Saturday Shaken Not Stirred was at the Santa Barbara Art Foundry to bartend a wedding reception. The Santa Barbara Art Foundry is an art gallery with an actual foundry on the premises, which also doubles as a very cool event venue. I took my son with me to help and we served a nice crowd of 150 people right up until one AM. We were slammed most of that time and we ran out of several things – but we always had options, including Bulleit
Rye Whiskey, Bulleit Bourbon, Knob Creek Bourbon, Stoli Vodka, and several different brands of top shelf tequila.
The Art Foundry is on Santa Barbara Street just a few blocks from the pier. It’s been years since I’ve been down to that area and it has transformed into a really cool area populated by hip restaurants, wine bars, and art galleries. I wish I would have taken some pictures because it really is picturesque. It was unusually hot for a beach community and must have been in the high eighties with no breeze at all when we arrived. It was sweltering inside the art gallery for most of the time we were bartending and we barely came up for air from the time we arrived until the last call.
There were some nice people helping us when we arrived, bringing us supplies, etc. I wondered where the bride and groom were and assumed that they were getting married at another location and would arrive later in full wedding regalia with the rest of the wedding procession. Well, it turns out the people helping us set up were the bride and groom. They had gotten married at a small ceremony at an earlier date and were having the reception for friends. I felt like fool – “Yeah, just put those boxes over there, I told them dismissively,”….
My son did a great job and I definitely needed him. He makes up in personality where I am lacking., and I admit I can get grouchy when the heat is on. He made some martinis and jumped right in there making Cadillac Margaritas, Manhattans, Vodka Tonics, and Dirty Shirleys. We had to keep stocking beer and white wine and finally ran completely out of white wine and almost out of red. We had just enough ice to make through the night, and when it is hot ice goes fast, as does beer. The days will likely get hotter and hotter in Southern California all the way until October. Next weekend I am traveling to Palm Springs for a birthday party, and then the following weekend I will stay close to home doing an anniversary party in Encino.
Shaken Not Stirred in LA 