Any whiskey, except Scotch. Scotch makes it a Rob Roy, a very popular drink, or so I am told.
A screwdriver is trivial to make. OJ, kept in a “sauce bottle” next to or in the jockey box (also used for other Collins-type fruit juice drinks) and rail vodka. Nothing easler except straight, neat.
If “the others” are drinking longnecks then I can understand why the bartender would grab a handful and dole them out first. OTOH, if they are drinking off the tap, I’d rather cut the screwdriver and be done with it. Plus, when people order a mixed drink the bartender gets to show off, and in doing so sell more mixed drinks. In most places, the bartender has a limited number of drinks to write off or “spill”, and is expected to use these to either reward steady customers OR advertise drinks. For instance, a bartender might offer a particularly attractive customer a free Tequila Sunrise, knowing that everyone else at the bar will see the pretty drink and some will ask and order one. Good showmanship is part of effective bartending; the movie at least got that bit right.
As far as snotty bartenders/waitrons: unless you are making a true ass of yourself (telling the barman how to mix a drink, complaining loudly that the drinks are too pricey/watered down/whatever) no serviton should be snotty, snooty, sniffy, or otherwise supercilious with you. If there is some serious problem with your order–asking for Irish Coffee, for instance, during a rush–then it is their burden to explain “Sorry, I can’t get to that right now,” or “It’ll be a little while before that’s ready; okay with you?”
As Sample_the_Dog and others have said, you’re footing the bill, so you’re calling the shots. Sometimes they have bad days, just like the rest of us (and dealing with drunks makes any bad day worse) but as long as you are curteous, reasonably patient, and understanding about small mistakes or oversights, there is no reason for any service person to give you lip. This is their job; not just to serve you food and drink, but to make you feel wanted and welcome at the establishment. (And I say this as a former waitron/bartender/busboy, not some trust-fund baby who never had to sling hash and wash dished until three in the morning.)
Stranger
Whoa, whoa! What the hell is wrong with rye in an Old Fashioned? Most recipes I’ve seen for authentic Old Fashioneds call for rye. And definitely no cherry. I can deal with orange, but no cherry.
The recipe from 1895:
The type of whiskey is not specified, but at the time rye was far more popular than bourbon in the late 1800s to early 1900s. Almost all the early recipes specify rye when the type of whiskey is named.
Rye is lovely stuff and vastly underappreciated. Old Overholt is the best liquor bargain out there ($11 a fifth) for whiskey drinkers (and I love all kinds of the stuff, from bourbon to rye to Scotch to Irish. Well, maybe not Canadian so much.)
Thank you Stranger.
So… what you’re saying is that a virgin piña colada is right out of the question?
People should take the location in which they are drinking into account. It’s like that scene in It’s a Wonderful Life, when Clarence goes into the dive bar and ponders a variety of frou-frou drinks until he decides upon mulled wine. He gets the expected reaction.
No place I ever worked served mulled wine. I don’t care if I could make it; I highly doubt that I’d prepare mulled wine for someone even if it were technically possible (we had wine, we had spices, we had a stove to heat it, etc.). If someone ordered mulled wine at a nightclub during a huge slam, I’d probably be unable to keep the incredulous and raised eyebrows off my face. Then I would say sorry but no can do. I understand that they are willing to pay but that’s too bad.
I also worked at a 4-star place where the “bar” served snacks in sterling silver dishes and orders for bottles of $200 wine were commonplace. If someone ordered mulled wine there, I’d be much more likely to take the 15 minutes it would require to prepare it. At the loud disco place, probably not.
Virgin piña coladas are easier to make than ones with liquor. We always charged almost the same price and there’s one less step (no booze). I didn’t mind making those at all; plus I’d always make some extra for me. Mmmm good.
What bars?
So when people talk about “tipping accordingly” for ordering a complicated drink, what constitutes “accordingly”? I normally tip a buck per drink, in a region where mixed drinks cost about five bucks; should I up the tip to two bucks for a complicated drink?
Daniel
My general rule of thumb is a dollar a drink for anything simple (runs $4 to $8) like a martini-type, collins, highball, or neat. Two dollars for frau-frau drinks (which are going to be at the high end of the scale anyway), if I ordered them, unless that is the custom of the place and they’re premade (blah.) On rare occasions, I’ll order a cream drink, like a Grasshopper or a Dreamcicle (for a date, of course–manly men never drink such things!) and that’s enough trouble to be worth $2.
For stuff that is more elaborate, or for which the bartender takes the time to do something special, like handwarming a snifter of Couvousier or making Irish Coffee the proper way, and with some flair, I might tip higher. Since I don’t go to bars to get slammed, my tips never add up to all that much (two or three drinks is a done evening for me) and so I don’t skimp. I’ll even tip a buck–once–for club soda or ginger ale, 'cause the bartender has to do the same work even if they aren’t charging me anything for the drink.
Now, I’m a little sensitive to the issue, having worked on the other side of the bar and being somewhat guilt-ridden now about making enough money not to worry about an extra buck here and there. Others may be a little skimpier about tipping, but please (and for good service), tip your servitrons in proportion to their effort.
Stranger
What about virgin martinis? How much to tip then?
Er, whatinaheck is a “virgin martini”? Never had anyone order such a thing. Club soda straight up?
Stranger
I’m betting it would be an empty glass with an olive. Never tried, though. 