Our good friend Gary Regan passes this along, a great idea useful to bartenders everywhere:

Since tending bar is no longer merely a job that young folk do "to pay the rent until I become a major Broadway star," the men and women who hold forth from behind the mahogany are actively seeking to maximize their positions, and to turn their jobs into viable careers.

At the same time, marketers in the distilled spirits industry are looking for masters of the bartender's craft to help create stylish 21st-Century cocktails, organize parties and events, and advise them on how best to connect with the retail side of the business, as well as with consumers.

Enter The Worldwide Bartender Bulletin.

This year-old (in May) weekly bulletin is the brainchild of the guys at ardentspirits.com, a web site founded in 1999 that's hosted by Gary Regan and Mardee Haidin Regan, authors of The Joy of Mixology and The Bartender's Best Friend, respectively.

Jonathan Pogash, editor-in-chief of the bulletin, works with the Regans on a variety of projects, and as a young professional bartender in his other career he know what problems bartenders face in 2008. "I think that the bulletin is much needed right now," says Pogash. "Bartenders are always looking for new opportunities, and that's exactly what we're bringing to them in the bulletin."

The Worldwide Bartender Bulletin goes out via email to almost 1,000 bartenders, bar managers, and other hospitality industry professionals every week. Subscription to this service is free to bone fide hospitality industry professionals, and the bulletin brings its subscribers together with spirits companies looking to hire Brand Ambassadors, marketers who need the best of the best to create new cocktails, and it lets bartenders know about cocktail competitions, and myriad other opportunities for bar professionals.

"Bartenders are the best brand ambassadors liquor companies could hope for," says Gary Regan. "It's only natural for marketers to reach out to the bartending community, and our database is obviously the best tool available to help them make contact with the cream of the crop."

Learn more about both the database and the bulletin here.

If you're in the Tampa area next week, March 27 through 29, plan to drop by one of the many events hosted by Polished Palate, culminating in the International Rum Festival Main Event, a tasting of more than 100 sugar cane spirits, including not only rum, but rhum agricole, cachaca and rum-based cordials. Hosted at the Cuba Club in Ybor City, you can get more info here.

Make your plans now for the Santé Restaurant Symposium, held June 1-4 at the Equinox in Manchester, Vermont. Dale DeGroff, Tony Abou-Ganim, Brian Van Flandern, Adam Seger, Franceso Lafranconi and Livio Lauro are among the bartenders and consultants expected to present. Full conference pass, $995 if you register before March 31. Visit their website for full details.

This year marks 60 years for the United States Bartenders' Guild, who are having an anniversary event in conjunction with their annual National Cocktail Competition May 2 through 4th in Long Beach, CA. Events take place at the Westin Long Beach. For more information, go to their website.

From our friend Chris Carlsson, named after the just-disgraced ex-NY Governor:

Thought you might enjoy this one:

1/2 oz. Campari

1 oz. absinthe

3 oz Champagne

(Basically a Death in the Afternoon variant)

Pour the Campari into a champagne flute. Float 1 oz. Absinthe (I prefer the Kubler clear/white.) Float the champagne over all of it.

The story is champagne (sweetness of success) followed by the absinthe (madness and sex)and then the Campari (a bitter,bloody red end). And of course, that it is a variation of Hemingway's Death in the Afternoon.

Christopher Carlsson

Rochester's Premier Spiritual Advisor

You may have already heard about the potentially devastating fire in Plymouth, England, that torched the old Blackfriars Distillery, home of Plymouth Gin and the soon-to-return to the U.S. Plymouth Sloe Gin. Here's what U.S. brand ambassador Simon Ford shared with us:

Friends,

You may hear that the Black Friars distillery caught fire today and I just wanted to give you an update as I spoke with Sean Harrison (Master Distiller).

The good news is that that the pot still and general production facility is still intact as is the oldest part of the building, The Refectory. Also the front view of the distillery does not look different and it will not affect the launch of the Sloe Gin as that part of the building was safe also.

The bad news is that we lost the restaurant which from what I hear is in pretty bad shape and they completely lost the roof.

8 fire engines came to the rescue and for the second time in Plymouths history the distillery has been saved from fire (the 1st time being in World War 2 when it was hot by a couple of bombs).

I am now relieved and think I may need a martini.

Simon

Fire hits historic Barbican area
(BBC News, Wednesday 27, February, 2008)

Parts of Plymouth's historic Barbican are closed as firefighters tackle a blaze at Black Friar's Distillery.

Fire hits historic Barbican area

Plumes of smoke can be seen from across the city

Firefighters have been tackling a blaze at a restaurant in Plymouth's historic Barbican area. Emergency services were called to the fire at a restaurant in the Plymouth Gin Distillery in Southside street at about 1600 GMT.

Devon and Cornwall Police said the restaurant was evacuated and the surrounding area closed.

Residents were moved from their homes in nearby Hoegate Street. No-one was trapped or injured in the fire.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said eight fire engines, including an aerial platform were deployed.

Crews found fire in a first floor kitchen, extractor trunking and possibly in the roof of the three-storey building which houses the Plymouth Gin distillery and the Barbican Kitchen Brasserie, run by the Tanner brothers.

Fire commander Pete Smith told BBC News the fire was under control, but crews would remain damping down and watching for hotspots to ensure the fire did not take told again.

He said the fire had caused extensive damage, but most of the distillery building had escaped. Eyewitness Fay Jones said massive plumes of smoke had been seen coming from the distillery. The cause of the fire is not known.

Black Friars distillery has been the working home of the world famous Plymouth Gin since 1793. The building dates back to the early 15th Century and was formerly a monastery of Black Friars.