Lolly!

LOLLY
MASON • 51
• Bartender • Meritage at Boston Harbor Hotel
• Boston, MA

BLUE
RINSE to BLACK SHIRTS
When I mixed drinks at 29 Newbury, we could wear ‘creative’
black and white; the owners knew our mixed clientele would
love it: blue-rinse Ritz matrons, blue serge stockbrokers,
Newbury St. artists. I went crazy, I’d spend hours dressing
for work. I had a Mohawk, painted triangles on my face, one
eye a butterfly, the other Cleopatra. Today in Boston
everything’s pigeon-holed, inflexible; New York’s wide open,
everyone goes everywhere. Even the student scene is
stratified: Tommy Doyle’s for blue jeans and Ts, and fancy
places like Saint and Vox for “Eurotrash” fashionplates, who
look like each other. Prada and Armani are all about how
much it costs, not whether you can put anything original
together.

GIVE
‘EM GUMMY WORMS
Drinks can have sociological stereotypes, but I’ve found I
can get people to try anything. Upstairs on the Square is a
bastion of Yankee blue-blood conservatism – old Harvard
professors in bow-ties and ladies with helmet hair and
pearls – but they loved it when I put plastic gummy worms
and Japanese parasols in their drinks.

STANDING
OUT I started
making crazy drinks when I worked on Lansdowne Street,
because in clubs you’re in competition with 7 or 8 other
bartenders. They put me on the back bar, so I had to give
people reasons to come to me. If I’m just opening a beer or
making gin & tonic, why come to me? I got into alchemy,
making multiple-liquor drinks with elaborate garnishes to
attract attention. I’d buy candies, make juices from
scratch, have five blenders going. When people walked around
with my blue, layered drink with something in it, they’d
hear, “Where’d you get that?”

WHIPPED
CREAM & BLACK LEATHER
My finest constituency is gay men: they have great taste and
they’re loyal. The gay community is very receptive to
strange, kitschy concoctions. Gay life is going out, dining
out, experimenting, spending more. Chaps boomed during the
‘9Os – before internet, [heavy AIDS] and staying
home. It was a seriously happening places, packed seven
nights, I made a lot of money. Heavy leather men mostly
drink beer, but I had big butch guys trying frozen drinks
with liqueurs and whipped cream. They lost their lease when
Christian Science took over; when they moved to Warrenton
Street – it was never the same. [Warring factions
of] Nick’s Comedy Club, The Roxy, and gay-bashing
straights. If the owners had been smart, they’d have bought
the old Napoleon Club (Piedmont St., Bay Village.) Machine
(below Ramrod) was for regular suburban ‘disco boys’; gays
would bring in their straight friends. But there was
conflict with leather boys upstairs, they should’ve left it
as two clubs.

WORK
GEAR It’s a far cry
from dressing for a nightclub and for a hotel bar. In clubs,
you want to attract attention. People recognize me for
wearing a lot of makeup, necklaces, earrings. At Machine I
wore fetish gear, leather, bitches’ clothing. In hotel bars,
you wear a plain uniform: dark shirt, high collar, like a
Russian peasant, no necklaces, earrings smaller than a dime,
black pants and cafe apron, muted earthtone
makeup.

BEST
DEFENSES When I’d
work clubs, you’d go home with your ears ringing and you
couldn’t sleep. So I’d wear earplugs; I found that they cut
out peripheral noise and you could concentrate on what
you’re doing. When I started at Lansdowne Street, I thought,
“Oh, I’ll be so cool, wearing all these crinoline skirts and
flat shoes!” One night a bar-back dropped a huge bucket of
ice on my foot; to this day I still feel pain in it. Then
Doc Martins [steel toe footgear] became fashionable;
I call them ‘post-holocaust shoes’ for wading through
nuclear rubble. There’s Chefwear and Employees Only, too,
but I like policemen’s shoes – part boot, part sneaker –
light with plenty of support.

STARS
? BUCKS Years ago,
the Sheraton Boston allowed some personal leeway in creative
dress, but the higher up you go with star ratings, the
stricter they are. You have to weigh out the pros and cons
of how much individuality you want to give up. People think
that the fancier the place, the more money you make, but
that’s not necessarily true. People who work [hard]
for a living often appreciate your efforts, don’t look down
their nose at you. On the other hand, working in hotels can
give health benefits and pay raises, not often true of clubs
and singly owned restaurants.

BLEND
it YOURSELF It
makes a huge difference when you make your own sour mixes,
and blend fruit juices and nectars. Upstairs on the Square
gave me full kitchen access and ordering privileges (eg,
Monin syrups.) The more you do it, the better a feel you get
for mixing hard-to-blend drinks like bourbon or tequila.
It’s like cooking – practice gives you the touch. Chef
Stephen Brand was an inspiration. I adapted his
lime-lemon-ginger Thai chili sauce for a Spicy Mint Julep. I
made pickle brine for Bloody Marys, made with Hangar One and
heirloom tomatoes.

WINE
MIXES I make syrup
of leftover red wine, blend it with blueberry/blackberry
infusion, and pour Brachetto [sparkling Italian red
wine] on top. I call my sangria “Man-gria” because I use
a hefty red like Zinfandel and spike it with Port. I made a
Chocolate Port Martini with chocolate vodka, Heitz Cabernet
Port, spiced hibiscus tea, Grand Marnier, rimmed with cocoa,
cayenne pepper, and cinnamon, garnished with chocolate drops
and a cinnamon stick. Chocolate also blends well with
tequila.

