Meanwhile, I welcome any links to such interesting sites that you may come across on the internet that I could put up at Easy Bachelor Recipes.
Many moons ago, way back in the last decade of decadence - the 1970's, the year 1979 to be exact, The Great State Of North Carolina decided to join the twentieth century's social customs and mores if somewhat belatedly and pass "liquor by the drink" legislation.
Up until then, one could not buy a mixed drink in a restaurant or public bar. The only way to be served a cognac at the Angus Barn Steakhouse was to go to a state-run liquor store (there still aren't any privately-owned liquor stores in NC), buy a fifth of whatever cognac they may have in stock at the time, then "brown bag" it in a $.01 paper sack into the Angus Barn to be served by the restaurant staff with your $100.00@ steak dinner. You could, of course, find mixed drinks if you wanted them, but only at illegal "liquor houses" or "shot houses", or at so-called "private clubs" such as the Elks Lodge, the Moose Lodge, the Masonic Hall, etc.
Defining the hypocrisy which makes politics politics and satisfies virtually no one which is the art of true compromise, North Carolina decided that they would allow public sale of mixed drinks in restaurants, but only if total gross sales were at least 51% food. If alcohol sales exceeded 49% of gross cash register receipts at any time, the restaurant would literally have to quit selling booze and sell only food until the food receipts again exceeded 51%.
Into this curious mix of changing cultural phenomena I thrust myself with all deliberation, deciding I wanted to be a bartender as well as keeping my "day job" working for my father's plumbing contracting firm, so I signed up for the first class of the first local bartending academy, the "International Bartenders Institute" in nearby Durham N.C., which had set up shop almost the next day after the liquor-by-the-drink legislation had passed. There being a much greater demand for bartenders than supply, I had my pick of jobs after "graduation" from my two week course, and on the first interview I found the place and the people I wanted to work for, The Leprechaun Lounge at the Downtowner Inn in downtown Durham, North Carolina.
