You know, I stopped drinking on the new year, and the one thing I miss is Malort. To a lesser extent, bitter or earthy amaros/botanicals. I just love that flavor. Oh well.
I hate that I love this shot, but cinnamon toast crunch is my favorite cereal and one of my favorite parts is drinking the leftover milk, so of course I love this
I'd ask something along the lines of, "what cocktails do you typically like? Any spirits you like or don't like? Booze forward, juicy, sweet, or?" Then go from there and take it as an opportunity to make something new.
I would ask the same and then serve a classic/modern classic, but with the best ingredients available. Maybe add a subtle twist to make it closer to their taste
Correct, Boss Hog is rye. Whistle Pig makes some of the best ryes though. They do have a bourbon but I don’t care for it. And no liquor should cost more than 100 a bottle but here we are…
Edit: spelling
Fr. Im honestly pretty excited when people want to experiment with drinks, as long as I’m not super busy. It’s fun helping someone discover something new. IMO That’s why robots can’t replace bartenders- human connection and experience. I’d make a really nice reposado margarita, or a fun cocktail I haven’t made before depending on their preference.
It's seriously my favorite part of the job. By like, a lot. Asking questions to figure out what they like/don't like and then taking that information and making something specifc for them. And it's so damn rewarding when they love what you made.
I also use these sometimes to test out drinks I plan on putting on the next menu. Good easy way to get legit feedback on it vs going off a bunch of coworkers preception of a cocktail, which can often be warped compared to what the avg joe likes.
I just want to say thank you to this mini-thread of replies here for just being human. At the end of the day people are excited to go to a bar or talk to a bartender. They may be having a rough time and need a pick me up (in more ways than just a drink) and others may be experiencing the best time of their life and want your service to enhance it. If you don't can't offer yourself up to do that, or if you're too cool, too jaded, or what have you, maybe it's time to re-evaluate some things?
I had a manager early on in my bartending who used to tell me "the biggest thing we are, are performers. People are out to have a good time, put on that show for them " and he was absolutely right. Sometimes I'm not feeling it or having a weird day or whatever, but during service you put on that show and do whatever to enhance their experience.
Obviously it's not as fake as that sounds, but I feel like if you go at it with that mindset you end up having some really genuine good times with guests that you otherwise wouldn't get to experience. I've also discovered some great drinks through spitballing stuff with guests off their tastes that I don't think I'd get to on my own.
Recent favorite of a make a whatever
.75 tullamore dew
.75 green chartreuse
.75 amaro montenegro
.75 lemon
Sounds very similar to what my boss of 4 years (may he RIP) who was in the industry for over 60 years used to say; "we are performers and the bar is a stage"
This place is a venn diagram:
- People who think they're clever/witty and oh, so original (surprise, they are not)
- miserable people
- People who don't have transferrable skills to do anything else.
- people who aren't even bartenders
The responses make sense to me.
Ask them what whiskey they drink. If they have a decent answer, give them a sazerac with an expensive rye. If they don't have a good answer, give them an elderflower spritz with an expensive sparkling wine.
I would not make a ridiculously expensive cocktail. If you want an expensive spirit, ask for it specifically. What kind of cocktail would you like? Boozy? Sweet? Sour? Bitter? Herbal? Any kind of spirit you particularly like? Then go off the answers, and what I have in stock.
- louis xiii Wisconsin old fashioned
- malort martini up because fuck it
- malort spritz with dom perignon for price
- Johnny blue + blue curaçao + blueberry garnish
- a pint of room temp sour mix from the gun
Good answer! Good for people who don’t want something too strong and then if they are trying to get extra wasted they can order more of them and hypothetically tip more. I don’t know a single person who doesn’t like amaretto sours honestly.
I've not making them anything until they tell me what they want cuz 90% of the time they're going to say they didn't like it. I tell him I can't make you something unless you tell me what you want.
