Ack. A couple of those, and I bet you’d be headed for a “meltdown”. 
Check out this web site for a hangover cure. It’s interesting though I haven’t tried it:
The important ingredient is Cysteine. Along with B vitamins and aspirin. As soon as I find a source for cysteine I’m going to try it. Until then I’ll stick to lots of water and extra sleep.
In a college town/college bar, Othersider, you are pretty much dead-on. Most college students in the 21-23 range don’t tip for shit, unless you give 'em a really good reason. Like half their drinks for free, or a really hot bartender they’d like to impress. This is what I call “nightclub bartending,” where you don’t have a chance to make any kind of impression, other than speed, so basically you hope to God you’re cute/hot enough to make 'em tip you.
I’m well aware that people have tipped me b/c they think I’m cute/hot/their type or whatever…but I don’t work in a nightclub (anymore) so I do think friendliness and personality contribute a lot to my tip jar as well. It just depends on what kind of bar you work at.
Maybe at some point I’ll post a picture of myself, and you can be the judge. 
Grenadine was originally made from pomegranates and red currants; these days, it’s basically red sugar syrup, completely artifically colored and flavored. Bars I’ve worked at have always used it for anything cherry-flavored, including Cherry Vodka Sours, Shirley Temples, etc., etc., without any complaints. (And just to be sure I’m not a crackpot, 
I did a search on Cherry Vodka Sour recipes, and the ones I found call for grenadine.)
The only maraschino cherry “syrup” I’ve ever seen is the stuff that comes with the big jar of cherries, and it’s far too weak/thin to really flavor a drink the way grenadine does. Is there a maraschino cherry syrup that comes in bottles? Food For Thought. 
And as far as Liquid Heroin and Liquid Cocaine…chuckle These are some of those drinks that you basically make however you want to make it. I’ve always made Liquid Cocaine with Jager, Rumple, and 151, 1/2 oz each; you can find recipes that call for everything from Southern Comfort to mint liqueur to vodka to Amaretto, in addition to “my” recipe for it. (I just looked it up to verify, b/c again, I don’t want to assume for no reason that I’m right. ;)) So, like a lot of drinks–Hurricanes, Sex on the Beach, etc.–it’s kind of a regional/what you were taught/first one you tried kind of thing, rather than a “right” or “wrong” recipe.
And I don’t get asked for Liquid Heroin; if I did, I’d probably just fake it, and make a Liquid Cocaine. (Yes, I’m not ashamed.)
A good example is a Three Wisemen; the original recipe, according to my boss–an old-school 45 year old ex-bartender–was Jose, Jim, and Jack. Thus the three wise “men.” (Jose Cuervo, Jim Beam, and Jack Daniel’s.)
Now it’s Gold, Jager, and Rumple. And if I made it “his” way I have no doubt the young people ordering it would insist that I don’t know what I’m doing. Don’t know when it changed, but drinks morph like this, and neither my boss nor I are making the “wrong” recipe. Just a different/newer/older one.
That’s the thing; a lot of new bartenders, or people who don’t bartend, think that bartending is about drink recipes. It isn’t. It’s a PR job. If they have confidence in you, you can serve 'em whatever you want, and they’ll believe it’s correct. If you look like you know what you’re doing, you’re right, in their minds. I don’t know every drink; there are millions of drinks I’ve never heard of, or never made, or only made once or twice and forgot a long time ago.
But I’ve been told by many people that I’m one of the best bartenders they’ve ever had; this isn’t a brag so much as proof that bartending is just as much about personality and PR as it is about drink recipes. Not that drink recipes aren’t important, of course, or that I’m not picking up new ones frequently, b/c I do, but it’s not the main reason I make money.
Just wanted to chime in one last time and say that I’ve really enjoyed this thread despite being a neophyte. It’s not very often that I’ll read such a long thread all the way through.
