I turned 21 this year, and occasionally visit a bar here and there. The thing is, I’m pretty new at this- most bars don’t have ‘menus’ and I’m not familiar with many mixed drinks. Can anybody enlighten me on some of the more popular drinks? Having an unsalted Corona or a shot of single-barrel JD is nice, but I’d like something different for a change.
I’m a bit of an alcohol purist, so I generally have a rule which prohibits me from ordering a drink which does not contain the ingredients in the name. (Exceptions to follow.)
Gin and tonic - this is the ultimate summer drink for me. If you don’t like gin, then you can try vodka tonic, but it’s not the same.
Vodka orange (aka screwdriver) - I personally don’t like this, but many people do, and every single bar has it, so give it a shot.
Whiskey sour - Whiskey with sour mix (or various concoctions of citrtus juices.) I generally drink whiskey straight, but every once in a while a whiskey sour.
Amaretto sour - Bit of a girly drink, but tasty. Amaretto with sour mix. You will never catch me ordering this in public. Only in the privacy of my own home.
Bloody Mary - Tomato juice, vodka, dash of worcestershire, pepper. Nice savory drink.
Long Island Ice Tea - One of my standbys that break my above stated rule. Five whites (Vodka, Rum, Gin, Tequila, Triple Sec), sour mix (or lemon juice or orange juice, etc.) and splash of cola.
Kahlua and cream - Another lightweight drink but with a caffeinated alcohol kick. Kahlua coffee liqueur mixed with half-and-half.
Black Russian/White Russian - Kahlua & Vodka (black) & light cream/milk (white)
Margarita - A classic margarita on the rocks (not that snow cone crap they peddle) is a wonderful thing. Tequila, Triple Sec and Lime Juice.
Whatever you do, please stay away from drinks with names like “Long Slow Comfortable Screw Against a Wall,” “Multi-colored Smurf,” “Pink Flamingo,” “Red Death,” “Combat Juice,” “Blowjob,” “Three-second Orgasm” or anything of the sort. Real drinks do not possess such insipid names.
They serve a mean IMHO over at Cafe Society.
For a drink to avoid, please note Willy Wonka’s Amazing Wammy.
With ingredients such as cottage cheese, vinegar and cough syrup, I’m under the suspicion that this drink is less-than-genuine.
Damn terminating quote marks.
Ahem
By the way pulykaell, did you notice that four out of nine drinks on your list break the rule? Or is it that by the time you are on drink number five, the rules don’t matter so much anymore?
BTW, I’m partial to a Captain 'n Coke. Now that I look at it, it strikes me that that seems like one of those fruefilly-named drinks. I’d second the ban on those, but will allow you an exception if your part of a really hammered groups of folks. Or if your a chick. Anyway, a Captain’s a good rule-following mix of Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum and Coke. Ahhhh…
Yes, and I did have the disclaimer “with exceptions to come.”
I don’t really consider a Bloody Mary to be an exception, as it’s essential tomato and vodka, and white russian was included just for informational purposes. Now Long Island Ice Teas totally break that rule, but a drink conisiting of pretty much only alcohol with a dash of sours is okay by my book. Margarita? If it weren’t for the triple sec, it’d conform. Oh well. My “rule” is only one of thumb. Classic drinks are exempted. If you can image Humphrey Bogart or Frank Sinatra ordering it, then it’s cool. Bogie ordering an Old-Fashioned? Sure. A Manhattan. Yeah. A Gimlet? Possibly. Grasshopper? Could work. Sex on the Beach? Hell no. Blowjob? Not on your life. Green hand-grenade? Forget it, mack.
I also forgot the simple “rum and coke.”
If you want to get hammered, martinis are a good choice. Be careful of LI Iced Teas, many bartenders make a HORRIBLE LIIT, you are taking your tastebuds in your hand if you order one.
Vodka Cranberry is also nice, though can get tough on the stomach after a while. You can also try flavored vodkas in the Vodka Juice drinks. A Woo-Woo is basically V-C plus Peach Schnapps, a bit sweeter.
I will second the Captain and Coke, that’s a great drink, other Coke options are regular Rum, Jack Daniels, Johnny Walker.
My first drink when I turned 21 was the Rum and Cola. Just mix 1 to 2 fluid ounces of your favorite rum with your favorite cola. The place I got the idea from was an Andrews Sisters song, believe it or not, of the same name.
I have also invented a few drinks of my own. One I call a Shirley Temple Black. Simply prepare a Shirley Temple like you normally would, Ginger Ale colored with Grenadine and garnished with Maraschino Cherries. Only spike it with Gin or Vodka! I call it a Shirley Temple Black, because that is when she became more mature.
Another drink I invented I call a Red Rum. Equal parts of Rum and Cream with a teaspoon of Strawberry Syrup. A bartender once made it for me. He said he never saw anything like it.
Of course there are alot of well-known generic drinks that I like too. Once or twice a year I make my father and myself a Mint Julep. Simply place a couple of sprigs of mint in a glass, add a teaspoon or two of powdered sugar. Muddle well and fill up with shaved ice. Fill up with good Kentucky bourbon and add more shaved ice as needed. This is a real unique drink and all the extra bourbon give it a delightful “punch”. (Btw, I have a simpler version I invented using 1 tsp. dried mint and 1 tsp. mint schnapps instead of the fresh mint.)
