The Red and Black

Issue date: 1/31/08 Section: Out & About

Media Credit: FRANNIE FABIAN The Allgood Lounge on Clayton Street boasts two levels of fully stocked bars and an open air porch. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: FRANNIE FABIAN Coffee shop by day and bar by night, Walker's offers two floors of bars and spacious atmosphere. [Click to enlarge]

Editor's note: The following is the first of a semester-long project of bartender reviews.

Our anonymous judge(s) will go to a bar, order a drink or two and judge the bartender on four criteria: Personality, Service, Drink Presentation and Overall Bartending Skills.

Keeping in mind the handicaps of overcrowding, widely varied bar types and high bartender turnover rate, we hope to present a critically balanced and entertaining look at some bartenders in town. Where will we go next?

Allgood Lounge

Personality - 2.5 shots

Service - 3.5 shots

Drink Presentation - 3 shots

Overall Bartending Skills - 3 shots

(out of 5 shots)


You only get one chance to make a good impression. For bartenders, this advice holds true, especially around college students out for a couple drinks with their friends in downtown Athens. Good bartenders develop a following and make customers want to return. Personality, as I see it, is of utmost importance. On Friday evening at about 12:30 a.m., Jenny confidently held her ground on the second floor of the Allgood Lounge, which is located in a former garage and has an open, deconstructed feel. With three years of bartending service at Allgood and seven years in all, she showed her experience. The swarms of students waiting for glasses of alcoholic freedom didn't bring her down. She remembered long lists of beer and mixed drinks while simultaneously ringing up orders and checking for her next customer. Her face wore a simple, almost stressed smile, yet she exchanged banter effortlessly. Her recommendation, a peach rum and Sprite concoction, was excellent and served with a bright, "Here you go, baby." The stiffness of the drink balanced well with the carbonation. She dropped cherries in her creations and delegated tasks to two younger-looking bartenders, all while swaying to the electric beats overhead. Maybe she is a little jaded from years of casual conversation and server smiles, but overall, she knew what she was doing and she did it well.

Walker's Coffee Shop & Pub

Personality - 3 shots

Service - 4 shots

Drink Presentation - 3.5 shots

Overall Bartending Skills - 3.5 shots

(out of 5 shots)


We spotted Ricky Friday night hoping he would satisfy our need for a good drink and an even better bartender. Despite the early crowdedness around 11 p.m., Ricky sat through my hesitant description of a drink: good, girly and strong. He came back quicker than expected with a "sex-on-the-beach and cosmopolitan concoction" that had no name. It was however, exactly what I described. Ricky was Walker's first employee and has worked there for three years. Like my drink, the music at Walker's was an eclectic mixture ranging from Aerosmith, Jimmy Buffett and Chingy. The service was good, the crowd was diverse and its coffee might bring me there before sunset.

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