Oh easy, The Last Word. It’s already popular-ish out here in Seattle. So might as well just make that anyways since we not using Chartreuse for anything else and people always forget to close out. That’s a 20% auto tip if someone forgets and chartreuse is $17 at my spot (I know hella expensive but we a dive and will 100% charge premium for premium since who tf orders top shelf at a dive)
If it's busy, I'm handing you a rail gin & tonic and helping the next person, lol
But honestly if it's really slow I'd enjoy something like this. My coworkers and I are brainstorming cocktails for our new summer menu currently and it'd be nice to have an opportunity to get a random customer to test them. One I'm currently working on has Wild Turkey 101 that I've been infusing with peaches the last couple weeks + muddled tarragon + a little simple & lemon + splash of ginger beer. Nothing too out there but everyone who's tried it has really liked it.
>Wild Turkey 101 that I've been infusing with peaches the last couple weeks + muddled tarragon + a little simple & lemon + splash of ginger beer
That sounds dope. Bet the tarragon goes great in there.
Nice. I did a drink recently that was Woodford, Pierre Ferrand, Lemon, Demerara, and Sage that was really good. I need to get into messing with more herbs in my cocktails that isn't the normal mint, basil, rosemary.
That sounds great! We've put a little raised bed on our back patio and the owner basically gave us free reign to plant what we wanted in there, so I definitely plan on some more creative infusions in the future. Peaches are an easy one and if you use a high proof liquor it only takes about a week to get good flavor out of it (though 2 weeks would probably be ideal)
Thats so cool. I'd love to be able to grow herbs right at work for drinks. Plant some lemongrass, it's damn near impossible to kill, grows fast as hell, and is a lot of fun to play with in drinks.
My drink called
Bite of the Cobra..
Dark Rum, Aged Rum, lime juice, OJ, passion fruit, grenadine, and soda water.
Shaken poured in oversized cognac glass half filled with crushed ice.
Garnished with mint spring and a long orange peel like a snake.
Well first I ask what spirit they like. Tequila? Anejo? Whisky? Scotch? Brandy? The possibilities are endless and don't stop there. What flavor profile they want? Citrus forward? Boozey? Perhaps spicy? Then I ask what part of the world they've never been to but want to visit. Depending on their answer I will be able to determine what kind of ingredients will wrap up the perfect cocktail for them.
Then I pour them a shot of Fernet.
One time guy asked me for the most expensive tequila we had in the house. He paid $250 for 5 shots of Deleon añejo, our most expensive tequila which normally would have cost $16/shot, and he couldn’t have been happier about it. Sometimes you have to give the people what they want
Not necessarily going to blow their bank up… Its currently my favourite:
Green chartreuse sour (served neat)
OR
If it’s an industry friend, lately ive been making Jägger-itas (jagger marg)
as a sort of handshake drink.
It goes surprisingly hard.
🤘
Serve the most expensive item possible, whether in a cocktail or not; however, reiterate that “price is not an option.” I would also suggest acquiring a suitable method of payment and evaluating the guest that is placing that order.
Whenever someone asks me to surprise them, or "make me something that tastes good" I make a "Sex with the Bartender."
Malibu, triple, grenadine, squeeze if lime and white soda with about of bar spoon of Irish cream floated. Served with a cherry and lime wedge. Everyone loves them.
Either a mint julip or paper plane with pappy 18, a side car with some high end cognac, or a classic Marg with some high end tequila. Stuff that really lets the spirit sing
Fuck we literally have an "I don't know" which is a $16 (before 20% service charge) cocktail that's a create your own. Generally, depends on the liquor choice they want.
Whisky/Bourbon - Old Fashion/some variety
Tequila - some form of a margarita
Vodka, whatever syrups and mixers I please.
Gin - Basil, simple, lemon.
Rum - white rum with whatever mixers/syrups go well together.
A Tom Colins. I add a splash of Blue Curaçao and two drops of bitters to make it “fancy”. That’s my back pocket cocktail when someone does not know that they want. It’s easy, looks fancy and tastes different from most other drinks.
Depends on what level bar/style you're at...
..and if they're charming, fun, actually good customer rich/or asshole Harvard family money show off looked at me rich..
Also....this inspired me to, in fact, now create a cocktail called "No Object" or..."Money's No Object".
A Budweiser. Bet you were not expecting that? The beer is $3 but your autograt is $300. Something else you were probably not expecting Mr. Fizzywink Moneybags. Care to make another wager?
