Hot Bartender, Cool Drink: Not Your Average Bartender

What do you wish people knew about bartending?

How much cleaning is involved! It is a lot of fun, but we’re cleaning before the restaurant opens and way after it closes!

 Is this your career, or is it just paying the bills?

It’s paying the bills right now. I’m in school for pre-law, so this is definitely a means to an end.

Bartenders talk to a lot of people every day—tell us about the most bizarre person or experience from work.

We have a regular come in, his name is Bill. He’s been coming in two or three times a week for the past six years. He always calls a half hour before he comes, and I set up his space at the end of the bar with a little reading light that has his name on it, his 12-year-old Macallan scotch, a glass of water, and his oyster crackers with blue cheese dressing. He buys a ton of Joe’s gift cards and then pays for his drinks and meals with them. We found out that we have the same birthday, so we always get each other a little something. I love him—he is awesome!

What one quality separates a regular bartender from an unforgettable one?

Sometimes you go to a bar, and the bartender just says, “Hi-what-do-you-want?”  A really great bartender will take the time to discover someone’s personality.  When people go out, I think they want to talk with the bartender—it’s a social thing.

People come to you to let off some steam and relax—what is your favorite spot in town to do the same?

I go to the BBC and 586 Bistro. Ryan at Ardeo’s on Main Street is the best bartender in the world.

For drinks, Keeley likes to make sure her guests are berry happy.  Here’s what she does:

 Very Berry Cosmo

 In a shaker filled with ice, pour:

 0.5 oz Stoli Raz

0.5 oz Stoli Blue

0.5 oz Triple Sec

¼ lime wedge fresh squeezed

0.25 oz. Oasis strawberry mix

1 oz cranberry juice

Shake and strain into martini glass, with 2 raspberries in the bottom of the glass and a strawberry on the side.