Kristi was first featured on the site when she submitted her Grape Lemon Drop Shot recipe. The response to the recipe was so good, we decided to ask her back for an interview. Kristi tends bar at the Wall Street Plaza in Orlando, Florida. "We have 8 bars in our plaza, all with the same owner, and all with 1 general manager. I work at 3 of these bars, which are all connected- Wall St. Cantina, One Eyed Jacks, and the Loaded Hog," said Kristi. "It is a pretty cool setup because every weekend we do block parties where you pay one cover for all 8 bars, and in the plaza we have live music and bars set up as well."

Why did you decide to get into bartending?

I had been working as a server for quite some time, and I always thought how much more fun it would be to be behind the bar. I was right!

How did you go about getting your first bartending gig? Was it tough to land your first one?

Well, I was serving for a year at the bar that I work at now, and a few bartending positions opened up. My managers offered me some daytime shifts to get me started, and over time I have worked my way up to the good shifts. It was hard and sort of frustrating at first being stuck with day shifts, but I am so glad I stuck it out because now I only work Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and it is great!

What is your favorite drink to make?

I enjoy making shots- red snappers, undertows, grape lemon drops it doesn’t matter. I am always trying to come up woth new shots and I love it because it lets me get creative.

What is your least favorite drink to make?

Anything Frozen! At my bar we have an extensive list of margaritas, all of which can be ordered frozen. They just takes so long to make, especially if you are busy and someone orders different kinds of frozen margaritas because we only have one blender.

What is your bartender pet peeve?

I really hate when someone yells my name from the other end of the bar. If you see that I am busy and want me to get you your drinks, then come down to my end of the bar! Don’t yell at me and expect me to stop what I am doing to come all the way to the other side and take care of you. Also I hate it when these same people ask the other bartenders that are right in front of them to walk down and get me. They are busy too, and can pour you the same drink that I would!!

What’s the most interesting / scandalous thing that’s happened to you on the job?

I think that every night working behind the bar is interesting. As a bartender you get to see a lot of drunk people making fools of themselves (not that we don’t all do the same thing when we are out drinking) but it is definitely funny to people watch sometimes.

What’s the best line somebody has used to get a free drink from you?

This one night I was getting some shots for one of my regulars, and some guy heard my friend use my name. So he came up to me and acted like he knew me too and said "Hey Kristi, we need one more shot over here" referring to the ones I had just made for the group of my friends. I made him one and later we realized that no one knew this guy, and he had been trying to drink on my friends tab the whole night!

What’s the most memorable pickup line you’ve heard?

"Hey baby, do you have a mirror in your pants, because I can see myself in them"- seriously where does a line like that EVER work?!

Who would YOU want to have a drink with and why?

I would like to sit down and have a drink with some of my college professors. Some teachers I have had recently have been so uptight – I’d really like to take them out and see them let loose.

Tell us one thing about tending bar that we might not know.

A lot of people think that bartending is so easy, and shouldn’t be considered a "real" job. Well, it is definitely not easy! We bust our asses when it’s busy and still have to stand around when its slow – and as for not being a "real" job, I bet we make more money in a year than most people who work nine to five jobs everyday. And I guarantee we have way more fun doing what we do!!

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