Thus was the comment made to me while sitting at a local watering hole by a bartender who recognized my name after we introduced ourselves; reputation around Santa Feprecedingme once again.

I smiled, ordered and sat quietly as I sipped my Manhattan. In between chit-chat with others around the bar, I kept thinking about the bartender's statement. “Wedon'tdo mixology here” rang in my head over and over as I watched the drinks being made, and the imbibers sucking them down like bubble gum punch at a frat party. Everyone was a little buzzed from theover-sizedcocktail glasses filled to the rim with mass amounts of booze. Middle-aged men and women acting like they had never been in public before with the raging hormones of teenagers and over service guiding theiruninhibitedbehavior.

The bartenderwasn'tlying. They don’t do mixology here. But this got me thinking. What exactly is mixology? Is it followingultra-classic recipes and knowing the intricate details of the entire history of a cocktail? Is it making sure the bar is stocked with as many of the new and trendy bitters available? Is it allfreshingredients bought from the local farmer’s market displayed accross the bar? Is it foams, airs,gelatin, deconstructions, andcompetitions? Is it making a name for yourself and having a pseudo-celebrity status so that when you walk in a bar the bartenders either praise you or cringe at your presence?

Well, maybe there a little bit of this in mixology. OK, maybe more than a little. Yes, many of those elementsexistin my bar, and I am honored with some popularity around town. But thatwasn'twhat was eating away at my brain like the liquor was at my liver. “We don’t do mixology here.”

WhatIS mixology??

I hounded myself about this the entire time I sat barely finishing the poorly made, shakenManhattanwith oxidized vermouth, light bitters, and a touch of cherry juice poured from thegarnishtray. (Unfortunately, I had ordered before the “we don’t” statement was made. Maybe should have changed my order, but that would have been snotty on my part.)

Mixology can involve the list of things I bantered on about before, but does it have to? Then itoccurredto me as I sat eating one of the best burgers I have ever had in my life. It’s was good. DAMN GOOD!

It was not made by Thomas Keller at a fancy big-city fine-dining restaurant. Nor did it have a list of exoticandobscure ingredients from the far reaches of the earth that could only be found by a mutated ferret with one eye and three noses. It was just a burger: ground beef, and all the usual toppings cooked perfectly medium rare, thick and juicy.That was a tasty burger!

The answer hitme likea brick to the head with a lemon twist. Mixology is about making a great drink. Period. It is doing it right and doing it well. Some of us do likeusingexotic ingredients and knowing the history and that’s cool too, but it’s not the core of mixology. The core is making a quality drink.

I’ll be back for that burger again: that was culinary genius! But I think I’ll have a beer to drink nect time assuming the bartender can open a bottle.