I keep hearing about bartenders injuring themselves by, presumably, over zealous muddling. It seems the spoon end of the bonzer bar spoon breaks off and goes through the hand of the unwary "mixologist" ouch!
Tony: Then there's the lacerated hand from the misuse of the glass, opening the shaker by the karate chop style
Dick: Ooh yes and the uncareful extreme sport of "ultrashaking" that results in throwing the shaker at the customer with devastating results.
Tony: Saloon brawl is probably the most feared. This involves waving bottles at head height
Dick: Oh, you mean having a colleague performing a stylish "snap-pour" next to you and clouting you with the bottle? Can't you be prosecuted for bottling bar staff and banned from every licensed premise? These all have something in common.
Tony: What?
Dick: They're all modern phenomena and didn't occur in the past 100 years of bartending only rather recently. Usually by the new guys.
Tony: Or new styles of bartending. I don't think everybody wants an equity card. But I get your point. Only recently I was watching Giuseppe at the Dorchester working cleanly and efficiently at high speed.
Dick: Yep. You don't have to do a load of flashy stuff to be good (although it can look amazing) I try to "reach Zen" behind a bar by being fast and efficient and repetitive, but also controlled. My maxim; "be careful little boy you might get hurt", my teacher said that.
I can't turn out 300 drinks a night with a colleague if I am injured and I need to be precise to make my best drinks. Bottle waving really winds me up. I just tickle them!