# Recommend me good "grown up" mixed drinks **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 20, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-good-grown-up-mixed-drinks/547391 "2010-07-20T21:02:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-good-grown-up-mixed-drinks/547391/61 "2010-07-21T17:02:26Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > So, what’s wrong with just drinking what you like? If you happen to like the same drink that a “21 year old bar whore” (:rolleyes:) likes, who gives a shit? But the peanut gallery will judge you! Don’t you dare get anything with Malibu in it, because I don’t know what I’d do if I knew you were being judged by the bar-life! ☹ :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/13edae/32.png) [@Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interconnected_Series_of_Tubes)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-good-grown-up-mixed-drinks/547391/62 "2010-07-21T17:24:43Z")
Screw you guys. I _like_ appletinis. ---
**Author:** ![Diamonds02](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Diamonds02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diamonds02)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-good-grown-up-mixed-drinks/547391/63 "2010-07-21T17:59:22Z")
A few people have asked “why”? I drink what I like, even stuff that 21 year bar whores like (Smirnoff Ice!). But, when it comes to work conversations (or conversations with adults that I need to make good impression), I like to err on the conservative side. I don’t have a lot of common with co-workers and probably won’t in future jobs (single, no kids, no house, hates tv, hates shopping)…of the few things is my love for alcoholic drinks. I don’t want to be like hey, “u should check out so-and-so place…they have porn stars, orgasms, and hairy virgins for $2, lolol!” ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-good-grown-up-mixed-drinks/547391/64 "2010-07-21T18:07:43Z")
[QUOTE=John Dorian] Ooh, appletini! When did they start drinking straight guy drinks? [/QUOTE] I’ve never had one. What does it taste like? ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-good-grown-up-mixed-drinks/547391/65 "2010-07-21T18:10:25Z")
Well, I’d say if you want to be truly professional, don’t talk about bars and drinking with your coworkers or business contacts. But to each their own, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-good-grown-up-mixed-drinks/547391/66 "2010-07-21T18:13:09Z")
> [@Diamonds02](#): > > A few people have asked “why”? > > I drink what I like, even stuff that 21 year bar whores like (Smirnoff Ice!). But, when it comes to work conversations (or conversations with adults that I need to make good impression), I like to err on the conservative side. I don’t have a lot of common with co-workers and probably won’t in future jobs (single, no kids, no house, hates tv, hates shopping)…of the few things is my love for alcoholic drinks. I don’t want to be like hey, “u should check out so-and-so place…they have porn stars, orgasms, and hairy virgins for $2, lolol!” Dude (well, Dudette), You don’t have to justify yourself. I took your question to be “I don’t have a lot of experience with booze-based drinks - what is a good way to start learning?” Which is an entirely valid question to ask - whether it gets you in good with grown-ups is a fringe benefit… …and I stand by my original post - \*\*ultrafilter’s \*\*basic tips are great rules to live by, too. Whether or not Goofytinis are “mature” or “sophisticated” or anything is immaterial to me. Foo-Foo drinks are simply not a good way to learn how to drink cocktails - they are sweet and booze-masking and lessen your chance to learn about the types of booze you are trying (are you a vodka or gin person? Do you like scotch or bourbon?) and the effects they have on you individually, both as you get sloshed and the type and degree of hangover you get from each type. The effects of different spirit types - both during and after the drinking - vary from person to person…notice I didn’t include Tequila, my personal hemlock, in my starter list…😉 ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-good-grown-up-mixed-drinks/547391/67 "2010-07-21T18:18:02Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > Well, I’d say if you want to be truly professional, don’t talk about bars and drinking with your coworkers or business contacts. But to each their own, I suppose. Coworkers go out to drink together. I don’t see the problem with talking about it. Who would want to be the “let’s not talk about alcohol guys” person? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-good-grown-up-mixed-drinks/547391/68 "2010-07-21T18:32:25Z")
