There are many aspects that go into a great vacation at the beach. You and your family rely on the hotel to make sure your room is ready by the check-in time, you hope that the public transportation runs smoothly in order to get you from clubs and back, you even rely on a little of mother nature’s magic to make each day as sunny and warm as the last. But there is one group of people who are always there to make your vacation just a little bit better. An overlooked group, these men and women are here to hydrate and get you into the beachy mood. This group of individuals, present at almost every restaurant in town - your local bartenders. In this article, I’m here to shed a little light, and a little love, on our local team of mixing, pouring, shaking machines that we call our bartenders. Here are just a few people you may meet while enjoying your visit.

Name: Sean
Place of Work: The Jungle Bar and Restaurant (Uptown OC)
Number of Years Bartending: 28 years
Years at Jungle Bar: Seven years
Arrived in OC: 1998
Suggested Drink: Coors Light
Drink of Choice: Natural Light
Personal Quotes: “I’m no hero… never claimed to be.” “ Everyone for themselves which means me first.”
Most Memorable Bar Moment: The Whiskey Story, as told by Sean. “A buddy and I are sitting at the bar. His girlfriend walks in and asked him to go to the store on the way home and buy milk, bread and cigarettes. Two days later, my buddy and I ended up in Montreal. When we returned to his place, all his stuff was on the front lawn. But we had picked up the milk, bread and cigs.”

Name: Joe
Place of Work: M.R. Ducks Bar and Grill (Downtown OC)
Number of Years Bartending: 16 years
Years at M.R. Ducks: 5 years
Arrived in OC: 2001
Suggested Drink: Grape Pez (grape vodka, peach schnapps, triple sec, sour mix, and pineapple juice)
Drink of Choice: Raspberry vodka, soda, and cranberry juice with a lime
Quote M.R. Ducks lives by: Kill ‘em with kindness
Most Memorable Bar Moment: Joe loves when new customers order their famous “Chug-a-Duck” drink and he has to gently break it to them to try drinking from the other end. The drink is served in a duck decoy and “you’re supposed to chug out of the beak, not the ass, but it’s hilarious when people try.”

Name: Crystal
Place of Work: Off The Hook (Bethany Beach, DE)
Number of Years Bartending: 17 years
Years at Off The Hook: Since February 2012
Arrived in OC: Grew up in Salisbury so was always in OC
Suggested Drink: Rum Punch on the rocks (light rum, dark rum, crème de banana, pineapple juice, orange juice, and grenadine)
Drink of Choice: Stoli-O and soda or Gran Marnier
Personal quote of advice: “Don’t go out if you don’t have the money to - make sure you can leave a good tip.”
Most Memorable Bar Moment: As told by Crystal: “I had just come inside to the indoor bar from a long shift at the outside bar in order to count the bank and finish up the night. When I came in, the indoor bartender had a full bar with people sitting and standing on all three sides. I quickly realized that he’s trashed. He sees me and says, “Okay, I’m leaving. Goodnight Courtney!” and left. Realizing he actually had gone home, I go to close up everyone’s tab and realize he hadn’t written a single drink down.”

Name: Blair
Place of Work: Off The Hook (Bethany Beach, DE)
Number of Years Bartending: 13 years
Years at Off The Hook: Since opened - June 2010
Suggested Drink: Bloody Mary or a drink with a fresh fruit puree
Drink of Choice: Grey Goose on the rocks, dirty
Quote to live by: Live. Laugh. Love. (Blair likes this so much, it’s even on the back of her car!)
Most Memorable Bar Moment: As told by Blair: “I was working at another restaurant in Bethany and a man, who had clearly already had too much to drink, came in and sat down at the bar. I politely denied his request for a drink and he went off. He was cursing and slurring his words and making a big deal of it, so I said I’d give him something. So I gave him a sprite. He tipped me a penny and left. As he was walking down the stairs, I followed him with the penny and flicked it from where I was standing at the top. It smacked him square in the forehead and I said “Keep your f*#$ing penny!”

    Next time you’re out at the bars with your friends, please keep your bartender in mind. It’s important to remember to thank them and, like Crystal said, to make sure you’re able to leave an appropriate tip. If you’re nice, they’ll return the favor and your trip out to the bar will be fun and relaxing for everyone. Remember it this way, have fun with them and show some love and respect because otherwise, you’ll be thirsty during your vacation without them!
    Stay tuned for more Meet Your Bartender articles as I continue to meet with more guys and gals ready to serve up a cold one!