Hello to everyone here! Happy International Bartender’s Day! Yes, bartenders have their own day to mark, and it is not by chance. Bartending job is no less hard that teacher’s or police officer’s work. Bartenders often have to stay up and remain on legs more than twenty-four hours. Bartenders are usually quite charismatic personalities, they know a plenty of anecdotes and jokes, they lend an ear if necessary. Bartenders adore talking to clients and can give some valuable advice. Not an easy job, isn’t it? So they definitely deserve their own day.
International Bartender’s Day is considered to be a professional holiday that is celebrated every year on February, 6, and it is not by chance. This date is believed to be the feast of Saint Amand, honored in Roman Catholic Church. The point is that Saint Amand is considered to be the patron saint of brewers, innkeepers, vine growers and, of course, bartenders. So it’s not surprising that the day of the 6th of February was appointed as International Bartender’s Day, but a fact of particular interest is the authors of idea are orthodox, not catholic (Amand is the very Catholic saint as well). It should be noted that the idea of this holiday was set up in February 2008 in Kiev as an initiative of International Bartender’s Center “Planet Z” and Kiev Rock-Club “Docker Pub”. The idea was to fit in and every year this holiday becomes more and more popular.
This day various competitions, contests and entertainment take place – the bartenders compete in shaking, straining, stirring, muddling and blending to find out the best bartender. There are different contests for visitors this day in pubs, bars and restaurants, like drunken dancing and intellectual thematic quizzes. You will know that the Manhattan cocktail (mix of whiskey and sweet vermouth) was invented by Winston Churchill’s mother, methyphobia is “fear of alcohol” (Have you got?) and Mai Tai means “out of this world” in Tahitian. Have you ever thought what Chevy Chase, Sandra Bullock, Bill Cosby and Bruce Willis have in common? (By the way, the right answer is – they were all bartenders once). So ask your charming Ukrainian lady to get on together in a cozy pub, and don’t forget to greet a bartender!