Paddy McDrinksey
Article Category: Bartender of the Month
Haley Ryan of Main Street Pub By Paddy McDrinksey Welcome to one of my favorite haunts, the cozy Main Street Pub in historic downtown Melbourne. Where else can you find three distinct full-liquor bars under one roof? Well, two places come to mind, actually… And then there’s that other one I forgot about back home in Killkilly… Okay, so there are several places out there that have three bars under one roof, but none have laid them out as attractively as Main Street Pub. Downstairs... [Read more...]
Paddy McDrinskey
Article Category: Bartender of the Month
BARTENDER OF THE MONTH: AMANTHA MURPHY of TIME OUT SPORTS BAR • By Paddy McDrinskey • As I write this, the soccer world is in upheaval. America is out, England got trounced by Germany 4-1, New Zealand is still in the running, and the French (surprise) went on strike, and barely made an impression before being knocked out by Mexico, of all teams. It’s good to know that with everything going haywire I can still rely on Amantha Murphy. Our favorite bartender at Time Out Sports Bar in Cocoa... [Read more...]
Paddy McDrinksey
Article Category: Bartender of the Month
BARTENDER OF THE MONTH: TRACY SMITH of the Cocoa Beach VFW, Gunnery Sgt. Elia P. Fontecchio Memorial Post 10148 • Paddy McDrinksey • If I had my druthers, I’d make Tracy Smith “Bartender of the Year.” As it is, I’ve misplaced my druthers, and the good Lord knows where they are now. So she’ll have to settle for “Bartender of the Month,” then. But what better month to honor her? On Saturday, June 5, the Cocoa Beach VFW where she works will be celebrating... [Read more...]
Paddy McDrinksey
Article Category: Bartender of the Month
BARTENDER OF THE MONTH: JEFF JONES • Paddy McDrinskey • My old hometown of Killkilly (population 52) was all afire after the O’Malley’s Odeon screening of “Cocktail” in 1988. I mean literally afire. As in “engulfed in hellish flame.” Inspired by the film, one of the town’s 30 publicans, Padraig O’Gormless, owner of “The Hag’s Catarrh,” had the great idea of decking himself out like Tom Cruise (with whom Pat shared a passing resemblance,... [Read more...]
Paddy McDrinksey
Article Category: Bartender of the Month
BARTENDER OF THE MONTH: Molly MacGuinness of the Dog ‘n’ Bone By Paddy McDrinksey They don’t make bartenders like the formidably-named Molly MacGuinness any more. In fact, I don’t even think they make women like her any more. If they do, I’d like very much, please, to take a tour of their factory. I’ll wear the silly visitor’s badge proudly (and the even sillier neon blue hard hat sheepishly), but I really wanna see how they do it. I mean, what are the ingredients... [Read more...]
By: Paddy McDrinksey
Article Category: Bartender of the Month
BARTENDER OF THE MONTH: Ray Clancy of Paddy Cassidy’s Irish Pub By Paddy McDrinksey They say everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, but no one will ever be as Irish as me auld mucker Ray Clancy. At least I think he’s Irish. To be honest, I can’t understand a word he says half the time. And he looks a bit Serbian in soft lighting. But after pressing him daily for months to produce his birth certificate, I can at last attest that Ray is indeed Irish — as Irish as... [Read more...]
By Paddy McDrinksey
Article Category: Bartender of the Month
As partial as I am to my old tried-and-true haunts, I always get a thrill out of discovering new watering holes and barkeeps. They take me back to that first sip of sweet elixir I enjoyed in my youth and that wonderful sense of newness and discovery. Back in old Killkilly, it was the practice for every infant to down a small nip of whiskey every day until they got their sea legs beneath them. I remember it like it was yesterday, but my legs feel like it’s been 45 years… Imagine the look... [Read more...]
By: Paddy McDrinksey
Article Category: Bartender of the Month
BARTENDER OF THE MONTH: Allison DuBois of Casablanca I’ve never understood the fascination with “Casablanca.” It seems to pop up on everyone and their grandmother’s list of favorite films and is always mentioned as one of the most romantic movies of all time. I just don’t get it. Rick goes out on a limb to save Ilsa and her husband’s lives and best they can do is abandon him to eke out a miserable existence that ends, presumably, with Rick getting a Swiss cheese for a liver. Does romance... [Read more...]
By: Paddy McDrinksey
Article Category: Bartender of the Month
BARTENDER OF THE MONTH: Amber Banfield of Wynfields Sports Bar The concept of the Happy Hour is virtually unknown in my grey, rainy hometown of Killkilly. Sure, we have a few “Moments of Mirth,” as we call them, but blink and you’ll miss them. These rare moments, which usually entail the publican carving a little smiley face into the foam of your pint, are overshadowed by the “Melancholy Minute,” which happens at each quarter-hour, and the “Few Seconds of Deep... [Read more...]
By: Paddy McDrinskey
Article Category: Bartender of the Month
BARTENDER OF THE MONTH: Wendy Sadowski of Milliken’s Reef Among the many hobbies I’ve taken up since moving to Florida, snorkeling has to be my favorite — and it’s a lovely way to spend a sunny day if there ever was one. Unfortunately, I’ve never been much of a swimmer, so my recent expeditions have been confined to Port Canaveral’s Milliken’s Reef, a veritable paradise of tropical trappings and rare, brightly colored bottles. Here, you can snorkel down... [Read more...]
