Oh my god, cocktails are so damn expensive in Melbourne. 😱
Drinks in general and even beer, which I don't drink at all, and ofcourse wine too.
I can't justify paying so much for a drink when I know that the ingredients don't actually cost that much. I understand that each bar has a range of overheads that they have to cover, but still, what they're charging for drinks is highway robbery and I'm sure that they've all jacked up the prices- as most business have, to compensate for the losses that they took during the 2 years of Covid lockdowns- like the dramatic increase in my rent every year, but still...
And how do I know all this you may ask- which is completely fair question ofcourse, and I am happy to tell you I know all this because I was a career based hospitality worker and not just around Australia, but I also worked around the USA for a few years and the UK too.
And with thanks to @duskobgd for encouraging me....😆🤣😂😅
So I spent a LOT of time during that 35 years as a cocktail bartender, Bar Manager, Food & Beverage Supervisor in a range of venues from restaurants and nightclubs, to pubs, cafe and sports clubs, on islands, in cities and isolated outback towns and the Daintree rainforest, even having an ex BF that used to fly me to work in his Cessna at a restaurant on a very isolated sheep station in Western Australia that doubled as a tourist resort..... so I have served every type of person imaginable, poured hundreds of thousands of drinks, trained hundreds of staff, mixed tens of 1000's of cocktails, made 10's of thousands of coffees of every size and flavour possible and created my own long list of cocktails too.
And drank hundreds of thousands of cocktails and shooters...So I knew a bit about cocktails...just a bit...😆🤣😂😅
CHOCOLATESCORPI ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT AFTER THE INCREDIBLE MELISSA ETHERIDGE CONCERT
ME AND DEB D IN NEW ORLEANS (RIP MY FRIEND DEB D)- 1997
ME AND CHEZ IN ASPEN- 1998
ME IN SAN FRANSISCO- 1999
I remember when I was a F&B Supervisor and cocktail bartender even on Hamilton Island I think the most we charge for our top shelf cocktail $13 and then I remember when I moved to Melbourne in 2005 and discovered that they went down here the minimum is $15 and I was shocked enough then.
But to charge a minimum $13 for just a drink and $22 for a cocktail...
So thanks to @duskobgd the other night as he made a comment on one of my posts that he was disappointed that I hadn’t posted any recipes of cocktails on here, he planted a seed and I went to bed wanting to drink a cocktail or 2.
Luckily, it just so happened that my best friend Cathy and I were headed out to a Melissa Etheridge concert here @chocolatescorpi/mxycgvby the next night, so an opportune time to have a splurge (and spend my rent money...🙄..)
And even though I might live in the middle of the Melbourne CBD, I never go out and never actually have any idea of what’s happening beyond my front door really, because I LOVE my little Thai style sanctuary in the middle of the concrete jungle and these days I prefer to be doing something progressive and positive, like spending time on Hive! (plus all of my other creative and business projects...)
So to go out for the first time in at least six months in Melbourne to find that a normal drink is $14 and a cocktail started off for $22, actually shocked and disgusted me to the core and apparently one of the bartenders that served me at a bar pre-concert said that she wasn't too impressed with the ridiculous prices too..
However, my friend Cathy who traveled four hours to get down here and who I very rarely see, convinced me to have a couple of cocktails because it’s was a special occasion and a very rare opportunity.
So starting off with the first cocktail was one of my original creations from about 25yrs ago when I was a Bar Manager at Going Bananas in Port Douglas, which is 30 mils of Frangelico; 30 mils of Grand Marnier/Cointreu/TripleSec/Mango Liqueur- (whatever you can get) 30 mils of cream and 30 mils of orange juice, shaken and poured into a martini glass, preferably rimmed with chocolate sauce.
This one taste like a Jaffa, for those non-Australians that don't know what a Jaffa is or tastes like, they are divine and great to throw at your friends when you're kids at the movies. Oh and they taste like Chocolate Orange- Jaffa's. https://allenslollies.com.au/products/allens-jafas
Kathy had a traditional Tequila Margarita, salted rim with freshly squeeze lemon and lime for this round at one of my favourite bars in Melbourne, Ponyfish Island which sit under one of the bridge legs on the Yarra River. https://www.ponyfishisland.com.au/
But all too soon, when the first glasses were empty.... we realised that drinking these delicious cocktails in tiny martini glasses went down way too quickly quickly so we needed something that would last us a little bit longer....
We had a great young bartender by the name of Max who was more than willing to please us by making our custom cocktails.
So ofcourse, being the ChocolateScorpi, my next cocktail was another chocolate based, original creation of mine and was 30mils of Chambord, which is a French Berry Liqueur, 30mls of Frangelico built on ice and topped up with Coke.
This one tastes a bit like a Cherry Ripe, but better! Soooo much better...😆🤣😂😅 And again, for those who don't know what a Cherry Ripe is, you really need to come to Australia to find out! https://www.cadbury.com.au/brand/cadbury-cherry-ripe
I also created one for Cathy, which both she and Max loved, and it was 30mils Spiced Rum, 30mils Pineapple Liqueur, 15mils Malibu, built on ice, topped up with soda water with a splash or red Grenadine.
However, as much as she loved hers, she liked mine better...But she had NO chance of taking my chocolate off me...🤣 NO chance...😆🤣😂😅
By this time, I had forgotten about taking photos...🤣 Sorry...
And all too soon, the bar was closing (about midnight...) so we wandered home, walking past the crown Casino, realising that it was still open (ofcourse it was, I don't think it ever closes...), so we went in there for a look and had one last drink while we wandered around the gaming tables, watching people throw money down the drain gambling, so much faster than ours went down the drain....🤣
And that was it for the night.
After all who could afford to spend any more money than that?
Soon we were home, Cathy went to bed and I fell into mine and stumbled in the #HHH Hive Hump Day hosted by the gorgeous @ph1102 here @ph1102/lqzdmrmyaj and had a chat with everyone for a couple of hours, my throat sore from screaming and singing so loudly with everyone at the magnificent Melissa Etheridge concert here @chocolatescorpi/mxycgvby
So @duskobgd I hope that you enjoyed our night out and look forward to hearing your opinions on these cocktails when you have a chance to mix them yourself.
And also @palomap3 if I remember correctly you were also licking your lips at the promise of cocktails at Split in Croatia for the next #hivefest here .https://hivefe.st/ in September weren't you...😆🤣😂😅..
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Thank you so much for reading my post, I really hope that you enjoyed it and look forward to your comments and thoughts.
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And unless otherwise stated- ALL photographs, all media, material and writings, are all my originals taken by me sometime in the past few decades or so somewhere in my travels and as such, ofcourse they are subject to all international IP and copyright laws and I may have already used them for my own commercial purposes here https://www.redbubble.com/people/CHOCOLATESCORPI/shop And here https://fineartamerica.com/art/chocolatescorpi, So please ask first if you want to use any of them as we wouldn't want you getting into trouble. Thank you 😊
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ChocolateScorpi is so incredibly grateful to the the Bunurong Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation, the traditional custodians of this beautiful land that I call home and I thank you for caring for it for so long.
I pay our respects to elders, past, present and emerging and offer our hand to all first nations hands in order to help heal all of our relationships to the earth on this truly magical and extraordinary island nation that we now all call home.
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