Ask the Bartender!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
123

If we’re talking about the same beer, then all GW (Great Western) products are brewed in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. So I guess from your point-of-view it’s an import, but not from mine. :slight_smile: A couple of their beers (Premium Lager, and maybe a light beer as well) have won gold medals from international beer-judging bodies.

Me, I’m sort of ambivalent to GW actually.

By the way, I’m going to share your vodka and Jolly Rancher recipe with some friends at a dinner party tonight. I think it’ll go over well.

124

There’s a “Creamsicle.” :wink:

1 oz Stoli Orange (any orange vodka will work)
1 oz white creme de cocao
1 oz half and half (or milk/cream)

One scoop vanilla ice cream, one scoop orange sherbet, handful of ice, blended.

I have augmented this slightly to give it some kick; you could also, as Keturah said, try Stoli Vanil and OJ.

125

Zazie, and other non-Americans: in this country, most of the drinks we call martinis are simply garnished shots or double shots.

If it makes you feel any better, I’ve seen a number of American’s shocked by the kind of martini served in London. It’s a mixed drink!

126

So, Audrey Levins, ever find that Banana Banshee recipe? :wink:

127

Freyr, I have indeed successfully researched your Banana Banshee…and this is what I found.

1/2 oz Banana liqueur
1/2 oz Vodka
1/2 oz white Creme de cacao
1 1/2 oz Cream

Build over ice, shake, and garnish with cherry.

This is, btw, a Screaming Banana Banshee, b/c of the vodka. It also sounds like the tastiest; I found other recipes, sans screaming, that have no vodka and add coffee cream in its place.

I’m sorry, but to me, a drink without kick is kind of pointless. :wink: However, that doesn’t mean a non-screaming Banana Banshee wouldn’t be a tasty dessert-type drink, so mix as you will.

Oh, and let me know how that Jolly Rancher vodka suggestion went over at your dinner party, Treviathan. :smiley:

128

{hijack}I finally found a use for these glass baby formula bottles we’ve been collecting. They hold about 4 oz. So we’ve got about 8 with different flavors mingling as we speak. ;){/hijack}

129

Dear Audrey Levins, thanks so much for your research! I’ll definitely try one soon and I’ll let you know. It’s been decades since I’ve had one and have forgotten the recipe. :smiley:

And this thread had been fascintating! Great reading. Thanks for opening it.

130

Glad to hear it, ** Unintentionally Blank.** slurping sound

And you’re very welcome, Freyr. This thread’s been educational for me, too. :smiley:

131

I’ve only recently started drinking (I’m 21 and actually waited until I was legal) and have no idea as to what I like other than tequila, citrusy, and (I assume) cherry flavored stuff… can you give me some recipes for cocktails with tequila and those flavors other than margaritas?

132

AAAAAAAAAAAH! screaming I just erased my whole reply to you, Aesiron. They shouldn’t put that damn “delete” key so close to the backspace key! bitter

Anyway, to nobly try again…

Have you tried the classic Tequila Sunrise? It combines your cherry and tequila.

1 1/2 oz tequila
Fill with OJ
Dash of grenadine

Most mixed drinks with more than one modifier are made in a 12 oz Collins glass, so when you build a drink over ice, with the 1 1/2 oz liquor, you should reach the appropriate proportions when I say “fill.” And for the best look, run the grenadine on top of the OJ, around the inside rim of the glass, so it will sink/fade to the bottom and look like a sunrise.

And if you’re tired of boring margaritas, you might want to try an Italian Margarita–made with amaretto–or a peach margarita, which adds peach schnapps. Sangria is also tasty in a margarita, as is melon liqueur. (Midori, etc.)

As far as citrus flavored/cherry flavored drinks, that’s a long list, so here’s a couple of favorites. :smiley:

Cherry Vodka Sour (very popular among young drinkers)

1 1/2 oz vodka (flavored if you like)
Fill with sweet and sour
Dash of grenadine

Shaken with ice, this is a very smooth, sweet, candy-flavored drink.

Bay Breeze

1 1/2 oz vodka
Fill with half cranberry juice, half pineapple juice

Shaken with ice. Simple and easy.