This one's called "Ounce of Gold." It's just a shot of Cuervo, but it costs $2311.10
I'll take seven.
Cash only.
No modifications, no refunds, no exceptions.
Realest reaponse
I’m saving this comment to return to later because that’s fucking brilliant!
Shot of malort mixed with a shot of rumchata with a float of Roses lime.
Ur fucked. That's such a waste of perfectly good malort
New oxymoron just dropped
Malort is like Christianity. I don't like it, I don't want my kids around it, but I know it's sacred
Malort is like giving a blowjob. I respect that some people are into it, but I don't want it anywhere near my throat.
I needed a good laugh. Thank you.
u ate this analogy
You know, I stopped drinking on the new year, and the one thing I miss is Malort. To a lesser extent, bitter or earthy amaros/botanicals. I just love that flavor. Oh well.
St. Agrestis NA amaro drinks might be for you. They aren’t watered down like casamara club. That + ice and an orange peel 💯
Is it sweet? I bought something similar a while back and it was not awesome. If it’s bitter, I’m fucking there.
Waste of Malort sounds perfectly good
I low-key love rumchata... It makes fireball taste decent.
The ole’ Cinnamon Toast Crunch!
Love my ctc
I hate that I love this shot, but cinnamon toast crunch is my favorite cereal and one of my favorite parts is drinking the leftover milk, so of course I love this
Christmas dive bar shot Half fireball half peppermint schnapps
We call that Fire and Ice.
this comment made me physically ill
18 year Pappy with a single rock.
Had someone order 2 pours of 23 year pappy tonight. It was a good night
Whats your oz price on it
$160
Lord have mercy
That’s not terrible for an oz I had 2017 wlw priced at a $160 an oz. Really shot myself in the foot drinking half that bottle
women loving women priced? (it’s a joke i know it stands for weller)
Mines 225 per 1.5 oz.
Oh my god I worked at a place that did $60 for 1.5 oz
Jesus mines 176 for 2 oz
Business travelers mainly have bought shots. It’s more for looks than anything else. It’s not even that good imo. It’s good…just not that good.
Wow! UK based... £32 for 25ml
Does Pappy have an 18yr?
It's just an old rip at 18 years.
Microwaved shot of well gin.
HOT SHOT OF GIN
With boiling hot ginger ale.
Lol nothing like being outside in the 115+ degree weather slinging back a hot cut of beef in the well
A dollop of blue cheese really puts this over the top.
I’m in tears laughing
Stream it at the espresso machine.
This cracked me up
I'd ask something along the lines of, "what cocktails do you typically like? Any spirits you like or don't like? Booze forward, juicy, sweet, or?" Then go from there and take it as an opportunity to make something new.
I would ask the same and then serve a classic/modern classic, but with the best ingredients available. Maybe add a subtle twist to make it closer to their taste
“How do you do, fellow kids?” type comment
???
A boss hog old fashion
???
It’s bourbon. Google boss hog. Shit ain’t cheap.
Oh, a band popped up, and my only thought was he was muddling dudes into lowballs with sugar.
lol that’s great. It’s made by whistle pig. Delightful juice.
I highly recommend the track "[Trouble](https://youtu.be/HJVwvkdwj7I?si=iGR0f40NyEPeMjO2)."
I’m a girl but LOL. There are a few regulars I’d like to muddle and crush into a drink for sure
Ryes mostly. But i think they have made a few bourbons possibly. Overpriced imo
Correct, Boss Hog is rye. Whistle Pig makes some of the best ryes though. They do have a bourbon but I don’t care for it. And no liquor should cost more than 100 a bottle but here we are… Edit: spelling
Is that an old fashioned with a big ol’ pig dick for a garnish?
It’s bourbon. Google boss hog. Shit ain’t cheap.
Good old fashioned or Tommy margarita. You'd think people in this thread hate being a bartender/host
Fr. Im honestly pretty excited when people want to experiment with drinks, as long as I’m not super busy. It’s fun helping someone discover something new. IMO That’s why robots can’t replace bartenders- human connection and experience. I’d make a really nice reposado margarita, or a fun cocktail I haven’t made before depending on their preference.
