Steemit is getting cocktails!

If you like drinking cocktails, you're going to love this!

I'm Lachlan Gunner and I like to mix drinks. So much in fact, that at the start of last year I left my hometown in search for the vibrancy and inspiration that I would need to focus on mixing drinks full time. For me, the answer to this search was sunny Sydney, Australia.

With my girlfriend Zoe, we left with only half a shipping container of our belongings and a little bit of savings. Fast forward one year and I feel like I've lived a whole lifetime. I decided in one moment to enter as many cocktail competitions I could in that one year and see what would happen!

me and Zoe out apartment hunting

To do this, I needed work. My one friend that already lived in Sydney introduced me to her bar friends at a cocktail bar in Darlinghurst called Della Hyde. I began working there after meeting the team and the bar's mission to create a new cocktail menu every month. In the 7 months I worked there I contributed to a number of cocktails on the menu and developed lots of friendships.

I entered a total of 13 cocktail competitions over the last year and I was lucky enough to make it through a significant portion of a handful of global competitions. Highlights from this were travelling to Amsterdam to compete in the 2017 Libbey Glassware design competition and also winning the Chairman's reserve ultimate Mai Tai competition 2017 (link: http://www.cocktailsandbars.com/the-winner-of-chairmans-reserve-mai-tai-competition-2017/)

photo from Chairman's reserve competition, what a happy chappy!

Me at Schichipol Airport, Amsterdam for the Libbey Glassology design contest.

My life has once again moved in a new direction. My love for mixing drinks has made me look at my future and where I see my passion taking me. The last years' experience has taught me that mixing drinks well is a gateway to pursuing the next logical step – to design and open my very own cocktail bar!

I spent a lot of time researching the methods and requirements to do this and found a whole plethora of business related concepts I'd first need to understand before I could even think of opening my own bar. I understand a lot of these concepts but at the end of the day, beyond finances holding me back, there's formal experience in managing and promoting a brand that I need to prove to myself that I can do.

My cocktail bar plans (confidential of course!)

In November last year, I took a new job with a promising group called 8 hospitality. It was my opportunity to jump back into management and my plan would be to become a General Manager for one of their venues. In the meantime, I would work as a roaming manager between there most successful 3 (they have 4).

me and the general manager of Grandmas bar mixing up a good time (I'm on the right)!

Only just a month ago they saw my potential with the group beyond just being a general manager that takes care of the in-house operations and finances, although I would love formal experience in that area. They saw my experience and success in cocktail competitions and have recently discussed with me about becoming a brand ambassador for the company. I would be responsible for getting heads in the venues by pushing my personal brand, and therefore their brand, in the industry. It's a great opportunity and really helps me understand how to promote a brand whilst also giving me options to create a personal audience from which I might be able to work off of when I do decide to open a bar one day.

Working across three venues is great for a number of reasons. One of those reasons is tips. After a few months of saving my tips I found myself depositing $420 in cash into my account. I know I wanted to do something worth investing with this 'free money' and since I genuinely considered it free money, I was willing to be a bit risky with it. That’s how I jumped into the world of crypto currency. Although never having made a single trade up until this point I came across Steemit when watching one of @JerryBanfield informative tutorials on the platform (thanks Jerry!).
I couldn’t resist the temptation of signing up. Actually I haven’t completely signed up yet at the time of writing this! I was so excited to get on board with steemit that I applied for my account then quickly jumped into a word document to get my profile ready ahead of time!

I still can't believe I got an @cocktail username!

So here we are! I love mixing drinks and I plan on doing this in text and on camera for you as often as I can (hopefully daily). My favourite part about making drinks is creating new ways the incorporating strange flavours into the cocktail, so I'll probably post lots of that! I also like creating new things, I might create posts about brewing a beer with no equipment or making a gin! The possibilities are endless!

If you want to stay up to date, give me a follow and maybe even leave a suggestion below on what can be one of the first things I can make! Your favourite cocktail perhaps?

My username is @cocktail and my Instagram is www.instagram.com/lachiegunner

Until then –

Lachie.