I also found a recipe in a real old cookbood I like. It’s called Cock-Ale. To make it, I just add equal portions of chilled chicken broth and ale. Hey, don’t knock it till you try it!
Here’s a couple more I haven’t heard anyone else mention:
Jack Daniels and ginger ale–a good pairing
Shandy–not a mixed drink per se, but some more traditional pubs make it. Basically it’s lemonade (or ginger ale) mixed with a pale ale (between, say, Fosters and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.)
sangria–red or white wine mixed with brandy, sugar, fruit juice and soda water (verbatim from American Heritage Dictionary)
Manhattan–sweet vermouth, whiskey, and a dash of bitters (again from the same dictionary)
martini–gin or vodka and dry vermouth … at decent martini bars (ask the bartender if they make good martinis; responses range from a vague shrug [not good] to a luke-warm positive [good]) try some of their local variations
tequila sunrise–orange juice and tequila with a splash of cranberry for color and flavor
Hmm … some of the odd-flavored shots are kinda fun, especially when you first start drinking … “oatmeal cookie” and “s’more” shots come to mind immediately; there are more, though. Basically the ones that taste like something else are fun–not too many bartenders remember how to make them, though. Oh, and they’re shots, so you get drunk fast. Try sticking to no more than two in a night, and follow it with a pint of non-alcoholic drink to pace yourself–especially wait the 10 minutes for the shot to hit before getting another drink.
Hmm … oh, you can check out http://www.youre21now.com/ which is an okay site about turning 21 and going out to bars and such.
HA! HA! HAAAAA! You guys have to wait to be 21 to go to bars! How the bloody hell did you ever end up with a law like that in the Land of the Free? Over here in the UK, you can drink in bars from 18 years onwards, but it’s not all that strictly enforced. There is probably a legal drinking age in France too, but I have never seen anyone apply it, or even heard any evidence that anyone was aware of it. The British pub drinking learning curve goes like this:
- Cider, because it comes in pint glasses, looks like beer, only tastes like apple juice, and it will leave you properly smashed. The problem with cider is that not only does it leave you with the nastiest hangovers in the world, but it’s also a bit gay.
- Having realised this, you move on to lager, which you’re familiar with. The lager phase, unlike the cider one, can be a long one. In fact, many people never leave it.
- However one day, you realise that lager has a general tendancy to be insipid fizzy dishwater, and you wean yourself onto the real ales or bitter (or Guinness), because it’s varied, it covers the whole spectrum of flavours from awful to fantastic, and it will avoid you being beaten up in pubs in Yorkshire. The downside is that it isn’t terribly trendy, and in bad cases has the ugly side-effect of making people grow big bushy beards, wear sandals with socks and pontificate about it a lot.
I realise that this information is pretty useless, but it may be of interest.
And if you’re trying to wake up but get (or not lose) a buzz, try a Red Bull and Vodka or Baileys and coffee.
How about the Singapore Slash: half a pint of beer lovingly blended with another half-pint of beer.
Credit to Ben Elton
For non-Guinness drinkers, I have two things. One, pity. Two, an alternative: a near-half-pint of Guinness topped with a shot of Tia Maria. A Glaswegian friend of mind swears by this as a slightly sweeter alternative to wean people on to the drink.
Here’s a simple drink that most people who try it seem to like. 1 part Absolut Mandarin (no substitutes, it HAS to be Absolut Mandarin) and 2 parts cranberry juice. It has a totally different (and better IMHO) taste than you’d expect.
I had that last fall, and was surprised by the taste. Does it have a name, because ordering “Jack and ginger ale” sounds really wimpy?
Easy E: just say “Jack and ginger” - they will know you mean ginger ale.
I highly recommend a Dark & Stormy - Gosling’s Black Seal rum and ginger beer. Nice and spicy.
Off to IMHO.
I generally second pulykamell’s list. The Long Island Iced Tea is great but it’s so hard to make I wouldn’t unless you’re at a very swanky place (where they usually have good bartenders) or a place you already know well and trust the bartender at.
Rule of thumb – if you’re a guy, you can’t drink anything that isn’t brown, clear, or – occasionally – orange.
I like a G&T; also good is a whiskey sour. Amaretto sours and Midori sours are for women, but they sure taste good if you’re among friends. Mrs. Cliffy loves a scotch & soda, but anything with scotch is an acquired taste.
Martinis are very good, but they’re also an acquired taste and if well made are almost completely straight-up gin – they will put you down for the count very quickly. (Many people like a vodka martini, which I just don’t get – it’s almost like drinking Everclear cut with water.)
When I’m at home I often make a Lazy Tom Collins. A real Tom Collins is gin, tonic, lime and/or lemon juice, and a sugar cube; a Lazy Tom Collins is gin and Sprite or 7-Up, and they’re pretty tasty.
–Cliffy
“7 & 7” is a good starting out drink. 7 Up (or Sprite) and Seagrams 7.