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Here’s a glimpse behind the scenes at ChefSteps: Last St. Patrick’s Day, we asked Hans, our resident bartender and musician, to come up with a sexy riff on an Irish coffee. Hans put together a gorgeous, rich cocktail made with Seattle-roasted coffee, Noah’s Mill whiskey, and Bénédictine whipped cream. With a nod to our penchant for party tricks, he lit the whiskey on fire, burning off a little bit of heat from the alcohol and imparting a mild smoky flavor to boot. By all accounts, the drink was badass—an easy-to-make, layered cocktail with hot coffee on the bottom, smoky booze in the middle, and silky whipped cream on the top. Because it veered pretty far from a traditional Irish coffee, we changed the name to the Bitter End (y’know, because if you’re going to the parade and then to the after-party and then to the after-after-party, you’re going to need some caffeine), wrote up a recipe, and published it on our blog.That was almost a year ago, and Hans is still ashamed: his bartender friends rake him over the coals for every ChefSteps cocktail that’s measured on a scale rather than in a jigger. And here’s the thing—we totally get it. Bartenders tend to think of cocktails in terms of ratios—two parts sweet gets brightened up with one part sour; three parts booze gets softened by one part sugar; two parts thin-and-watery gets thickened up with one part viscous. Cocktails are made up of ratios, and most bartenders have entrenched behaviors and techniques built around this simple fact. Trying to get booze enthusiasts to make cocktails by weight, we decided, may just be a losing battle. So this time around, we’re making it right. Introducing the new-and-improved Bitter End cocktail, complete with the Hans Twite Stamp of Approval. Now please, stop bullying our bartender. Do you make your cocktails by weight or volume? Tell us in the comments below!