If you want a real grown-up drink, go for club soda on the rocks with a twist of lime. Shows you’ve outgrown drinking. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-good-grown-up-mixed-drinks/547391/69 "2010-07-21T18:57:42Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > Well, I’d say if you want to be truly professional, don’t talk about bars and drinking with your coworkers or business contacts. But to each their own, I suppose. Yep. And when you go out, stick with wine. Or club soda, or water. Beer in certain professions, but not others. I drink cosmos (generally), but not with my coworkers. When I’m with my coworkers, I have a glass of wine. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-good-grown-up-mixed-drinks/547391/70 "2010-07-21T19:17:22Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Yep. And when you go out, stick with wine. Or club soda, or water. Beer in certain professions, but not others. > > I drink cosmos (generally), but not with my coworkers. When I’m with my coworkers, I have a glass of wine. YMMV. I worked for someone (for a short time) who did lines off the bar after my first day on the job. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Hamsandwich)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-good-grown-up-mixed-drinks/547391/71 "2010-07-21T19:29:31Z")
We called this one the **ACID TRIP** : 1 oz Bacardi 151 rum 1 oz Wild Turkey bourbon whiskey Coca-Cola 1: Pour in the 151 first followed by the 101 served with a Coke or Dr Pepper chaser. 2: Depending on your religious leanings, pray. In my bartending days I used to give this drink to annoying drunks who boasted, “I’ll drink ANYONE UNDER THE TABLE! Give me the _strongest_ thing ya got, pansy!” We called it the **CEMENT MIXER** : 1 jigger Bailey’s Irish cream 1 jigger lime juice 1: Hold one shot of Bailey’s in your mouth, and take one shot of lime juice. 2: Mix rapidly in mouth by shaking head vigorously, then consume. The bastard would wind up with a mouthful of cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-good-grown-up-mixed-drinks/547391/72 "2010-07-21T20:33:16Z")
Tom Collins: Gin + lemonade. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-good-grown-up-mixed-drinks/547391/73 "2010-07-21T20:38:13Z")
Try a banana daiquiri with 151 Bacardi ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-good-grown-up-mixed-drinks/547391/74 "2010-07-21T20:54:07Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Old fashioned > > Gimlet > > Manhattan > > Martini with gin and no fuckin’ vermouth (and BTW, not all gin is created equal: see older threads for the gin wars) You! Very good. You’ve just named 3.5 of my favorite drinks, but you only get partial credit for martini because a martini does, in fact, contain vermouth. Otherwise, it is just gin. Nothing wrong with just gin, but a martini it is not. On the rare occasion I’m ordering something at a bar besides a whiskey neat, it \*is \*one of these four drinks. > [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > When I was of an age to care about such things, these particular few would have been seen as drinks appropriate for an older generation, like a Rob Roy or a Rusty Nail. Have they come back into fashion? I don’t know what the current drink fashion is, but I don’t think of any of those as old people drinks, except maybe the Rob Roy. No, definitely the Rob Roy. Nobody drinks those anymore. > [@NAF1138](#): > > I have 4 or 5 wine glasses at home that are about that size. ☹ Hey, turn that frown upside down. It’s a useful thing to have! ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-good-grown-up-mixed-drinks/547391/75 "2010-07-21T20:57:27Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > You! Very good. You’ve just named 3.5 of my favorite drinks, but you only get partial credit for martini because a martini does, in fact, contain vermouth. Otherwise, it is just gin. Nothing wrong with just gin, but a martini it is not. On the rare occasion I’m ordering something at a bar besides a whiskey neat, it \*is \*one of these four drinks. > > I don’t know what the current drink fashion is, but I don’t think of any of those as old people drinks, except maybe the Rob Roy. No, definitely the Rob Roy. Nobody drinks those anymore. > > Hey, turn that frown upside down. It’s a useful thing to have! You! You are one of the good ones. Everything this nice lady says in this thread should be taken as gospel by the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-good-grown-up-mixed-drinks/547391/76 "2010-07-21T20:57:38Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > [Yeah!!!](http://dlisted.com/node/38079) What in the world? Why? Pouring is fun. