Within the nightlife industry “there is no greater authority” than “Bar Rescue’s” Jon Taffer, according to Jon Taffer. But others liken him to the “Donald Trump of the bar industry,” as a few local bartenders put it on Facebook in response to Taffer’s feather-ruffling Huffington Post interview this week that dissed bartenders who drink with their patrons and incorrectly claimed the Mexican spirit mezcal is related to a hallucinogenic drug.
The interview comes on the heels of two reputable Chicago bars rejecting offers to participate on the show—legendary craft beer bar Hopleaf and end-of-the-year list-topper Best Intentions. Though a few local bars have been featured on Taffer’s Spike show, “The list of places at which he’s not welcome grows longer by the day,” said Christopher Marty, co-owner of Best Intentions in Logan Square.
“I think he’s dangerous because at some point he seems to have decided that he did not need to learn anything else and he knew everything that he needed to know,” said Jay Schroeder, beverage director of the recently opened Mezcaleria Las Flores. “We see this guy doing nothing but harm and denigrating our profession on something that we worked really hard to clarify.”
Queen Mary Tavern bar manager Mony Bunni said she’s offended most by how he paints the bar industry in negative light, and repeated that he’s “out of touch.” Taffer incorrectly told The HuffPo that the spirit mezcal is made from the same plant that the psychedelic drug mescaline comes from.
“It’s a huge myth,” she said. “It’s actually a really beautiful spirit made by really hard-working people.” Mezcal is made from agave, a succulent more closely related to aloe, while mescaline comes from the peyote cactus. The Huffington Post later removed the comment from the article and issued a correction.
It’s not just misinformation that rubs Schroeder the wrong way. He thinks “Bar Rescue” is “bad for America.”
“The real danger isn’t in this line item, like, ‘Someone is going to think the wrong thing about mezcal.’ It’s people celebrating this absolutism and doubling down on ignorance in a larger context, and that is terrifying,” he said.
Schroeder also noted that Chicago’s bar industry is an innovation leader in comparison to most small-town bars, and Taffer’s agenda “translates poorly” here. “I think it’s important for us to remember that we’re at a razor edge … pushing forward knowledge and innovation,” he said. “A lot of times what he’s doing is trying to aim more toward that populous perspective, even in a city like Chicago that demands a little bit more.”
While he may have some experience in the hospitality industry, esteemed bartenders far and wide are pissed at Taffer. Here’s what else Marty, Schroeder, Bunni and Drumbar beverage manager Whitney Morrow think he got wrong.
What is a telltale sign of a crappy bar?
Taffer: “You can smell a crappy bar. …crappy bars have mold and mildew and yeast everywhere.”
Marty: I won’t disagree that that’s likely a crappy bar, but if your expert opinion is “it smells bad here,” then I’ll hire a 5-year-old to do my consulting.
Is it rude to signal a bartender?
Taffer: “If you have to signal a bartender to get a drink … they’re not doing their job.”
Bunni: There are certain nights that I’d love to grow another set of arms in order to shake more drinks than I possibly can. I have an order for 15 drinks queued up in my head, plus I’m making another seven or eight drinks in front of me. The second I see you there, I’m going to get to you, I promise. It’s trying to keep your mind in check and trying to be able to serve everyone as best as you possibly can.
Marty: By his logic, unless the bartender is looking at every person in the bar at the same time, she’s failing at her job, and you should feel free to yell, wave, etc., due to her ineptness. I would suggest that being a polite and observant person will not only help you get drinks in a bar, but will improve your life as a whole, everywhere you go, all the time, unless you’re in reality television. Then it clearly pays to be neither.
Is it ever OK for bartenders to drink with their customers?
Taffer: “No, it’s not. … if you were drunk right now, you couldn’t do your job. How could they do theirs when they drink?”
Bunni: Every bar has different policies on whether they allow it or not. Do I think they should be drunk behind the bar? Absolutely not. But if a guest comes in, it’s a sense of camaraderie. There are appropriate times for it.
Morrow: There are some people who think that it’s almost shady or unattractive for bartenders to decline guests’ requests to drink with them. But at the end of the day, hospitality is interactive. … Where I work, we’re allowed to consume alcohol, so long as it was purchased, and a lot of people like to see [us], when we’re working really hard, have a mini-celebration. We made it through the rush. Do a shot. It brings up the energy in the room, and then you get back to work. It’s all kind of part of the show, just like shaking and stirring and fire and whatever else you’re doing. It’s just about keeping a professional balance.
Should you tip on every drink or should you tip at the end of the night?
Taffer: “No, typically you tip at the end of the night.”
Schroeder: I don’t know if he knows how people transact at bars nowadays. If you’re paying with cash, you’re going to get [bleep]y service probably [if you tip at the end]. It tends to irk people. If you’re paying with credit card, you tip at the end. Use a degree of common sense.
Morrow: If you’re ordering drink-by-drink you have to include gratuity with each transaction. That’s just the etiquette today, and I think it has been for a very long time. You don’t have to tip … but hopefully the service you’re receiving warrants a tip. … We make our money on tips, and we don’t want to leave it up to [someone] consuming high-octane cocktails to [keep track of] how much I get after that.
What’s an underrated cocktail everyone should try?
Taffer: “An old-fashioned.”
Bunni: I’ve never made more old fashioneds in my entire life than I have in the last two years. It’s what everybody who’s just starting to get into cocktails is ordering.
Morrow: Being at a whiskey bar, when some asks where to start with our complex menu, that’s a really good baseline cocktail to begin with for whiskey drinkers. It’s not underrated, it’s a guideline cocktail for experimenting with flavors you’ve never had before.
Marty: Someone should take Mr. Taffer out drinking somewhere that isn’t 1998—his choice of the old fashioned shows a complete disconnect from the current state of the bar and restaurant business, and his comment regarding it having “no juice or mix” in it speaks volumes about his bar knowledge. I have no issue with his choice of the Wisconsin-style old fashioned [with a cherry], obviously, but not mentioning the more traditional and historically important version does raise an eyebrow.
Is there a drink that everyone should know how to make?
Taffer: “The simplest of all drinks is a screwdriver.”
Marty: True, it’s two ingredients over ice, and as such very simple. So is a gin and tonic and thousands of other cocktails.
Should people eat the bar nuts?
Taffer: “No! … If it isn’t in a package, don’t eat it.”
Morrow: If you would drink there, you should probably be OK with eating there. Yes, people’s hands may have been in it, but if it’s a properly served snack, it should be replenished and stocked with new product.
@OhItsHeather & @redeyeeatdrink on Twitter | Instagram
Want to learn how to brew beer or make an excellent cocktail? Click here for classes in Chicago.
