Service Bar Chat with Melinda Johnson

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Bartender Melinda Johnson has been all over New England, shaking and stirring in bars from Portland, Maine to Boston. You might recognize her from her time at Backbar or her most recent gig as bar manager at Offsite, where she continues to flex her drink-making muscles within the beverage community. Here, the hospitality pro shares her favorite cocktail, the shot she won’t pour and some thoughts on Boston’s tight-knit bar scene.

How did you get involved in restaurants and bartending?

I started bussing tables when I was 14 in a little summer tourist town in Maine. It was really good money and I was hanging out with all the cool, older people – like the servers would give me wine in a coffee mug – so it was really fun. When I was 22 I started working at a dive-y, nightclub-y bar in Portland as a waitress. I took over day bar managing and that’s the way I learned bartending. Days were dead and instead of being like, “Well, this sucks,” I started mixing drinks and creating a regular clientele. They had this old Rolodex of recipes so I could just flip through it and try things. It was more of a shots and beers kind of place so I got to practice fun shots on people and gain their trust to let me make them a drink. Eventually I moved to the night shift and then I started to focus just on bartending and that was it. I got to learn from a lot of old-school bartenders.

What’s your favorite drink to make?

I always aim for a balanced drink. It’s really whatever is going to make that person in front of me super happy and make them want another drink. That being said, I love a lot of the classics. An Old Fashioned is one of my favorite drinks to make. I love the simplicity of it. I like the action of muddling. I like the action of stirring. It’s a really sexy cocktail when it’s done right.

Least favorite?

We’re not supposed to have things we hate to make! I’ve had people ask me for a Cement Mixer and that’s one drink that I refuse to make.  It’s lime juice and Irish cream mixed together. Within two seconds it hardens into cement in the glass, so you’re supposed to shoot it real quick and as you’re drinking it, it solidifies in your belly. It’s disgusting. A lot of times people ask for those types of things because they don’t know what they want to drink.

What has your experience been like as a female bartender?

I think it’s becoming more common to see women behind cocktail bars and Boston actually has quite a few running some great programs with solid reputations. There’s a lot of strong female bartenders in the Boston scene but there’s still way more guys. I was the only girl in Backbar for almost 3 years. The bartender business is really hard to deal with, you know. You can’t get upset about things. I think guys are tougher on each other so if you want to be treated like one of the guys as a female bartender you have to be able to take it in stride.

In general, guys are more drawn to the bar scene. They’re physically able to command the space differently than a female. Our society – it objectifies women, so you put a woman in a position where she’s supposed to be on stage, essentially, and the center of attention for somebody – making a drink – and she’s going to be objectified. So there’s that part of it. And then – different restaurants have a stronger kind of locker room mentality. I’m talking in very general terms. That’s not been my experience in Boston. It’s definitely changing. I think right now a lot of employers recognize that females – that we are strong, mentally and physically.

I think we also need to continue to recognize that we treat women and men different in the work world but if we can continue to recognize and talk about gender differences and what it means to respect each other we can chip away at misogyny in our workplaces.

What can you usually be found drinking off the clock?

I usually have one beer at the end of the night. If it’s been a really tough day or I want to relax or celebrate for some reason, I’ll sip Scotch or rum.

What do you always keep stocked at home?

I have lots of Scotch. A lot of whiskey. Maybe like 30 bottles. When my boyfriend and I first started dating, I had just come back from a bourbon camp and I had a bunch of roommates at the time so all my booze was in my bedroom. He came over and was like, “Wait a minute. Why are there 15 bottles of bourbon by your bed?”

What would you say makes Boston’s bar scene different than others?

I think they’ve had some really good mentors, so the people who were getting the craft cocktail bar scene happening five or ten years ago, those people were really, really creative. Even though it’s not New York, I think our cocktails are as good as cocktails coming out of New York. Boston really has a hospitality approach, I guess. And that extends to the bartenders and to each other. We take care of each other. I’m really happy I’ve landed here.

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