Announcing the Cocktail Contest Winner !

Plus : Cinco de Mayo is a made up holiday. Does that matter?

Author

Luiz Fernandes
May 03, 2024

Announcing the Winner of the Cocktail Contest!

About a month and a half ago I ran a cocktail contest for my followers on Instagram, TikTok, & YouTube. It’s probably how many of you folks started getting these newsletters. And we finally have the winner!

I know so many of you folks have been asking me for the last month or so when this would be announced and I want to apologize for the delay— it’s been an incredibly hectic month behind the scenes for me and we got over 100 submissions! So sifting through all of those took quite a little bit.

But without further ado, here is the winner:

I will be sending the winner a message shortly to send them the grand prize!

Cinco de Mayo is kind of a made up holiday. Does it matter?

I hate to break this to you, but Cinco de Mayo isn’t mexico’s independence day, and it isn’t even celebrated as a national holiday in Mexico. So on Sunday when you’re sipping on a margarita or taking tequila shots, you should probably be aware of what it is you’re actually celebrating.

So what is it?

Cinco de Mayo commemorates Mexico's unexpected— but short-lived—victory over the French army at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. While in the town of Puebla they do celebrate the day most of Mexico itself does not. Vinepair ran a great article outlining the origins of the holiday.

While Cinco de Mayo didn’t really became popular in the US until during the Mexican-American civil rights push of the 1940s and 50s, it’s also worth mentioning that France was also supportive of the Confederacy in the American Civil War during the conflict period with Mexico. Since this holiday celebrates a Mexican victory over the French, this shared struggle really helped solidify a connection between Mexican-Americans and the United States.

So even though way more Americans celebrate Cinco de Mayo than Mexicans do, the date has still become a day celebrated in America similar to Oktoberfest or Saint Paddy’s day. And it all started with Alcohol companies, specifically the beer brand Corona, in the U.S trying to capitalize on that movement. And it worked. Big time.

“In 2013, over $600 million dollars worth of beer was sold, according to Nielsen data, which is more beer than is sold for St. Patrick’s Day or the Super Bowl, two holidays where beer consumption is the primary focal point.’

So does it matter that Cinco de Mayo is not really a big Mexican holiday?

On the one hand, many people criticize the way that Cinco de Mayo is celebrated in America, citing racism and cultural appropriation, which can certainly be happening in many instances. However, that is a very shallow and surface-level assessment in my opinion. In my opinion, Cinco de Mayo is more a symbol of Mexican-American heritage than it is of solely Mexican heritage.

So should you stop celebrating it?

I would say no. Any excuse to get together with friends and have a good time is valid especially because:

Cinco de Mayo is an American Holiday not a Mexican one.

And what makes America America, is its nature as a cultural melting pot. Immigrants from around the world have impacted and built this country into what it is today, and celebrating those cultures that contribute to this country is important.

Not to mention— for countless bars, restaurants, servers and bartenders in this industry, it can be an amazingly beneficial day, where many establishments who use it as an event see huge profit boosts.

Just maybe hold off on wearing a sombrero with a fake mustache and a poncho.

Has Tipping gotten out of Control?

We all know the moment: The bill comes, you do the math, and have to decide how much to tip. It's more than a formality – your tip says a lot about your experience. But have you ever considered the complex history and ongoing debate about this standard practice?

Tipping: A Brief Look Back

Did you know that wealthy Americans brought tipping to the US after observing it in Europe in the 1800s? Some see its origins in Medieval practices as inherently problematic, suggesting a sense of a "class divide" between customer and server.

The Pros and Cons

  • Pro: Many individuals are attracted to working in the restaurant industry because of the potential for earning tips, which can serve as a strong incentive for recruiting talented and motivated employees.

  • Pro: Servers & Bartenders can often make far more with tips than they would with a standard wage. Bartenders in major cities can easily make over $100k a Year due to tipping.

  • Pro: Incentive for Good-Quality Service. Leaving a generous tip is a nice way for customers to show their appreciation for the service provided to them.

  • Con: Tipping can create an imbalance of power – customers might feel entitled to dictate service quality based on the tip.

  • Con: Can create tension between Back of House (Kitchen staff) & Front of House (servers, bartenders, busboys, hosts.) employees

  • Con: Restaurant owners may be less incentivized to pay fair wages, shifting the burden to customers.

Is There a Better Way?

  • Higher Pay, No Tips: Some restaurants are ditching tips and paying their employees a higher, more reliable wage. But this isn’t always possible in every restaurant considering food & other costs have been going up significantly.

  • Automatic Service Charge: Instead of individual tipping, some places simply add a fixed percentage to your bill that goes to the staff as a whole, rather than individual Front of House staff. This makes the kitchen staff more involved and happier, but restaurants would most likely lose out on some of their best servers and bartenders as they seek employment in places where they can make more.

  • Share the Wealth: Places with revenue sharing distribute a portion of the restaurant's profits to all employees. But profit margins in restaurants as a whole are notoriously slim and it may not be possible for every restaurant to do so given the issues with rising costs as outlined above.

  • Beyond Money: Restaurants are getting creative – offering paid vacation time, training opportunities, and recognition programs to reward hard work outside of tipping. But while that is good as a whole it doesn’t address the heart of the problem.

We believe that for any alternative system to work, there would likely need to be an industry-wide shift since almost every restaurant in America relies heavily on tips. While you can think that changing this overnight would fix a lot of issues, most restaurants are fighting day in and day out just to stay open.

And all of this is only covering tips in restaurants and bars. Tipping is slowly starting to infiltrate other industries and sectors that you wouldn’t typically associate with gratuity. For instance, I recently had a delivery guy deliver me a package that I ordered and paid a delivery fee for, demand a tip for simply making the delivery to me…

The Takeaway

The tipping debate has no easy answers—t's a complex issue with strong opinions on both sides. What do you think? Should the system be left as is, or is a significant change needed?

Should Tipping be outlawed?

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