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-good-grown-up-mixed-drinks/547391/77 "2010-07-21T20:58:55Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > What in the world? Why? Pouring is fun. So are really big glasses. 😉 (Also something about letting the wine breathe, my wife is the wine drinker in the house, I should ask her.) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-good-grown-up-mixed-drinks/547391/78 "2010-07-21T21:19:11Z")
Rum and Coke is classic and my personal drink of choice. [http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink5669.html](http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink5669.html) ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-good-grown-up-mixed-drinks/547391/79 "2010-07-21T21:30:16Z")
Well since we’re taking my word as the gospel, I have a few more comments! ultrafilter gave some solid guidelines for what constitutes a “grown up” drink. Of course, you’re free to drink whatever you like, and I disagree with some of it, but these are fine as general guidelines. > [@ultrafilter](#): > > Anything that was widely served before 1950 or so is a good bet. If you don’t feel like learning the history of cocktails, though, here are some pretty good (although extremely conservative) rules of thumb: > [ol] > [li]The fewer the ingredients, the better. Bonus points if the name of the drink is the recipe.[/li][li]Avoid sweet drinks.[/li][li]Stick to things that are made from vodka, whisk(e)y and gin. Some brandy drinks are OK too, but avoid trendy cognacs.[/li][li]Don’t drink anything neat except scotch.[/li][/ol] > Here are some drinks worth checking out. I’m not sure that everything I’m about to list meets all of these criteria, but you can’t go too far wrong if you don’t stray too far. > [ul] > [li]Tom Collins[/li][li]Old Fashioned[/li][li]Manhattan (with American rye, not Bourbon)[/li][li]Rob Roy[/li][li]Sidecar[/li][li]Cosmopolitan[/li][li]Gin and Tonic[/li][li]Brandy Alexander[/li][li]Martini (with gin, not vodka)[/li][li]Gimlet[/li][/ul] > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The OP is a woman, so AskMen’s [list](http://www.askmen.com/fine_living/keywords/manly-drinks.html) of manly drinks might not be appropriate. It appears AskMen is using the word “manly” the way we’re using “grown up.” A woman drinking anything on that list is totally acceptable. > [@PookahMacPhellimey](#): > > Campari and freshly squeezed orange juice. Yum! > [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > If you want a real grown-up drink, go for club soda on the rocks with a twist of lime. Shows you’ve outgrown drinking. 🙂 :rolleyes: > [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](#): > > We called this one the **ACID TRIP** : > > … > > We called it the **CEMENT MIXER** : She drinks **not** for 21 year old whores. > [@tr0psn4j](#): > > Coworkers go out to drink together. I don’t see the problem with talking about it. Who would want to be the “let’s not talk about alcohol guys” person? Right. It’s not like in the middle of a meeting, say, going “So I was all shitfaced last night…” A few co-workers and I got an e-mail less than an hour ago inviting us for happy hour after work tomorrow. It’s not out of the ordinary to discuss bars or going out for drinks with people you work with. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-good-grown-up-mixed-drinks/547391/80 "2010-07-21T21:34:39Z")
\*\*MOL \*\*- come on - what am I, chopped liver?! ;)😃 How come my advice didn’t make the Cavalcade of Drinking Excellence you documented? > [@](#): > > Starts with the basics - i.e., standards that are no more than 2 - 3 ingredients: > > - Gin and Tonic; vodka and tonic > - Scotch on the rocks > - Rum and Coke > - A martini - standard gin and/or a vodka martini > > Branch out from there. Of those mentioned a Rum and Coke is the sweetest and easiest to start with, without looking like you having a foo-foo drink in your hands… I \*must \*have the approval of an anonymous fellow message-boarder (who, granted, displays fine taste in booze…) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-good-grown-up-mixed-drinks/547391.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-good-grown-up-mixed-drinks/547391.md?page=5)