What I Learned as a Sherlockian Bartender

There were no bar fights on my watch.

On Friday I had the honor of being a bartender at one of the receptions the night before A Scintillation of Scions, the yearly Sherlockian confab in Maryland. Since SOS went virtual this year, my bar was one of 15 chat rooms. Greg Ruby named it The Tankerville Club, for the Cincinnati scion society which I preside over as Most Scandalous Member.  

I mixed up a boulevardier cocktail (bourbon, sweet vermouth, Campari) and chatted with my guests. It was a lot of fun. And this is what I learned: 

• Digital bartenders get no tips. 

• What people miss most about these days of lockdown, other than being with their Sherlockian friends, is hugging grandchildren. 

• Those who are usually active in the Sherlockian world saved a lot of money this year – what they would have spent on travel and registration fees. 

• But significant numbers of individuals who can’t afford broad travel have enjoyed being plugged into the wider world of Sherlockiana for the first time via Zoom. 

The incredible ingenuity and dedication of Sherlockians has kept a bad situation from being so much worse. And I’ll drink to that!