TEA
TIME I do a lot
with teas: Earl Gray (with chocolate), Rooibos. I blend
citrusy, spicy Wu-Wei with pomegranate juice, crimsonberry
tea and sour cherry juice as a multi-drink base. My favorite
herbal teas are Mark Mouradian’s MEM.

FAVE
BRANDS I’m very
fond of brandies and fruit liqueurs. Marie Brizard is a
favorite product line – top quality, huge variety, fabulous
flavors, modest price. I love all sorts of white spirits –
vodka, gin, cachaca, grappa, pisco, eaux de vie; they give
you an appreciation of how skilled master blenders really
are at what they do. I love the products of Alsatian master
distiller Jorg Rupf at St. George Spirits (CA): his Hangar
One – flavored with Viognier! – is the best vodka I’ve ever
tasted! Also their Germain-Robin Brandy, Aqua Perfecta, pear
brandy, framboise and its liqueur, kaffir lime vodka –
unbelievable! With such hand-crafted products, you only need
a little to be satisfied. Other favorite vodkas are
Belvedere, Chopin, Shakers, Rain. I love Ron Zacapa Rum from
Guatemala. Gin? Hendricks. Bourbon? Woodford
Reserve.

COCKTAIL
PAIRINGS I paired
cocktails with appetizers at Upstairs: ceviche with frozen
margaritas, spicy Asian food with passion-fruit and guava
drinks. It was more informal than wine dinners, as it was
all appetizers. We video-ed it for my show, because people
often ask ‘what foods with cocktails?’ My suggestions are
affordable and easy, never hoity-toity or snobbish. This is
just food and beverage; we’re not solving global warming
here – lighten up!

WATCH
YOUR BACK If you
have issues with substance abuse, you definitely do not want
to work in a bar. I saw an awful lot of people fall down the
rabbit hole with drugs and drinking too much. Before long,
you’re going to after hours ‘house’ parties, end up sleeping
all day long, then have to go to work, so you don’t have any
kind of life. If you don’t watch out, you might find
yourself not showing up for work and unable to
function.

THINK
LATERALLY When
people come in and ask for something I haven’t got, I try to
think analogously to what’s similar. If you ask people a few
questions – What do you order at the Oak Room? Do you prefer
sweet or sour? – you can get where they are taste-wise and
make a reasonable substitution.

AFFORDABLE
DRINKS If you go
that extra mile to make something special, people appreciate
it. If you charge $12 for a drink, it should be a really
good drink, made with top quality liquor and really fresh
juice, and be a positive and unique experience. Then they’ll
come back. It’s not something they’ll make at home, and it’s
not made with an eyedropper, either! I remember one lady who
said of a drink made with a measured 1.25 ounce pour:
“Whaddaya pourin’, nitro-glycerin?”

TO
YOUNG BARTENDERS
Customer service is number one: Be friendly. Smile. Learn
their names and tastes. You’re not working in a force-field!
People see your expression and read your body language. Be
open to talk to someone, but not reveal your own problems.
This is show business; you’re on stage. Preparedness is
critical. Know the day of the week, how many reservations.
Get your fruit cut. Check your juices: nobody wants slimy
limes. Be clean: polish your glasses. Even when I worked the
Ramrod back bar, I’d clean the glasses and scrub the ice
bin. There’s no reason not to be clean! I’ve trained many
people in the Lolly Method, like Corey Reeves, who’s worked
at Chaps, Lansdowne Street, Europa, Aria, Buzz, Man
Ray.

COOL
MEDIA You can learn
how various cultures blend flavors by watching ethnic
cooking shows, like Brazilians making avocado milkshakes.
Take your job seriously. Know your products. Don’t want to
buy books? Okay, go on-line! Every product has a website
now. You can learn tons. Robert Plotkin’s barmedia.com and
drinkboy.com give me ideas. Watch the best TV channels: Fine
Living, Discovery, Travel, Food Network. Andrea Immer is
great if you’re just starting with wine: she explains
everything, is down-to-earth. Anthony Bourdain
(Reservations) is very knowledgeable but speaks in everyday
language.Tony Abou Gamin, beverage manager for Bellagio,
does cameos on Andrea Immer’s show. bartender magazine, for
all its silliness, has lots of good basic how-they-make-it
articles.

ALL
I WANT is a PLACE SOMEWHERE
I’ve always wanted my own place, but have never aggressively
searched out backers. I was good managing the dining room at
The Commonwealth Grille. I thought I’d be out of my league,
but of course you see people do it all the time. Companies
actively seek out lounge-type places besides hotel function
rooms to have fun parties where you can have good drinks,
good food, and people say ‘hey, how are you?’ A place that
won’t diss you for putting ketchup on your steak or washing
it down with gewurztraminer. There aren’t enough of them, or
the few you find are too snobby, too impressed with
themselves, and intimidating – even for me!

GOING
PROACTIVE I walked
into a bar a few years back and saw that they served Fonseca
2O Year Tawny Port, which I love! I asked for it, and the
bartender looked at me with a frown and said, “What?!” I
repeated it. “What?!” I pointed to it, up on the wall and
said, “Third bottle from the left.” “We don’t serve that,”
he said, passing up a $15 sale. Again: it’s more important
to know your products and to carry on a reasonable
conversation with customers than to spin bottles around and
make drinks fast. Years ago United Liquors funded and ran a
Bartender’s Advisory Board, where manufacturer and
distillery reps gave talks and tastings on tequila and
bourbon. Unfortunately it kinda died out. I wish somebody
would start it up again; maybe Carolina? They’d make far
more money if young bartenders knew what was out there and
how to use it. Less generic, more individualistic. People
want drinks they can’t make at home. I’d help run
it!