2013-06-19T09:43:32-04:00 Jack L. Williams http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/index.php?author=jack-l-williams Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Jack L. Williams Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3330487 2013-05-27T19:00:00-04:00 2013-05-28T04:23:14-04:00

Jack L. Williams http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jack-l-williams/
There's something about bars that bring out the fence-straddler in all of us, teetering on the edge of making the simplest of decisions. There's so many etiquette pitfalls out there, looming like the proverbial black hole, ready to swallow you up and spit you out onto the social reject pile.

Frankly, I'm loathe to jump on to the Great Gats-wagon but those smart socialites had a point. Etiquette for blokes in bars is a very real and potentially life-changing skill. It's not do or die, but it will help you float through social situations as seamlessly as John Terry edging into a celebration.

As a barman at a number of London venues, I've seen that social reject pile and I've seen the Jay Gatsbys of this fine city - and here's what I've learnt.

Doing rounds - First up, if you suggested the bar, then you should be the one sorting a table and making a decision on setting up a bar tab or doing rounds. My advice - go rounds, and make it clear drink-dodging tight-wads won't be tolerated.

If someone's not in for the long haul, exclude them from the round group and let them order alone; this will save any 'but I only had one pint' hissy fits. And if you're going to tab it, make sure everyone brings cash to avoid card machine meltdown at the end of the night.

Getting the first drink - If you're with a woman, be she an ardent feminist or not, offer to buy her first drink. Chances are you're on a date or you at least want to leave her with a good impression, so offer but don't insist if she's adamant. Never comment on her drink choice - yep, it might be pricey or a full-on bevvie, but better left for her to explain than you prod for an explanation. The same applies for drinking with anyone senior to you - offer first drink and don't comment on their choice.

Do unto others - Never click your fingers or shout 'hey' at a barman. Bad. In the same way, if you have a mate who's got a little lairy, apologise on their behalf - they'll thank you in the morning. In the same way, if you're the last group in the bar, staying past closing time and you're keeping that one, tired barman at work, consider switching bars to a late venue - if it was you behind that bar, you'd love that consideration.

Tipping - If you offer a barman 'one for themselves' expect them to take up to £5 extra. And don't be afraid to ask for their advice or recommended bevvies. They're a barman for a reason!

Jack Williams works across Late Night London's 52 venues across the capital and the UK. This week he was at Jewel in Piccadilly but you might just encounter him anywhere...]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3284141 2013-05-17T19:00:00-04:00 2013-05-17T12:09:58-04:00

Jack L. Williams http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jack-l-williams/
One of the best parts of my job is creating cocktails for every single special occasion or calendar date that comes a'knockin. And Eurovision is no different.

So I've created a special cocktail to embrace the glitz this weekend - for those that don't fancy knocking back a drink for each country.

It's a Eurovision tipple and a half, packing a punch with five different spirits from across the continent. With vodka from Russia, Cointreau from France, Disaronno from Italy, Goldschlager from Switzerland and gin from Blighty, this is the Euro-drink to end all Euro-drinks. Julmust is a Swedish cola style spiced drink - it's great stuff!

Add the vodka, Cointreau, Disaronno, Goldschlager, gin and lime juice to a cocktail shaker and shake with ice. Then simply pour into a tall glass, add the Swedish Julmust to top up and enjoy! Finish with a Grecian ouzo chaser if you're brave... douze points.

You Will Need:

• Russia -15ml Vodka


• France - 5ml Cointreau


• Italy - 15ml Disaronno


• Switzerland -15ml Goldschlager


• England - 15ml dry gin


• Turkey - Lime juice


• Sweden - JulMust to top up


• Garnish with berries, lemon slices and a Euro-trash umbrella!

Bonnie Tyler won't be bringing the title home for us, but at least Britain can bring home the bevvies.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3207821 2013-05-05T19:00:00-04:00 2013-05-05T18:22:10-04:00

Jack L. Williams http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jack-l-williams/
And at our many London bars we've seen it all - the whole shebang. Every kind of love, lust and life stage, played out in front of our well-stocked spirit racks.

Last week was a classic example. I was at our Balls Brothers' bar in Hays Galleria, helping out with the al fresco bar (hello outdoor drinking in London!) and a couple in particular caught my eye. They were clearly on a date, and watching their relationship progress was touching. In a bored-at-work, something-to-look-at kind of way.

As the wine flowed, the couple grew closer. And sillier. They even started playing on the petanque pitch. They started kissing. So far, so great date. But then another guy bumped into the girl on his way through to the bar, angering Date Guy, who squared up to him. No harm was done, but you could see the girl wasn't impressed - her date's modern show of chivalry wasn't hitting the mark. She made her excuses and left.

So, Oprah, where did this go wrong? It doesn't take Jessica Fletcher to deduce that the boozing played a role.

And we see so many good dates gone bad at Late Night London that we think we've pretty much got great date drinking etiquette covered.

• Kick off your evening with a carb-based snack before you meet up. It's an oldie but a goodie.

• If it's going well enough to be ordering your fourth round of drinks, it's going well enough to suggest dinner. It will mark a step-change in the evening, sure, but will mean you're less sloppy and might actually have a better conversation.

• Suggest moving to a bar a wee walk away. The air will clear your head.

• Wine is sociable and easy to share, but gets you drunker quicker. If you need to change the drinking pace, shift to juice based spirit and mixers. Juice fills you up quicker meaning you naturally slow your pace.

• Go to the bar yourself and get a tonic water in lieu of a G&T. Your date will never know.

• Take a loo break. Time to grab some water, freshen up and take stock of where you are at.

• Know your spirits. Malibu and Archers are both much less boozey than vodka, rum and gin.