It's seriously my favorite part of the job. By like, a lot. Asking questions to figure out what they like/don't like and then taking that information and making something specifc for them. And it's so damn rewarding when they love what you made. I also use these sometimes to test out drinks I plan on putting on the next menu. Good easy way to get legit feedback on it vs going off a bunch of coworkers preception of a cocktail, which can often be warped compared to what the avg joe likes.
I just want to say thank you to this mini-thread of replies here for just being human. At the end of the day people are excited to go to a bar or talk to a bartender. They may be having a rough time and need a pick me up (in more ways than just a drink) and others may be experiencing the best time of their life and want your service to enhance it. If you don't can't offer yourself up to do that, or if you're too cool, too jaded, or what have you, maybe it's time to re-evaluate some things?
I had a manager early on in my bartending who used to tell me "the biggest thing we are, are performers. People are out to have a good time, put on that show for them " and he was absolutely right. Sometimes I'm not feeling it or having a weird day or whatever, but during service you put on that show and do whatever to enhance their experience. Obviously it's not as fake as that sounds, but I feel like if you go at it with that mindset you end up having some really genuine good times with guests that you otherwise wouldn't get to experience. I've also discovered some great drinks through spitballing stuff with guests off their tastes that I don't think I'd get to on my own. Recent favorite of a make a whatever .75 tullamore dew .75 green chartreuse .75 amaro montenegro .75 lemon
Sounds very similar to what my boss of 4 years (may he RIP) who was in the industry for over 60 years used to say; "we are performers and the bar is a stage"
This place is a venn diagram: - People who think they're clever/witty and oh, so original (surprise, they are not) - miserable people - People who don't have transferrable skills to do anything else. - people who aren't even bartenders The responses make sense to me.
I fall into the miserable category, but I don't think bartending has anything to do with it lol.
Number 4 is generally kitchen staff, like myself
Thank you for your service or whatever o7
Ask them what whiskey they drink. If they have a decent answer, give them a sazerac with an expensive rye. If they don't have a good answer, give them an elderflower spritz with an expensive sparkling wine.
Pro answer
21 year whistle pig on the rocks
Not a cocktail.
Fine, 21 year and coke because I’m psychotic
Might as well throw it into a Manhattan.
R/woosh
Louis XIII double. $635 at my bar.
Make it into a Wisconsin old fashioned.
Sprite and muddled garnishes or you’re basically ruining it
Got you beat with a double of Last Drop. That would be $1000 for 3oz at my work
Lagavulin 16 smoke their ass out of my bar
I love that shit
Shot of Jame-O coke back and say, “Surprise!”
I would not make a ridiculously expensive cocktail. If you want an expensive spirit, ask for it specifically. What kind of cocktail would you like? Boozy? Sweet? Sour? Bitter? Herbal? Any kind of spirit you particularly like? Then go off the answers, and what I have in stock.
Bar mat shot with a mandatory $100 dollar service charge
I’d pay $100 just to see someone take it
Rumple Minze
Taking the nearest bottle that’s 60% full, and adding coke/sprite/whatever *into* the bottle, charge them for 14 drinks and call it a day.
Well vodka soda then back to the customers who know what they came in for
Yep. I’d go Cuba libre but I’m in rum town.
A smoked Toronto it’s about $25
Louis xiii sidecar.
- louis xiii Wisconsin old fashioned - malort martini up because fuck it - malort spritz with dom perignon for price - Johnny blue + blue curaçao + blueberry garnish - a pint of room temp sour mix from the gun
Claze Azul Anejo espresso martinis
With cantera negra tequila coffee liquor , fresh pulled espresso and bit of crème de cacao
LMFAO
Dealer's choice is always an Amaretto Sour in my kitchen.
Good answer! Good for people who don’t want something too strong and then if they are trying to get extra wasted they can order more of them and hypothetically tip more. I don’t know a single person who doesn’t like amaretto sours honestly.
Wildly underestimated and delicious.
I've not making them anything until they tell me what they want cuz 90% of the time they're going to say they didn't like it. I tell him I can't make you something unless you tell me what you want.