Blue Hawaiian

1 1/4 oz Malibu rum (coconut flavored rum)
3/4 oz Blue Curacao (orange-flavored triple sec)
Fill with pineapple juice

This is a tasty, but not particularly strong, tropical drink; if you’d like more kick, try a 3/4 oz of Malibu and 3/4 oz of regular light rum.

(Simple) Hurricane

1 oz light rum
1 oz dark rum
1 1/4 oz pineapple
1 1/4 oz OJ
Dash grenadine
Float of 151 on top

Build over ice and shake everything but the 151, which is “floated” on top afterwards. 1/4 to 1/2 oz of 151 is all you need. (This is a strong drink, so make sure you don’t overload the liquors or your night might end too early. ;))

Anyway, that’s a sample of classic, popular drinks that pretty much everybody’s familiar with, so that should get you started.

Any questions?

133

Thanks!

I have another question… what’s your opinion of this, my first time at a bar? Opinions about my drinks? My behavior?

Assuming you were my bartender, what would you have thought?

134

Hi Audrey! I just got home from work and am checking in. Thanks for starting this thread–I think it is informative for people on both sides of the bar.

Aesiron I think that I might have a drink that fits your description–I am sure that it is regional but here goes:
1.5 oz tequila, 1 oz peach schnapps–top off with OJ and shake…add a splash of grenadine. The drink looks just like a peach (because the grenadine sinks to the bottom), hence the name—peach pit. I have used both tequila and crown royal in this drink and both seem to go over well-even with the ladies!

135

I just read your description of your 21st birthday–if in fact what you say is true and you haden’t been out drinking until that night then you behaved as one might expect…except you had a huge night out and remember it all (this is a rare, rare occurrence). I can assure you that no bartender thinks less of you because of the way you act (barring being abusive, of course). We look at people who let their inhibitions loose every day. Sometimes we laugh at you, sometimes we laugh with you, and sometimes we wish we were in your shoes. Essentially, we want you to have a great time, enjoy your buzz, and get home safely.

136

Aesiron, I think you had a pretty standard 21st birthday; you actually behaved better than most of your peers, b/c you didn’t mention anything about demanding a free drink/shot from your bartender.

(I always find it really irritating when people do this, b/c the way I look at it, if you don’t have any friends who’d like to buy you a damn shot for your freakin’ birthday, why the hell should I? Not to mention the few times I’ve given a free b-day shot, they never tip me for it. Like somehow it’s just “my privilege” that I got to serve them. Pet Peeve.)

As far as your drinks go…most new drinkers are served really sweet drinks b/c most new drinkers don’t like stuff that tastes like alcohol. You have to “pickle” your tongue somewhat to acquire a taste for it. When I first started drinking–sadly, three years before my 21st–it was all about sweet, pink, fruity drinks. Loved 'em.

Now I drink vodka on the rocks with a splash of Seven. And I’m sure eventually I’ll get rid of the Seven. :smiley:

As your bartender, I’d have thought–correctly–that your friend(s) were seeing to it you got smashed, with whatever tools were at hand. I have no problem with this, as long as one of you stays relatively sober; I always find new drinkers amusing as long as they don’t turn into loud, obnoxious louts. Or puke all over the bar. Or fall asleep on the bar. (All have happened.)

Thanks for the input, Keturah!

137

God, I hate my ISP. I had a good five or six paragraph reply to your post but I got disconnected while trying to submit it.

Let me try and condense it. :mad:

Thanks for the Peach Pit recipe keturah… I’ll try to give it a try the next time I’m out. I’m not sure when that’ll be though since that thread marks the first and, so far, last time I’ve been to a bar.

So far as your post goes, I never would have thought of asking the bartender for a free drink, Audrey. I’m a shy person… I didn’t even flag her down for refills and instead waited for her to come by and ask me if I wanted another. The bar was busy that night and I let her get to everyone else first and serve me at her own pace. My cousin admonished me for it but even drunk, I’m pretty introverted.

Also, you have me pegged on the sweet drinks. I don’t like the taste of alcohol at all right now… it isn’t that I can’t handle it, it’s that the flavor makes me cringe. I like stuff that’s pretty masked and have been told I’m wimpy and/or “girly” for it but eh.

