Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette. In today's video, we'll discuss 12
gentlemanly skills that every man can practice from home.
Whenever you are forced to stay at home, you might get bored very easily but rather than
spending all your day on the couch, you can do something that feels a lot more
productive and satisfying which is practicing your gentlemanly skills.
Many of these activities cost very little or you can do them with things that you
already have around your home or they simply take some time and energy to
learn. So without further ado, the first thing you can do from home is learn to
appreciate whiskey. Not every man drinks and some men don't like whiskey but just
like other drinks, it's an acquired taste. Ordering a dram of whiskey at the bar is
usually rather expensive for what you get and so when you have time at home
there can be a fun endeavor to test different flavors and it'll cost you a
whole lot less. Doing it from home in a controlled environment is great because
it prevents any outside influences and you can fully focus on it read up
about them before and just determine what you would like and dislike about
whiskeys. Rather than in full bottles you can buy smaller sample sizes and their
online services out there now that shipping right to your home. Often
they're even curated so you can just pick different sets and just taste along.
Before you invest a single dollar though, you can go to our website and check out
our whiskey primers or one-on-ones, we show you how to taste whiskeys, what
glasses you should use, the different areas of Scotch for example, so you get
the theory first and then you can start in practice. Number two learn how to mix
your favorite cocktail or just a small repertoire of cocktails so you can
easily entertain and impress your guests when you have them over. After all, you
can also just enjoy them yourself. When we mean cocktail, I don't mean a screwdriver or
vodka soda but something more elegant that you would maybe get at a craft
cocktail bar. Classics included old fashioned or Manhattan
but maybe you can also experiment with an egg-white cocktail such as a Whiskey
Sour or something that's a little more elaborate for summer such as a
Caipirinha. of course, we suggest that you learn how to make a cocktail from
scratch and sometimes little things like a simple syrup can be easily done with
water and sugar so you don't need to go out and buy anything.
Mixers may be quicker to use but they're also a lot more expensive and
usually they don't taste as good is a freshly handmade cocktail. So if you're
new to this, the big question is where do you start? Well, first of all, you need the
right tools such as a shaker and a strainer and for a complete list of what
you can start with check out this guide here. I know there are often sets that you
can buy but more often than not they're overpriced and I don't really perform
well so the list we put together is all tested it works really well and it's
relatively affordable. Once you've got those tools it's time to buy some liquor.
If you want to have a full stocked bar though, that can be rather expensive. So
instead, when you start, I suggest just pick three cocktails that you like and
want to mix and then just buy those ingredients that you actually need. So
what cocktails do you like? Frankly, I don't know but you can find some
inspiration traditionally in cocktail recipe books
and we have a whole list of them here. Personally, what I dislike about them is
when you actually want to mix your cocktail the page doesn't stay open and
it's just a pain moving around back and forth between wet fingers squeezing your
lemon and understanding what the next step is. Because of that, recently I've
really gotten into using an app from a local distiller called Tattersall. It's
free for Android and Apple and this is not sponsored at all and you don't even
have to use their liquor but it really helps you choosing a cocktail based on
the main liquor, based on the occasion, or the level of difficulty of mixing it.
Whenever we have guests over and I mix cocktails, they're always impressed
because they're on par with what you would get the nice craft cocktail bar.
If you want to get really fancy, you can even invest in a special ice maker that
creates clear ice for you or a smoking cloche but frankly, that sometimes
overkill at home and everything smells like smoke. One more tip though, if you
have future guests over, rather than asking them what
they want to drink and they're giving you all different answers so you're
ending up having to mix six different cocktails and maybe you don't have the
ingredients for them, just say "Hey, we're having a whiskey sour. Would you like
some?" and if they're not up for that maybe you can say "Well, we also have a
Gin and Tonic" that way it keeps it simple you can mix something quickly, it
tastes great, you've practiced, you get the proportions right, and you can then
spend time with your guests rather than stressing out about
different cocktail recipes. The third thing to do is to write Thank You notes.
A handwritten correspondence in this day and age is very rare but because of that,
once you receive it, it makes you feel all the more important. Just a mere fact
of sitting down, thinking about it, taking a pen, and running it down makes you all
the more grateful right away. Not only with a handwritten note makes the
recipient feel appreciated and honored but it's also a great way to say thank
you because success in life is really achieved on your own. You don't need
something tangible, something intangible can be just as good or sometimes even
better. Just think of a parent or a mentor and
when you write them a note, thanking them for what they taught you or their love,
they will probably be really touched. Other reasons to write thank-you notes
could be to call out kind gestures of support that you've received from a
friend or a family member for example. Not only are Thank You notes a hallmark
of a true gentleman, but they're also a great relationship building and
maintenance tool. To learn more about Thank You notes
and handwritten correspondences, please check out our in-depth guides on our
website here. The fourth thing you can do is learn how to write with a fountain
pen especially when you're working on your Thank You notes. Why do you need to
learn with a fountain pen when there are all sorts of ballpoint pens out there?
