. The partnership consists of t-shirts, knit sweaters, hoodies and dress shirts – ranging from $45 to $230. Just in time to promote the new Muppets movie being produced by Disney (in theatres November 23rd), Miss Piggy made special appearances at the brand’s Fashion Night Out celebrations. The catch? The images of Kermit, Miss Piggy, Animal, Fozzie and Gonzo used on the clothing show the characters wearing Opening Ceremony designs themselves.

Zak Santiago – Dark Feathers (Mixtape)

Zak Santiago is a beast on the tables. You can hear him every Friday at Bar None and every Saturday at Republic rocking the dancefloor with a mix of every genre imaginable. He is also one half of hometown heros Los Hermanos Libres with Flipout. He is also a boxer, and acts, and flamingo dances. He is also the coolest MF in the club wearing sunglasses. Truth.

He also just made a mixtape called Dark Feathers. If you close your eyes, throw back a bunch of shots, and dance for 3 hours straight shoulder to shoulder (or something to something) with a bunch of beautiful women having the time of their life then you will have an idea what being at a Zak Santiago party is all about! Download and enjoy.

DARK FEATHERS by Zak Santiago

Adult Colouring Books

Colouring books aren’t just for kids anymore. Well, these colouring books aren’t. Have a browse through these “adult coluring books” that are available for purchase through Amazon. I came across these books on COLOURlovers and If It’s Hip It’s Here. I wonder if it’s still hard to stay inside the lines.

Humor Chic

I love visiting Humor Chic every once in a while to see the new illustrations that aleXsandro Palombo has drawn up. Palmbo, designer turned illustrator, mixes fantasy and irony in his artwork. His blog Humor Chic is a daily society portrait blog – depicting his point of view and poking fun at costume, society, fashion and celebrities. I find most of illustrations hilarious. Take a look through these and try to guess who they are.

ANTHEM Fridays Fall 2011 Mixtape

featuring remixes & edits from upcoming special out of town guests performing at ANTHEM Fridays at Post Modern Dance Bar in Vancouver

ANTHEM Fridays Fall 2011 MIXTAPE by mygayhusband

TrackListing
DWNTWN – Hungry Hearts (Skeet Skeet Refix Ft. Lil B The Based God)
BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE – All To All (Skeet Skeet’s Trap House Remix)
MATTIE SAFER ft NINJASONIK – That Your Girl (Skeet Skeet Remix Mastered)
THE CHAIN GANG OF 1974 – Hold On (Skeet Skeet & Seaton Remix)
FOSTER THE PEOPLE – Pumped Up Kicks (Skeet Skeet Remix)
FOSTER THE PEOPLE – Pumped Up Kicks (Gigamesh Remix)
KATY B – Lights On (Gigamesh Remix)
WIN WIN – VICTIM featuring Blaqstarr (Gigamesh Remix)
CLASSIXX – I’ll Get You (Gigamesh Remix)
INOJ – Love You Down (Thee Mike B Edit)
THEE MIKE B presents Bourne Toulouse – My Fantasy (Radio Edit)
MODJO – Music Takes You Back (Thee Mike B’s Brie-Edit)
AVICII – Levels (DJ Fashen’s Etta Clockwork Edit)
DJ FASHEN – One
DJ FASHEN – Say That You Heart Me
SISTER NANCY – Bam Bam (DJ Fashen Remix)
LCMDF – Mountains (Skeet Skeet Remix)

mixed by ANTHEM resident deejay MY!GAY!HUSBAND!

FRIDAY OCT 7TH 2011
ANTHEM Grand Opening with special guests from L.A.
DJ SKEET SKEET + THE COBRASNAKE
with resident deejays M!G!H! + RYAN TRAX + GENIE

FRIDAY OCT 14TH 2011
ANTHEM presents special guest from L.A.
THEE MIKE B
with resident deejays M!G!H! + RYAN TRAX

FRIDAY OCT 21ST 2011
ANTHEM presents special guest from L.A.
DJ FASHEN
with resident deejays GENIE + RYAN TRAX

FRIDAY NOV 18TH 2011
ANTHEM presents special guest from Minneapolis
GIGAMESH
with resident deejays GENIE + RYAN TRAX

Rag + Bone

About Adele:

Born and raised in BC, Adele Tetangco has been a part of the Vancouver fashion industry for the past 7 years. You can find her working as the Sales + Marketing Manager for local label daceand more recently as a Fashion PR consultant for Blank Communications. Follow her on Twitter @adeletetangco

TK’s Top 5 of Summer & Fall

Like it or not, this heat won’t last forever. Summer has slowly creeped away with earlier darkness and cooler mornings. Before long we’ll all be moping around complaining about the rain (which is just as bad as complaining about the heat FYI).

Here are the top 5 things I did this summer, and the top 5 I’m looking forward to doing this fall.
Top 5 Things I Did This Summer

1) Tales of the Cocktail

An amazing five days in one of America’s greatest cities. The main focus is the cocktail. But there’s no shortage of spirit seminars, tasting rooms, dinners and parties. Even if you don’t get into all the seminars you want, simply hang out in the lobby of the Hotel Monteleone and run elbows with the greatest cocktail personalities of our time.
Insider Tip: if someone is sipping on a flask of anything, stand close and act interested. You might get a taste.

2) Mondial de la Biere / F1

I don’t know if these two events run on the same weekend every year, but I think they should. 50+ breweries represented, 100+ beer styles, $40000 pop-up beer bars, fast cars, beautiful people. This weekend had it all. Some of Quebec’s most notable beers were there, St. Ambroise, Unibroue etc. But for me, it was the underdogs I was most impressed by. Did I mention that overr 80000 people tour the beer festival each year?

3) Kentucky Bourbon Trail

This is more of a year round activity, but I went this summer, and really just wanted to keep talking about it. 5 distilleries in 4 days. Meet the people who make and distill some of the world’s finest bourbons. Louisville is a great city, and there’s nothing like southern hospitality. If you don’t make the drive to Tennessee and have lunch (they call it dinner) at Miss Mary Bobo’s you are doing yourself a dis-service. Continue reading »

Band of Outsiders