Two more questions:

  1. After reading my post, does it look like I can hold my liquor or should I hide my face in shame? I don’t know how strong the stuff I was drinking was but I was blitzed by the end of four hours. Not so bad that I couldn’t censor myself and remember the night pretty clearly the day after.

  2. Can you suggest something as an intermediate drink? Something that’ll help me move on to the harder liquors (I so far do not like beer) without jumping head first into the deep end? I don’t want to become a heavy drinker by any means but I don’t want to be sipping margaritas while my peers are slamming down Long Island Iced Teas either.

138

Aesiron, didn’t you say something about ten drinks? Or is my hair turning blonde again? :wink: Ten drinks, even of mediocre liquor content, should intoxicate the average person over a four hour period. Particularly a new drinker. Think of it this way: it takes the average human body one hour to process 1 1/4 oz of liquor, a glass of wine, or a 12 oz beer. Exceed that amount in any way, and you are on the Fine Well Trodden Road to Intoxication. You had more than double that. Consider it well done.

And as far as an “intermediate drink” goes, there is nothing wimpy about a properly prepared margarita. (On the rocks, of course. Frozens are kind of girly.) And I do not like beer myself, after 7 years of people trying to get me to drink it, so don’t feel badly.

Hmmmm…Tuaca is a sometimes forgotten-about liquor that has almost equivalent proof to tequila, but is much smoother and is very tasty on the rocks, or chilled in a shot. (One of the few straight liquors I like.) It’s an Italian orange and vanilla liqueur…and you’d look quite The Man while sipping it on the rocks, if you’re feeling froggy. (It’s also really good in margaritas, if you replace the triple sec with it.)

If you’re not ready for something straight up, why not try a single liquor, like flavored vodka–orange or raspberry or whatever–in a tall glass with seven? Or a vanilla vodka, tall, with ginger ale? (I suggest vodka b/c as long as it’s a top shelf, it’s the least “tangy” alcohol.)

The “trick,” if you don’t want to look girly, is to avoid fruity drinks. This may be unfair, but honestly, your friends are going to rag on you until your drink is clear. :smiley: Flavored vodka and flavored rum are the easiest routes to this ultimate goal; they’re a lot sweeter than their unflavored counterparts and they’re very easy to drink.

Or you could just tell your friends to take a long walk off a short pier, and continue embracing fruity drinks until you’re sick of 'em.

139

As a bartender myself (albeit in a college town, so that skews it a bit), this thread caught my eye…and I felt the need to share my two cents on a couple of topics, unwarranted they may be.

I agree with Audrey Levins that it’s a waste of time. I took a bartending course by correspondence before getting this job, and I can say it was the biggest waste of my time and money. An interactive course would probably be more beneficial, but a correspondence one won’t teach you anything you can’t look up in books or on the net anyway.

In my humble opinion, it’s at least 90% hotness. I’ve conducted several observational studies while working, and the only reason that one barkeep might get more tips than another who’s “hotter” than he/she (usually she) is if he/she has regulars that prefer to be served by him/her.

Definitely hot, but friendliness goes a long way if you’re a bit low in the “hot” department (as I would say about myself) :smiley:

I would say most are, but occasionally you’ll find one who isn’t. Like me. :wink:

140

Dug out my drink recipe:

Three Mile Island Iced Tea
2 oz. Midori
1 oz. 151 rum
1 oz. vodka
1 oz. gin

Pour into a glass over ice, top with sweet and sour mix.

Had one again last night. Yow. :eek: Nearly-glowing green and hits like a hammer.

141

As long as you’re on a Tequila kick, I highly HIGHLY recommend Hornitos Reposado. It’s about $28 for a bottle, but it’s so damn smooth you can drink it warm and straight. While there are cheaper and better tequilas out there, Hornitos has the sweet-spot bang for the buck.

142

Audrey, you seem to be implying that grenadine is cherry syrup? I’m pretty sure that grenadine is made from pomegranates, and I always thought a Cherry Vodka Sour was made with maraschino cherry syrup.

Here’s something I’ve been curious about: what is the difference between a Liquid Heroin and a Liquid Cocaine? Should a Liquid Cocaine always be white?