Well, it is a very unique tool that is old fashioned but it makes your message
feel more intentional, deliberate, and valuable. Why? Well, it's a special tool
you have to take an extra step to thank someone for example or to write
something and so it makes the recipient feel more
special. If you don't know where to start, please check out this video on how to
write with a fountain pen which is made for beginners and we also put together a
list of budget fountain pens under $20 as well as fountain pens between a
$100 and $300 so you can find something that works for you.
The fifth thing you can do is learn how to give good gifts. Gift-giving is something
that can be practiced and learned. Great gifts show how well you know someone, how
well you listen to them, and how much effort you put into them so they feel
appreciated. As my wife can surely tell you the importance of gifts to
individuals varies greatly. For example, she loves them and I'm just
fine without them. The key to a good gift is to give something that they really
want, that they are into not something that you were into and that you enjoy.
Many people like to give gifts that I would like to receive themselves but
it's all about the recipient not about you.
So one easy way to make it more about the recipient is to add their initials
to the gift because that makes it less available to everyone else but much more
valuable to that individual. If you never really thought about giving good gifts
or if you know that it's not your strong suit, please check out this guide with
10 steps of how to give a great gift. With all that said, if you still think
that gift-giving is not worth your time, I urge you to read the book Gift-tology
because there's a bunch of benefits of gift-giving for you even though it's all
about the recipient. The sixth thing you can do is learn how to cook a signature
dish really well. You can practice and perfect something so when the time comes
and you have to quickly put a meal together, you can impress others and just
create something that is very satisfying and may be the foundation of a good
conversation and of a strong relationship that you're building
through a meal. Of course, if you're a good cook, words in the street, and people want
to come over more often and they will always respect you and cherish the fact
that you provide such a great meal for them. Personally, I like to cook but I
don't do it very often. I'm good with meats with sauces but my
signature dishes are typically German dishes because that's not
something that you can easily get here in the US and so I can do a really good
job to provide something that is special for people that they don't get anywhere
else. So other than my Spaetzle and Maultaschen
skills, I also make a mean tiramisu. Now all my special dishes have really taken
a lot of time to perfect them because sometimes the recipe out of the book is
not ideal. I've also come to learn about my signature ingredients such as
Worcestershire sauce and Fish sauce which always add this nice umami flavor,
people always say "Hmm your meat is so good, the sauce is so great, this tastes so
intense" but I can't put their finger on it.
Now if I sound like I'm bragging, please check out this video about all the
things I suck at. Also, if you're a repertoire of signature dishes you know
exactly what to cook when someone's over so you don't have to try something new
because that's just stressful especially if it goes wrong and you have to do it
all over again. So if you don't know where to start, just think about your favorite
meal maybe at a restaurant or your mom's recipe and just cook it. You don't even
need to buy a cookbook these days. There are lots of nice food blogs online that
provide recipes and instructions and videos for free. That being said, we enjoy
a subscription to America's Test Kitchen because they just test one recipe a
hundred times in all the different variations and come up with the one way
to cook it so tastes perfectly. For example, most recently we tried some oven
fries. It sounds awful, right? We all have tried fries that tasted like crap but
this one was just amazing. It incorporated a mix of water and starch
on a potato and everything was crisp on the outside, soft on the inside and we'll
definitely do it again. The seventh gentlemanly thing you can learn is
how to smoke a cigar. Now, before you get on our high horse, we don't endorse that
anyone smokes and frankly, I'm not a smoker myself. I smoke cigars very rarely
and so it's not something you have to do but I think, trying to smoke a cigar at
least once in your life is a nice experience. Just like a special liquor or a
64-ounce ribeye, certain vices, can sometimes be particularly enjoyful in
special moments such as when you achieve something or the birth of a child, moderation
is the key. We have a bunch of different cigar guides on our website which you can check
out here including a video on how to smoke a cigar. By the way, if you have
tried cigars and you want to check out something new, maybe you think about
pipes and of course we have a guide about that here too.
Number eight, learn how to tie a necktie or a bowtie without the need of a mirror.
Now as a viewer of the Gentleman's Gazette, we fully expect that you have tied
certain neckties bow ties at home before. And most of the time we have a mirror
because it makes things easier. But if you practice tying a tie or bow tie in
different knots and you can do it blindly or without looking at the mirror,
your knots will not only become better looking but you'll also be quicker and
you can help out anyone at any point in time even though it's mirrored then
because you look at them rather than it yourself. If you're just starting out
we have a video about the 3 easiest tie knots. We also have different individual
videos for tie knots that I usually use and we have two videos on how to tie a
bow tie one for beginners and one that creates a more advanced and unique look.
