Tag: OC

Corporate Event, Mobile Bartenders, Uncategorized

San Clemente Company Christmas Party

shakennotstirredinla
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Guests sit around the fire at company Christmas party.

Friday night I drove all the way down to the bottom of Orange County to bartend a company Christmas party in San Clemente. This was the fourth time I have gone to Orange County in the past thirty days. I am finally getting to know my way around OC, and I used to always get lost down there behind the “Orange Curtain”.

San Clemente is a beautiful place indeed and it must be a pleasure to live there. This company Christmas party I did was a referral from another client I had in San Clemente, which is always nice. I worked with the host to come up with a drink menu and shopping list. The host wanted three holiday specialty cocktails and they chose a Gingerbread cocktail, a Candy Kane cocktail and a Pomegranate Margarita. All three drinks were a hit with the guests.

Taquizas Armeria Colima (714) 904-4949 of Orange County provided the catering and they served some great tacos. The host also served some really good homemade eggnog, of course spiked with Maker’s Mark. In the end I served various shots, including a gingerbread shot, and Kamikazes.

Company Christmas Party Ideas

  • Hire a bartender
  • Secretly videotape and record everyone
  • Fire employees that don’t show up
  • Evaluate employees at party
  • Just kidding…

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    Shots!

The hosts were very happy with my service and said they would hire me again next year. The secret to being successful as a private bartender is showing up early, being prepared, and being of maximum service. Everything seems to fall into place if I consistently do those three things.  So far I have done over 300 events as Shaken Not Stirred and have yet to receive a bad review.

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Uncategorized

Villa Park 10th Birthday Party

shakennotstirredinla
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Shark theme at 10th birthday party

On Saturday I returned to best backyard bar in Villa Park in OC to bartend a 10th birthday party. Yes, I do kids birthday parties quite often, because the adult guests need a cocktail, and I make mocktails for the kids. This was the third party I have done for these clients and they really go all out each time. I think this was probably one memorable 10th birthday party for the birthday boy.

The hosts always rent some really cool party props for their parties depending on what the theme is. For this party, the theme was beach and sharks and they had all kinds of event props along those lines. I believe they get the event props at RWP Party Props of Orange. They had lifeguards for this party and I wish I would have got their card, because they did a great job providing pool games for the kids and keeping them safe. I would say lifeguards are a must have at this type of party. The Habit provided the food truck.

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Dangerous waters…

I made three different mocktails for the kids – a shark attack drink, the ever popular Shirley Temple, and a virgin Pina Collada. One little girl even asked for a Roy Rodgers, which was my favorite as a kid. The adults drank many real Pina Colladas, beers, and various other cocktails. It was a very relaxed day, but I kept plenty busy.

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Adults socialize at OC birthday party

10th Birthday Party Ideas

  • Choose a theme
  • Provide entertainment
  • Hire a bartender
  • Hire lifeguards
  • Serve great food

At the end, the host asked me back to provide bartending service for a weeknight cocktail party in a couple of weeks. I always love those. This weekend I will be bartending a wedding in Agoura Hills on Friday night, and then am leaving the next morning for Palm Springs where I will be providing poolside bartending service for two days at an executive retreat.

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Lifeguards facilitate pool contests
Corporate Event, Wedding Bartender

OC Corporate Event and Hollywood Wedding

shakennotstirredinla
Fall colors in Newport Beach
Fall colors in Newport Beach

This past weekend Shaken Not Stirred worked two events – a grand opening corporate event in Newport Beach, and a wedding in Hollywood.  The corporate event I booked under Shaken Not Stirred, and the wedding in Hollywood was booked by my affiliate, Mia Martini. She and I are doing several events together this month and will be working together again this Sunday at the Diamond Bar Center.

I have done several parties in Newport Beach and it is a very affluent area. There are many nice homes, on the coast, on the islands, and further inland. There are also many corporate structures, business parks, and large hotels in the area.  I’m sure a private bartender could do quite well just doing events and parties in Newport Beach alone, not to mention Orange County.

The particular party I did this time in Newport was a the grand opening of a doctor’s office and we set up the party in the courtyard of the office building. I served Blue Hawaiians, Pineapple margaritas, Bay Breezes, and variations of those drinks to approximately forty guests. It was a short three hour event and everything went very well.

Pineapple Margarita
Pineapple Margarita
Blue Hawaiian
Blue Hawaiian

On Saturday, I traveled to the Lombardi House to help my affiliate company, Mia Martini bartend a wedding there. The Lombardi House is just north of Hollywood Boulevard on Bronson, but is a historic building in the area.  I brought 200 pounds of ice to the party and we used every single bit of it by the end of the night.

This wedding had real glassware, which is nice to use, but presents its own set of problems. All of the glassware has to be picked up, emptied and put back into the proper containers. Invariably glassware gets lost and broken. For a party of 130 people, they probably used 700 glasses.

Wedding guests at historic Lombardi House
Wedding guests at historic Lombardi House

We also had kegs for the beer. I try to discourage people from getting kegs, and this was a perfect example why. The kegs required a jockey box, CO2 regulator and taps. The deposit for those alone was $450. If the CO2 regulator is a little off the beer will keep pouring foamy. It is almost impossible to pour a beer. Pouring a tap beer takes up to one full minute, while uncapping a bottle beer and handing it to a guest takes five seconds. This means a lot when there is a big line at the bar. At the end of the night, both kegs were over half full. Don’t get kegs for your parties, people! It is not worth the extra expense, deposits, and hassle.

Sparkler gauntlet at the Lombardi House
Sparkler gauntlet at the Lombardi House

On Thursday I am driving out to Palm Springs to do another corporate event, and then have a birthday party to bartend on Saturday. So far, I have no event on Friday, but will take one in the Palm Springs area if I can. On Sunday I have a big wedding at the Diamond Bar Center with 350 guests.