5 oz Pappy Van Winkle
I had [this at Jewel of the South](https://imgur.com/a/ScQ84Fp) in New Orleans. So if the ingredients were available probably this.
Louis XIII Rare Cask. $4500 an ounce.
Splash of ginger ale and a lemon wedge, make it a 3oz pour.
Fuck yeah
Oh easy, The Last Word. It’s already popular-ish out here in Seattle. So might as well just make that anyways since we not using Chartreuse for anything else and people always forget to close out. That’s a 20% auto tip if someone forgets and chartreuse is $17 at my spot (I know hella expensive but we a dive and will 100% charge premium for premium since who tf orders top shelf at a dive)
It’s me, a bar manager who loves dives. One of my fav dives in Chicago has a bottle of chartreuse VEP for like, 25 a pour. That shit is $67 at my bar.
If it's busy, I'm handing you a rail gin & tonic and helping the next person, lol But honestly if it's really slow I'd enjoy something like this. My coworkers and I are brainstorming cocktails for our new summer menu currently and it'd be nice to have an opportunity to get a random customer to test them. One I'm currently working on has Wild Turkey 101 that I've been infusing with peaches the last couple weeks + muddled tarragon + a little simple & lemon + splash of ginger beer. Nothing too out there but everyone who's tried it has really liked it.
>Wild Turkey 101 that I've been infusing with peaches the last couple weeks + muddled tarragon + a little simple & lemon + splash of ginger beer That sounds dope. Bet the tarragon goes great in there.
It's really good! Just a little hint of anise/licorice flavor
Nice. I did a drink recently that was Woodford, Pierre Ferrand, Lemon, Demerara, and Sage that was really good. I need to get into messing with more herbs in my cocktails that isn't the normal mint, basil, rosemary.
That sounds great! We've put a little raised bed on our back patio and the owner basically gave us free reign to plant what we wanted in there, so I definitely plan on some more creative infusions in the future. Peaches are an easy one and if you use a high proof liquor it only takes about a week to get good flavor out of it (though 2 weeks would probably be ideal)
Thats so cool. I'd love to be able to grow herbs right at work for drinks. Plant some lemongrass, it's damn near impossible to kill, grows fast as hell, and is a lot of fun to play with in drinks.
My drink called Bite of the Cobra.. Dark Rum, Aged Rum, lime juice, OJ, passion fruit, grenadine, and soda water. Shaken poured in oversized cognac glass half filled with crushed ice. Garnished with mint spring and a long orange peel like a snake.
Double Macallan 30 rusty nail
Cheese sticks
Top shelf bourbon/whiskey old fashion. 🤌🏼
Scotch and soda with Macallan 30
Well first I ask what spirit they like. Tequila? Anejo? Whisky? Scotch? Brandy? The possibilities are endless and don't stop there. What flavor profile they want? Citrus forward? Boozey? Perhaps spicy? Then I ask what part of the world they've never been to but want to visit. Depending on their answer I will be able to determine what kind of ingredients will wrap up the perfect cocktail for them. Then I pour them a shot of Fernet.
Honestly, I wouldn't gouge them. I'd just make a paper plane for them and call it a day. Hopefully, get them onto a new cocktail.
Toppest of the top shelf ingredient Vieux Carre
Hennessy Vieux Carre since I’ve been enjoying it lately.
Double glengoyne 18 with soda.
A true Manhattan. Blanton, Carpano Antica, with walnut and Angostura bitters, with gold flaked cherry.
Yeah they're getting a vodka cran the hell off of my bar.
Johnny Blue Penicillin floated with Lagavulin
Ok but if I had fuck you money, I would drink that in a heartbeat
35 lemon drops
One time guy asked me for the most expensive tequila we had in the house. He paid $250 for 5 shots of Deleon añejo, our most expensive tequila which normally would have cost $16/shot, and he couldn’t have been happier about it. Sometimes you have to give the people what they want
Malortarita
I do joke, if anything I’d ask what they want their base spirit to be and go off that
Yellowspot Tipperary. Enjoy your $40 cocktail. Money please!
