# What Drinks Automatically Confer Credibility? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 10, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224 "2010-11-10T21:13:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/41 "2010-11-10T23:34:56Z")
How about this: “Immature people have no credibility. How do you tell a grown-up from an immature person? The immature person orders what s/he thinks looks cool. Grown-ups order what they _want_.” I have _never_ gotten the faux prestige that some people think your choice of beverage carries. ---
**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:** [November 10, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/42 "2010-11-10T23:35:03Z")
Tequila Sunrise best drink in the house. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/43 "2010-11-10T23:36:05Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > No drink confers credibility. I know total douchebags who like to spend 10 minutes hovered over a list of bourbon (or wine, etc.) before making a big show of ordering their drinks. Not to say there is anything wrong with drinking 12-year-old Laphroaig, but most of those “liquor aficionados” bore me to tears. My 8 years of bartending experience agrees with you wholeheartedly. For mixed drinks if you want to avoid being a douchebag at a bar do the exact opposite of a Soccer Mom at Starbucks. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/44 "2010-11-10T23:41:46Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > **What Drinks Automatically Confer Credibility?** You know that drink from old Daffy Duck cartoons? That is mixed while wearing gloves and a welder’s mask, produces a small mushroom cloud and dissolves spoons? _That_ drink. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/45 "2010-11-10T23:44:02Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Explain…? Items ordered in Beatles movies. “Two lagers and lime, and two lagers and lime” is the bar order just before Ringo drops into the tiger pit in “Help!” ---
**Author:** ![dzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzero)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/46 "2010-11-10T23:50:12Z")
No drink really conveys credibility, but an obscure beer says that you are a curious person who is willing to explore. If I want something as a conversation starter, I would order Tsingtao or maybe an imported Japanese beer. The label announces to the world what you’re drinking so you don’t have to be a douche bag about it by yelling your order to make sure everyone hears. And if you can then mutter a couple sentences about the origin of the beer and it’s flavor, that closes the deal. Of course I don’t actually believe anything I just wrote, but it’s fun to babble. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/47 "2010-11-10T23:50:48Z")
Chocolate milk, baby. Ice cold. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/48 "2010-11-10T23:54:22Z")
Pan-Galactic Gargle-Blaster for me please, barman! ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/49 "2010-11-11T00:19:39Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > I’m just looking for the attendant antitheses. That’s all. Anyone who can use “attendant antitheses” in a sentence has ‘cred’ with me! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/50 "2010-11-11T00:19:53Z")
Smile and say “Louis 13” and you will impress all the chicks with your credibility. ---
**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:** [November 11, 2010, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/51 "2010-11-11T00:41:22Z")
I often get drink cred when I’m out, and I think it’s hilarious. At the bar I’m usually ordering a whisk(e)y of some sort (can be bourbon, scotch, Irish, rye, depending on the bar and its selection) usually neat, at times with very light rocks, or gin on light rocks. Occasionally a gimlet, and even more occasionally, if the bar has a decent rum selection, which most American bars unfortunately do not, a dark rum neat or with light rocks. People seem to think I’m srs bizns because of this, and I’m almost certain it’s because I’m a woman, and particularly because I am a woman who isn’t old yet. Pointless story: Some months ago I went to the bar and ordered a Beefeater light rocks while a bartender was training a(n ostensibly new) bartender. New guy pours some precisely measured jigger over ice, when old guy says, “Make that a real pour. Someone ordering gin on rocks doesn’t want no wuss drink.” I don’t know that guy, but I like him. > [@DCnDC](#): > > Clarification: any drink ending in **-tini** that does not start with **mar-** is a girl drink. Further clarification: anything called a martini that doesn’t comprise of gin and vermouth should be called something else. > [@Omniscient](#): > > Ordering the liquor you want by name goes a long ways towards showing that you know what you are doing. Saying I want a “beer” makes you look like an idiot. Saying you want a “whiskey shot” makes you look like an idiot. Even if you are fine with well liquor to save a buck be specific, say well whiskey. Don’t make me guess. Fair enough, regarding not ordering something stupid like “beer,” but I always assumed that when ordering a mixed drink, you were accepting well unless otherwise stated. When I order a gin gimlet (and I bristle that I have to make that distinction considering a gimlet _is_ made with gin, and the vodka intruders have forced me to specify), I always assume I’m getting rail. Occasionally they will ask if I have a preference, and I’ll say rail is fine. When I have a preference, however, I will say so. > [@DonLogan](#): > > Credibility with whom? > > Bartenders? Strangers? Sex targets? Drinkers? All of the aforementioned. > [@GargoyleWB](#): > > “I’ll have a Harvey Wallbanger, my friend will have a Singapore Sling”. Wait. I knew Harvey Wallbangers were out of style, but Singapore Slings are too? Fuck if I know anything. