Tag: martini party

Mobile Bartenders, Uncategorized

Three April Events For Los Angeles Bartending Service

shakennotstirredinla

Last week, Shaken Not Stirred, the Los Angeles bartending service did three big events throughout Southern California. On Wednesday, I did a corporate event in Burbank, and then on Saturday I did an afternoon martini party in Rancho Cucamonga, and then hustled back to LA to bartend a Silverlake birthday party.

Burbank Corporate Event

Much planning went into putting on the evening event at the Arri location in Burbank. I arranged for a rental bar and glassware to be delivered. The host wanted an LED bar that illuminated the corporate color blue. I had not used that particular bar before, but it was cool. I think the darker the event space is, the better this bar will look.

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Blue LED Bar Rental

I served beer and wine while the camera professionals at Arri demonstrated some of their new cameras and steady cam gear. Rise and Shine Catering provided the food. The host told me that Arri has more events coming up, so I hope they will call me back for those.

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Camera Demos at Burbank Event

Rancho Cucamonga Martini Party

On Saturday I drove out to Rancho Cucamonga to bartend a ladies only martini party. I helped the host make a cute martini menu with sexy and fun drinks. The lady’s husbands were having a cook off and barbecue contest at another house during the same time. I made variations of the Cosmo, Appletini, Lemon drop and others for the ladies. The most popular was the Rasberry Lemon Drop, which I made with fresh lemon juice. D&B’s Brazillian Soul Food provided the catering, and they had some delicious empanandas, chicken wings, and other goodies on hand.

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Sexy Bar Menu

My job ended when the male stripper arrived, and I had to quickly pack up and head back to LA to bartend a Silverlake birthday party. Luckily, the traffic on the 210 cooperated with me. As a Los Angeles bartending service I must navigate a ribbon of freeways and river of never ending traffic.

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Ladies enjoy martinis without husbands

Silverlake 40th Birthday Party

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California Feetwarmers perform in Silverlake

I arrived right on time for the Silverlake 40th birthday party. The house from the street was very unassuming, but they had an incredible backyard that was perfect for entertaining. I set up my portable bar in a corner of the yard, and a full New Orleans jazz band, the California Feetwarmers, set up in another corner. They put on a quite impressive show and was quite different than you usually see in Southern California. Canele’ of Atwater Village provided the catering, including a fantastic selection of appetizers and other goodies.

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Guests mingle in Silverlake backyard

I served Old Fashioneds, Tom Collins and many other drinks to a crowd of fifty or so guests. It was a great party and I’m sure the birthday boy was quite honored.

This coming weekend I will be providing bartending service at an art show/fundraiser at CSUN Northridge and it is my first time going there. I will be pouring beer and wine for 150 people by myself, so I should be busy. Then on Saturday, I will be doing a birthday party in Studio City – so I get to stay close to home in the SFV this weekend. On Cinco De Mayo I will be heading out to Palm Springs to bartend a party,and then back to the 818 on Saturday where I have two events scheduled.

 

Cocktail Hour Bartenders, Mobile Bartenders, Uncategorized

San Marcos Martini Party

shakennotstirredinla
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Portable bar set up in San Marcos home

 

On Saturday, Shaken Not Stirred drove to San Marcos in San Diego County to provide bartending service at an annual martini party. The hosts have put on this annual martini party in January for over ten years. The difference this year is that they hired a bartender. In the past, the guests made their own drinks, but this year they decided to bring a pro in to bartend.

The host provided me with a list of martinis four pages long that the guests could choose from. There were at least twenty different ingredients needed for the various drinks. I don’t usually recommend that people use a drink menu this diverse, mainly to keep costs down. In this case the host had all of the ingredients – many left over from other parties.

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Guest enjoys a “Dirty Martini”

I made lemon drops, appletinis, pom cosmos, dirty martinis, fireball martinis, Key Lime martinis, among others. I am able to do drinks quickly I have never done before if I have the recipe. I think the hosts were happy to have a bartender. It gave them more time to enjoy the party and not worry about restocking the bar. Etc.

Martini Party Ideas

  • Hire a bartender
  • Use real martini glasses
  • Use fresh ingredients
  • Provide a drink menu
  • Choose a theme

The host had plenty of martini glasses, and it is always nice to work with real glassware. I like to shake the drinks long enough that there is a layer of ice floating on top of the drink. I made a lot of martinis when I was a bartender at an Italian restaurant in Redondo Beach. I tend to believe that good martinis are mostly alcohol, and I like to keep the mixers to a minimum. I think there is nothing worse than a syrupy martini. I think I brought my expertise at making martinis to the martini party in San Marcos. Here is the customer’s review of me on Thumbtack: Best bartender possible!

“Rob was amazing! Guests glasses were never empty. Very professional, polite and conscientious! Would highly recommend him for any event.”

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Guests mingle at martini party

This coming weekend I will be bartending a surprise birthday party in Burbank, and then at the beginning of February I will be doing parties in Palm Springs, Glendora, and Sherman Oaks. I am looking forward to servicing weddings, birthday parties, corporate events, and doing the occasional martini party. I am still available for Super Bowl parties. Please follow us on Twitter and Facebook.