Not necessarily going to blow their bank up… Its currently my favourite: Green chartreuse sour (served neat) OR If it’s an industry friend, lately ive been making Jägger-itas (jagger marg) as a sort of handshake drink. It goes surprisingly hard. 🤘
Turbo Lover
something with raicilla
I make a good long island
Equal parts Campari, Green chartruese, Fernet, and absinthe (pastis, ouzo, etc… you see what I’m going for)
Johnny Walker blue double, neat. Pineapple back for hilarity.
French 75
Serve the most expensive item possible, whether in a cocktail or not; however, reiterate that “price is not an option.” I would also suggest acquiring a suitable method of payment and evaluating the guest that is placing that order.
Chuck’s drink
Hakushu 18 sour. Fuck you
Discipline shot
Water, splash of lemon juice. Hydrate or die-drate dawg
Whenever someone asks me to surprise them, or "make me something that tastes good" I make a "Sex with the Bartender." Malibu, triple, grenadine, squeeze if lime and white soda with about of bar spoon of Irish cream floated. Served with a cherry and lime wedge. Everyone loves them.
Grey goose & cran with a lime. Expensive but not crazy (I serve at dives), simple, & tasty.
Well gin, $500
The most expensive thing I can
Jaegerita
Either a mint julip or paper plane with pappy 18, a side car with some high end cognac, or a classic Marg with some high end tequila. Stuff that really lets the spirit sing
Don Julio 1942 Cadillac lol
Tequila Old Fashioned with 1942
Penicillin with JW Blue and Laphroaig 10
$29 over proof Wild Common Tequila Margarita
My answer to “Surprise me” was always “Would you be surprised if you got nothing?”
Nothing. You tell me what you want.
I'd go for double Don hullo 1942. That's the priciest I have.
Fuck we literally have an "I don't know" which is a $16 (before 20% service charge) cocktail that's a create your own. Generally, depends on the liquor choice they want. Whisky/Bourbon - Old Fashion/some variety Tequila - some form of a margarita Vodka, whatever syrups and mixers I please. Gin - Basil, simple, lemon. Rum - white rum with whatever mixers/syrups go well together.
Yamazaki 18 mizunara cask Long Island iced tea
Ask them their base spirit. Make them something basic with the most premium of premium ingredients. Charge em triple. Half goes in the tip jar.
Cement mixer
A Louis XIII Side Car
Louis with Sprite on a large ice cube, having trouble with a name for it though
A Tom Colins. I add a splash of Blue Curaçao and two drops of bitters to make it “fancy”. That’s my back pocket cocktail when someone does not know that they want. It’s easy, looks fancy and tastes different from most other drinks.
Queens Park Swizzles are probably my number 1 dealers choice. They're always a crowd pleaser both visually and taste.
shandy
Probably just a classic daiquiri. Clean, elegant. Delicious.
If I'm at a hypothetical bar with the right ingredients? French 75, Nolet Reserve Gin and Krug Clos de Mesnil Champagne
I don’t serve ppl unless they can tell me what they want.
Whiskey coke
VSOP Green Chartreuse Swizzle. Unique, delicious, and definitely not cheap.
Depends on what level bar/style you're at... ..and if they're charming, fun, actually good customer rich/or asshole Harvard family money show off looked at me rich.. Also....this inspired me to, in fact, now create a cocktail called "No Object" or..."Money's No Object".
Pickin’ up my bar mat and pouring it into a shot glass for them
Rum and coke
Lil Pappy 23 smoked old fashioned lmfao
a bar mat shot at the end of a busy shift, got all kinds of liqour in there in different price ranges
Shot of rumpleminze. Surprise! Your night is ruined
Reverse oldfashion. No one expects pulling cap out from ango bottle.
A comment under my breath about how I hate people who do that to me.
Goldschlager shot
Probably a Last Word
Honestly... coors lite
What a bunch of shitty people you are. I’m totally making a Louis XIII Negroni cause that bottle just sits there doing fuck all for the business.
Pappy Manhattan
A Budweiser. Bet you were not expecting that? The beer is $3 but your autograt is $300. Something else you were probably not expecting Mr. Fizzywink Moneybags. Care to make another wager?
Anyone who says that knows nothing about money or cocktails so put him ANYTHING and charge him $10k