Wake up! (and DRINK)
I’m a bartender. Every day people sit down at the bar where I work and order Manhattans, Martinis and Margaritas. I can make all of these drinks in my sleep, but sometimes I just want to yell, WAKE UP, it’s 2010, and there are hundreds of great drinks I can make. So I’m using my blog this month to appeal to all the 30pov readers to “make the day” of their favorite bartender and order one of the great drinks I‘ve listed below instead of the classic favorites.
If your preferred hard stuff is bourbon, don’t order a Manhattan. Instead order a Brown-Eyed Girl made with Jim Beam, Simple Syrup and mint leaves.
Skip the classic gin martini, and order a Widget made with gin and peach schnapps and served over ice.
If you always order Rum and Coke, try ordering Nights in White Satin made with Cruzan Tropical White Rum and agave nectar.
If you are a Rob Roy man (or woman), switch to a Single Malt Scotch served straight or with a splash of water.
If your bartender makes 100 margaritas every day, he/she will be ecstatic when you order a Tequila Sunday (tequila, orange juice, blackberry brandy poured inside the rim, with an orange slice and a cherry).
To prevent your bartender from throwing the boring Vodka Tonic in your face, ask for a Vodka Kiss which is vodka, amaretto, and a splash of cranberry and orange juice.
If you usually drink a whiskey sour, try a Straight Flush made with Crown Royal, peach schnapps, and cranberry juice served chilled.
With so many great liquors behind our bars, be brave and try something new. Order one of these drinks or, better yet, tell the bartender what kind of drink you enjoy, and sit back and let him/her take charge. The classic drinks are always in vogue, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try an inventive new cocktail.
Try something new or try something old…but for cryin’ out loud, DRINK!
I'm not a drinker, but I can imagine it would get really old to make the same things all night, every night.
Any drinks we should avoid ordering because the sheer amount of labor involved?
I would imagine ordering the drink that has you crawling under the counter looking for obscure mixers, squeezing fresh orange juice, and peeling a perfect corkscrew out of the skin of a kiwi would get me kicked out of your bar.
Mmmm…I'll take a Vodka Kiss. Actually, can you make it a rum kiss?
Ok, so I will be at the big birthday bash, or triple b, so create me a drink, I am hoping for something with coffee or chocolate….etc.
Oh. Hell. Yes! Brian, I've been waiting the past week to come back to your post and take some notes. Today's my birthday, so I'm going out tonight to get a bit torn up with some friends. I've just jotted down the following in my wallet: Widget, Brown-Eyed Girl, Irish Car Bombs. (That last one is a staple of my liquid diet and didn't need to be written down. But I plan on getting rather sauced, so I figured it was a good idea.) I'll make sure to check back in here and let you know how the others worked out. Thanks! Great piece.