Ah. I guess my bartender buddy is just being a Puritan about using the cherry syrup. When he decides that something “isn’t right”, he does bizarre things to avoid it. Like, I guess, not using grenadine for “cherry” flavored stuff.
When my buddy would bartend at parties, he’d use the syrup from the cherry bottle. <shrug> Tasted fine to me, but then again, he always made his drinks strong.
I think the LC recipe that I used to get plastered on repeatedly had dark rum, amaretto, Southern Comfort and maybe vodka? with pineapple juice. Your recipe sounds…interesting…
I used to have a neighbor who distributed Jaeger in Central Texas. She had all sorts of Jaeger promo items (I still have a bad ass Jaeger bar mirror), including stuff with Jaeger recipes. It’s amazing what kind of drinks that Jaeger’s marketing weasels came up with. Jaeger with Midori? Blech. Though, she would cut deals with her friend who worked in the same capacity for Red Bull, and those were good times.
Anyhow, I just found out that I am bartending for a birthday party this Friday, and I want to thank everyone for their contributions to this thread, especially Audrey. I definitely will be putting several of these recipes to good use.
Guinness - There’s a recipe section at 43’sweb site.
Also, I’ll second the Hornitos tequila recommendation.
Audrey, thanks for this thread. I don’t frequent bars as much as I drink in restaurant settings. So this may be a dumb question - Is the patron supposed to tip after each drink, or is it OK to leave a comprehensive tip at the end of the evening? Also, if I would like to run a tab, do I have to ask permission or is there something I should say so that you don’t ring me up after the first round? Are there any particular criteria you would use to determine whether a new customer should get a tab?
Audrey, you may have missed these two posts.
Now I’m curious. Is there a ginger flavored (probably Asian) liquor that could boost the octane of a ginger ale?
Oh, and please tell the truth. Isn’t Jaegermeister just rebottled German mouthwash?
At a friends Bachelor party we had a British bartender who made us a drink called a Flaming Lamborgini. He said it had Drambuie (sp?) and 151 with two shot glasses of a blue and white creme liqueor.
The Drambuie and 151 were in a martini glass, and set on fire. You drank it from a straw, and when you got to the bottom the two shot glasses of creme were added and you slurped them up as well.
It was an amazing high for about 30 minutes (kinda like walking on a bed of boobs and knee deep in water) and ended very abruptly. I had a slight headache afterwards, and grabbed a Shiner to knock it out.
Any idea if the above is the correct recipie? If not, do you have any ideas. I know you said your bar doesn’t serve flaming drinks, but maybe you know/can know.
On another note: What else can you do with Jaegermeister besides shots and Two Dead Nazis (Jager and Goldschlager)? Also, have you tried Ciclone Rum? Its very good.
Thanks for your thread. It has been highly informative.
I sure hope not…as often as I serve it, thousands of people would be disgusted.
The Webtender says that Jägermeister (“master of the hunt”) is a German (duh) bitter liqueur, a complex blend of 56 herbs, fruits and spices. I’m pretty sure it’s unique among spirits - that is, there’s not really anything else like it.
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Exactly. And we’re not allowed to comp drinks (being in a college town, our drinks are basically dirt-cheap anyway) without the owner’s approval…guess how often we get that :smack:
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Being friendly and having an attractive personality definitely help - just speaking objectively, I’d have to divine that they probably help you a lot more than me, of course.
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And I’ll do the same.
And I still say it’s just Ricola cough drops dissolved in rubbing alcohol!
Obviously, you’ve never had Gammel Dansk Bitter Dram. I’d wager this recipe is a lot older than Jaegermeister’s. Evidently, vandals hit the distillery and released thousands of gallons into a nearby stream killing untold numbers of trout. What a way to go. I sure would have liked to poach those fish!
No, I haven’t. I’ve never even heard of it, which means it must be fairly uncommon, at least in the region in which I live.
Audrey, have you ever heard of this?
You’re very welcome, and have fun.