Jack Williams works across Late Night London's 52 venues across the capital and the UK. This week he was at Balls Brothers Hays Galleria in London Bridge but you might just encounter him anywhere...]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3083334 2013-04-16T19:00:00-04:00 2013-06-16T05:12:01-04:00

Jack L. Williams http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jack-l-williams/
A few years ago, you knew what you were getting with a party in London.

On the one hand, you had PAs, secretaries and marketing teams booking corporate events for everything from schmoozing clients and launching products to intimate lunches where business deals were thrashed out over hummus and harissa dips.

Then there were those that were just after a good night - stags, hens, birthdays, gatherings and girly nights out.

You knew where you stood with both. Bit of banter for the girls; line up the shots for the boys and stay discreet and attentive for the corporates. Of course, those values will always remain but parties across the board nowadays demand a whole new kind of ooh.

Take a booking I was working on the other day for a group of lawyers from one of the City's biggest firms. The old regime would have used one of our City venue's separate conference rooms, like the suite at Minster Exchange, with pads and pens, sparkling water and coffee. And maybe some red wine and whisky to round off a great day's business.

But instead, our event planners suggested somewhere totally different. A few emails later, they'd booked a space in our Tiki bar Kanaloa, complete with steel drum band on arrival and a line-up of boozy cocktails. Now this is the kind of business meeting I can get on board with!

My confession, therefore, is this: Gone are the days of business and pleasure being separate. The hospitality business has taken a knocking in the recession, of course, but more than anything we've seen businesses and your average bar-dweller wanting to eke value out of every night out they plan. The fun factor has been turned up to boiling point, and that's where it should stay.

Curious, I asked the lawyers why the punch instead of the pinstripe. 'Life is hard enough. If you can combine work and play, then everyone's happier.'

And as a barman where my days are spent working in people's playgrounds, then I couldn't agree more.

But there's more to drinking with your clients and bosses than just shelling out at the end of the nights. And as a savvy barman out to watch your back, here's my top tips for career-climbing the boozy way:

• Never talk about salaries - too often it leads to comparisons and tears shed over your tequila. Far better left for your proper review or appraisal back at the office.

• Don't discuss anything that you wouldn't when in the office, but do use the time to get know people better. Flowing drinks doesn't mean your colleagues or clients want to know about that operation you had last year. Or you're your ex with a penchant for PVC.

• Think of three 'key messages' you want to try and get in during the evening. Whether it's how you deserve to being promoted or how much you enjoyed working on a certain project, sometimes casual comments on a Friday really hit home.

• If you're feeling drunk, drink water and grab a bag of crisps. Often Friday night drinks mean no dinner, so watch your booze intake.

• Now is not the time to get with the cute guy or girl! Come back next weekend. Never be tempted to pull in front of colleagues - you'll always be 'the one that spent all night kissing' rather than the hot prospect for promotion.

Jack Williams works across Late Night London's 52 venues across the capital and the UK. This week he was at Kanaloa in Farringdon but you might just encounter him anywhere...]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.2883337 2013-03-18T19:00:00-04:00 2013-05-18T05:12:01-04:00

Jack L. Williams http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jack-l-williams/
Take the other day. Just a normal afternoon shift at the city bar where I'm pint puller to the great suited and booteds of our fair city. A party was expected for a late lunch in one of our private dining rooms. So far, so Monday-ne.

Group walks in, drinks ordered (Pinotage, foreign beers), the usual crowd. But with them was a young woman, laughing along with the banter and sipping on a lager.

Next round comes in, same drinks. She was still nursing her last pint but went in for another Peroni. I questioned her choice, "Nothing wrong with a lager; but just so you know we've got a cracking cocktails range", I said. She laughed.

"I drink lager because it makes me one of the boys!", she said. "It just makes my life easier". And what would happen if you went back with a cocktail? "They'd make a point of treating me like a woman".

Out of the ordinary? Nope. So here is my confession: too many women feel they need to drink like men. It's something we see time and time again at the bar, always the flick of the eye towards the other drinks being pulled and then the order for something meaty in a pint glass. When did this happen? What happened to girls being allowed to drink fruity cocktails? Is feminism now brandishing a pint glass rather than a bra?

I'm a barman, so naturally took this back to the barrel. Boozing has come on leaps and bounds - beers and the ale industry are embracing lighter, pale varieties and the growth in foreign lagers has made the pumps a fruiter place to be.

I asked every woman who ordered a pint or a bottle why the choice - only three I spoke to that shift said taste.

The rest? Their reasons ranged from fitting in (like Madame de Fitting In) to wanting to seem down to earth and approachable.

Since when did a drink convey what kind of person you are? Since when (well, bar drinking White Lighting in the park age 14) did drinking become a status thing to be in the cool gang? And since when did this mean women could only work with men or appeal to that guy by drinking a pint?

So, it being a quiet shift, I decided to turn the table on these misogynistic drink dictators who are making girls feel like they're only accepted with a foot-long in their hand.

Herewith, our run down of 'what men think their drink says about them' versus 'what women think,'

Classic mojito
- Men think: 'I'm out for the night, I want a cocktail but need one that's not too girly.'
- Women think: 'Just order the pineapple one for Christ's sake - it's far nicer!'

Foreign lager
- Men think: 'I read in Shortlist Euro beer is all the rage and I can drop in my story about being in Munich.'
- Women think: 'Yes, I do know the lime was originally put in the neck to keep the flies out.'

Red wine
- Men think: 'Red wine = romance.'
- Women think: 'Red wine = stained teeth and lips, and a headache the next day.'

Jaegarbomb
- Men think: 'It's Friday and I'm getting drrrrrunk. Look how fast I can down it!'
- Women think: 'You've now got dribble down your chin.'

Jack Williams works across Late Night London's 52 venues across the capital and the UK. This week he was at The Gable in Moorgate but you might just encounter him anywhere...]]>