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/52 "2010-11-11T00:44:25Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > I have _never_ gotten the faux prestige that some people think your choice of beverage carries. Yeah, we get it.:rolleyes: You still look like a weirdo or a girl drink drunk for ordering a cosmo or some sort of fruity umbrella laden concoction. If you don’t care, that’s your business. Any woman ordering a cosmo looks like she’s trying to be Sex And The City superfan number one. You don’t walk into a Belgian beer bar or microbrew bar and ask for a “Bud Light”. First of all they typically won’t have it. Second, why would you order the crappiest possible beer? ---
**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:** [November 11, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/53 "2010-11-11T00:46:33Z")
30-year-old single malt scotch Or drinking a banana daiquiri with 151 Bacardi ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/54 "2010-11-11T00:50:58Z")
> [@Second Stone](#): > > Smile and say “Louis 13” and you will impress all the chicks with your credibility. I only hope that you’re saying “Louis Treize” and not “Louie Thirteen”!🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/55 "2010-11-11T00:54:52Z")
I don’t always drink beer. But when I do, I prefer Dos Equis. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/56 "2010-11-11T01:10:15Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Yeah, we get it.:rolleyes: > > You still look like a weirdo or a girl drink drunk for ordering a cosmo or some sort of fruity umbrella laden concoction. If you don’t care, that’s your business. > > Any woman ordering a cosmo looks like she’s trying to be Sex And The City superfan number one. > > You don’t walk into a Belgian beer bar or microbrew bar and ask for a “Bud Light”. First of all they typically won’t have it. Second, why would you order the crappiest possible beer? This kind of thing genuinely mystifies me. What kind of person gives a flying fuck what kind of drink another person likes to drink, much less judge them? Hint: good pubs have a range of drinks to suit every taste and pocket. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/57 "2010-11-11T01:28:07Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Fair enough, regarding not ordering something stupid like “beer,” but I always assumed that when ordering a mixed drink, you were accepting well unless otherwise stated. When I order a gin gimlet (and I bristle that I have to make that distinction considering a gimlet _is_ made with gin, and the vodka intruders have forced me to specify), I always assume I’m getting rail. Occasionally they will ask if I have a preference, and I’ll say rail is fine. When I have a preference, however, I will say so. It’s primarily applicable to shots. Cocktails aren’t so finicky. Ordering a “whiskey shot” is the same as ordering a “beer”. Ordering a whiskey and coke is traditional, though I somewhat question folks that will drink well to save 50 cents over Jack or Makers. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/58 "2010-11-11T01:31:45Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > According to Steve Martin, it doesn’t matter as long as it has a little umbrella in it. “Be Somebody!” ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/59 "2010-11-11T01:53:21Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > I often get drink cred when I’m out, and I think it’s hilarious. At the bar I’m usually ordering a whisk(e)y of some sort (can be bourbon, scotch, Irish, rye, depending on the bar and its selection) usually neat, at times with very light rocks, or gin on light rocks. Occasionally a gimlet, and even more occasionally, if the bar has a decent rum selection, which most American bars unfortunately do not, a dark rum neat or with light rocks. People seem to think I’m srs bizns because of this, and I’m almost certain it’s because I’m a woman, and particularly because I am a woman who isn’t old yet. Right on. My liquor tastes are similar, but even as a guy, I still get the odd drink cred when none is sought. I’m flying a lot these days, and it’s something of a pre-flight ritual to order a scotch neat. I like the drink, and it puts me in a good mood for commercial air travel, but it nevertheless draws a nod of approval or compliment from bartenders and patrons. > [@MeanOldLady](#): > > I always assume I’m getting rail. Occasionally they will ask if I have a preference, and I’ll say rail is fine. When I have a preference, however, I will say so. Absolutely standard practice in my view. If I just say a generic type of liquor, I expect the rails. Bartenders at nicer places do sometimes ask if I have one in mind, but they don’t mind asking. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/60 "2010-11-11T02:03:11Z")
OK, quick question fellow Doper alcoholics _cough_ I mean spirit connoisseurs _cough_ … I’ll fess up. I’m not a big gin drinker, but I do like my gin & tonics in the summer (as well as gimlets, or what is known redundantly as “gin gimlets” these days). I also like the regular Bombay gin. The Sapphire is fine, but I like my gin & tonics with just the bog standard Bombay gin (the one in the clear bottle). What’s the accepted way of specifying this? It seems if I say Bombay & tonic, the Sapphire is assumed. I even just checked “Bombay gin” in Wikipedia, and it redirects to the Sapphire. Or should I just order them with Beefeaters and not be troubled with this conundrum? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224.md?page=4)