Well, El Mariachi Loco, (love the screen name!) you don’t have to tip after every drink; there’s nothing wrong with running a tab. After you order your first drink, just say, “Hey, is it OK if I run a tab?”
Don’t be offended, however, if he/she asks for a credit card. I do, on a busy night, and there’s plenty of times the only reason people pay their tabs is b/c they remember they left their credit card at the bar. They walk up and go, “Hey, you’ve got my credit card! I was about to leave!”
Well, gee, Einstein, why do you think I asked for it? :rolleyes:
As for criteria…no, b/c I usually get a credit card from you if you’d like to run a tab, so I don’t have to worry about not knowing you.
I will say, however, that your best bet for quick service and a good pour is to pay for your first drink cash, and tip really well, and then ask if you can start a tab. That way the bartender knows that they’re not gonna get screwed on whatever tab you end up with.
It’s not required, of course, but I do recommend it.
And, just for those of you who are curious, I usually make more money on people who pay per drink/round than people who run a tab. People will often tip me a buck per beer if they’re paying as they go, but very few people will tip me the equivalent on a tab, b/c they “do the math.” If a beer is $3, for instance, and they run a tab, they’re not likely to tip me eight bucks on the $24 tab they’ll end up with if they had eight beers.
But the same person wouldn’t have a problem tipping me eight bucks if they paid cash per beer.
Just an interesting factoid of what I call Bar Psychology.
Zenster, I do apologize for missing your posts! This is kind of like being at work, where I often yell out, “HEY, LOOK, THERE’S ONLY ONE OF ME, AND ABOUT A JILLION OF YOU! SO EVERYBODY TAKE A MOMENT AND BACK THE HELL OFF!”
Yes, I really do say this, albeit with a smile. It works, too.
As far as bourbons go…we used to carry Knob Creek, but I never tried it. I’m not a big fan of American bourbons; they’re too much for me. I greatly prefer Canadian bourbons. The Canadians make a FINE bourbon; it’s a lot sweeter and on the rare occasions I don’t drink vodka, I’ll do some damage to a Crown bottle. Seagram’s 7 and VO are pretty tasty, too, but nothing compares to that fine purple velvet.
Never tried or heard of your Vernor’s, unfortunately.
And I also don’t know of a ginger-flavored liquor, although I’m sure that somewhere, someone is drinking one as we speak.
I can attest to this. It’s interesting how that works.
There are exceptions, of course (we have the occasional customer who will tip roughly 100%) but the average customer tips around 15% on a tab.
Yes. Amazing how they get away with that, isn’t it.
Robgruver, Jaegermeister is such a full-flavored liquor that there really isn’t a great deal you can do with it, other than pray to the bar gods before taking a healthy shot of it. (For the record, I can’t stand Jaeger. Too many shots swilled in corners when I was a minor in college. Ugh.)
But here are two shots you might like to try:
Red Headed Slut:
1 oz Jaeger
1/2 oz peach schnapps
Splash of cranberry
Sexy Alligator aka Alligator Bite, Sex with an Alligator, etc.
1/2 oz Midori
1/2 oz vodka
1/4 oz Chambord
1/4 oz Jaegermeister
This is kind of a bitch to make unless you’ve got the right pour spouts, b/c it’s a layered shot. Combine and chill the vodka and Midori, and pour into shot glass. Then pour the Chambord down the side of the glass, so it falls beneath the Midori/Vodka.
Then float the Jaegermeister on top of all of it.
If you make it correctly, it should be a very eye-catching shot that’s easy to drink, b/c as soon as you get the mouthful of Jaeger, it’s followed by the Midori/Vodka and then the sweetness of the Chambord.
Oh, and I’ve never heard of a Flaming Lamborgini (sp?), but it sounds slightly hairy. I’ll ask around.
Btw, I always like to remind people that when you take a flaming shot, or ask for one, it’s only the alcohol that’s burning. So really you’re just dramatically reducing the strength of your resulting buzz.
Very few people think of this. They just like watching the pretty blue flames.