So by practicing enough, you'll be able to do it blindly without a mirror and
you can still do it with a mirror but you'll always be quicker and it'll look
better. The ninth gentlemanly skill you can learn at
home is either to learn how to grow a beard at home because it's easy now and
you can see what it looks like or you can learn how to shave properly with a
DE razor which not only provides a superior shave but it's also a lot less
expensive. If you want to learn more about how to grow a beard from scratch with a
bunch of resources on our website including a PDF a bunch of videos, so you
can check them out here. Now even if you're not into beard, so you might think
"Well, why shave while I'm at home? No one is going to see my smooth results
anyways" but it's like with many things in life, practice leads to perfection and
now that you have the time it's just a good time to start. Shaving with a DE
razor and a sharp blade is not something to practice before you have to get into
work in 20 minutes on a Tuesday. So why should you skip your cartridge
system? Well, not only will you get a much better and smoother result but if you do
it properly, you can do it in about the same time, it is also a lot less
expensive in the long run because you don't have to buy
expensive cartridges and using a DE razor can help to prevent razor burns
and ingrown hairs. If you're new to this, check out my video about the 9 most
common shaving mistakes men make as well as our guide on how to shape with a DE
razor. You can even get our 200 plus page shaving guide we retested over a
150 different products and show you everything step by step along
with some videos when becoming a Patron of the Gentleman's Gazette. To learn more
about the perks you get as a patron, please check out our Patreon page here.
The tenth gentlemanly thing you can do is to cultivate a hobby. For me, classic
men's clothing was a hobby, then it turned into a business and a career, and I
select to spend time on it which means I like to read about it
or watch something or just learn about it in general. For example, this recently
I read a book about bespoke shoes by Berhard Roetzel and if you're
interested in classic men's style and I assume you're because you're here, then
here's a list of 10 books I urge you to read and if you want to even have more
books, here's a list with 100 books and if you were curious about other hobbies,
here's a list of 100 hobbies specifically for gentlemen.
The eleventh thing you can do is to learn how to become a better listener. Being a good
listener is always a valuable skill but it becomes even more important when you
under pressure, because it creates a win-win situation. Why is that? Well, if
others feel appreciated and feel like they're heard, they're much more likely
of respecting what you are saying. I get it. Listening along with the other person
to finish is hard sometimes. In my family, we often talk over each other but that
means it's always more important to you to bring your point across and you're
just waiting for the next pause so you can bring your counter-argument but that
means your not even listening and comprehending what the other person is
saying. Culturally, it's of course very different across the world.
That being said, being able to listen to others is a skill you need in any human
to human relationship and it will just be beneficial for you, the better you can
do it. As a gentleman, it reflects your respect to the other person in their
contribution and that you deem it as valuable as your own.
In today's world, it's so easy to be distracted and just look at your phone
or do other things and multitask but in reality, it's not something we can truly
do and if you listen while you're doing something else, you're not truly
listening. So always force yourself to look the
other person into the eye because it shows that you're paying attention and
then try to paraphrase what they say or ask smart questions that make sense
based on what they just said. By giving someone your undivided attention, you
make them feel heard and understood and at the end of the day, we all want to
experience that. Last but not the least, the twelfth gentlemanly skill you can learn
is how to argue properly. If you're in close quarters with their co-workers or
your family, chances are, an argument will arise
sooner or later. How a person argues strikes right at the
heart of your character and it's the moment where people actually take their
gloves off. Are you a good listener, you become
defensive or you're very aggressive - what is your style? Are you open to new ideas
or ideas not from you or are you just focusing on your point of view?
No one likes to be perceived as incompetent or wrong but the way you handle an
argument is how it shows who you really are. Because that, a two-sided debate and
conversation is very important and that means that opinions are never sacred and
that you also have to accept to be wrong sometimes and let the other person show
you certain facts and you have to be man enough or gentleman enough to recognize
that and say "Yes, you're right. I'm sorry I was wrong". Along those lines, trying to
win should never be the goal rather maybe focus on the truth and the other
person and keep in mind that they want to be heard and understood. A general
unwillingness to learn or to consider other people's viewpoint doesn't make
you more a man. It just shows that you're so insecure that you just have to look
at your own angle. So what does it specifically mean to argue like a
gentleman? Well, first of all, you stay calm and you don't yell. You stick to the
facts and don't use insults or refer to all
things that are in the past and are closed now. Frankly, we created a whole
video about how to argue like a gentleman and you can check it out here.
If you enjoyed this video, you may also want to watch the one on how to improve
your wardrobe and how to maintain your investment. In today's video, I'm wearing a very
casual at home outfit which consists of an old shirt that is very comfortable
and it shows some signs of wear on the collar and the cuffs but I still like it
a lot and so at home or when I cook it's a great piece to wear because I don't
have to be afraid that I get it stained. It's a nice thick twill with a light
blue and darker blue stripe. I'm combining it with a simple pair of
chinos and cotton which is comfortable to wear but also easy to wash. After all, l
have a two and a half-year-old daughter and so at home, my clothes get more dirty
now than they used to. On my feet, I have a pair of casual chocolate brown woven
leather penny loafers and I'm combining them with a matching belt from our Fort
Belvedere belt system in chocolate brown with a silver Neville buckle that works
well with my silver pinky ring and it's all tied together with a blue star
sapphire stone. Of course, my socks are over the calf socks from Fort Belvedere
and at the same color scheme of a light blue and dark blue so everything looks
harmonious even though I'm at home.