# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![fruitbat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@fruitbat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fruitbat)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/61 "2010-11-11T02:09:11Z")
I will turn this into a ‘ask people who drink’ thread. I don’t drink often, and I don’t care for strong alcohol. I have discovered a drink I love, to the point where I always have supplies on hand at home. The Dark and Stormy is the perfect drink, but I am getting generally blank stares when I attempt to order it. I assume this is because most bars aren’t stocking ginger beer. Is this an obscure drink? Is there a more common version with ginger ale? I don’t really want ginger ale, but I love the drink with Barbancourt rum and I would be willing to accept substitutions. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/62 "2010-11-11T02:12:16Z")
So what can a non-drinker order to confer credibility? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/63 "2010-11-11T02:17:22Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Pan-Galactic Gargle-Blaster for me please, barman! I knew a bartender in Wichita Falls who actually created one. Nasty stuff, a guaranteed sick if you drank more than two. ---
**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, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/64 "2010-11-11T02:18:46Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > 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. You I like. I also prefer original Bombay to Sapphire. When I need to make the distinction, I ask for “Bombay Original.” ---
**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, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/65 "2010-11-11T02:24:05Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > 🙂 > > You I like. I also prefer original Bombay to Sapphire. When I need to make the distinction, I ask for “Bombay Original.” Ah, “Bombay Original.” That makes sense. I’ll keep that in mind when summer rolls around. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/66 "2010-11-11T02:51:17Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > So what can a non-drinker order to confer credibility? Serious bars and restaurants have started doing stuff like house-made sodas and the like, so just take a look at the drinks list and see if there’s anything nonalcoholic already on there. Alternatively, I sometimes ask for “something nonalcoholic but interesting”. If all else fails, ask for a glass of tonic water. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/67 "2010-11-11T02:57:24Z")
> [@fruitbat](#): > > I have discovered a drink I love, to the point where I always have supplies on hand at home. The Dark and Stormy is the perfect drink, but I am getting generally blank stares when I attempt to order it. I assume this is because most bars aren’t stocking ginger beer. Is this an obscure drink? Is there a more common version with ginger ale? > > I don’t really want ginger ale, but I love the drink with Barbancourt rum and I would be willing to accept substitutions. Legally, if it’s not made with Goslings, it’s not a Dark & Stormy… It’s not that common a drink, and it’s only worth ordering if the bar either stocks a good ginger beer/ale or makes their own. Realistically, I’d suggest picking another drink to fall back on if they don’t know what you’re asking for. ---
**Author:** ![dzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzero)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/68 "2010-11-11T03:13:44Z")
> [@Hunter\_Hawk](#): > > Realistically, I’d suggest picking another drink to fall back on if they don’t know what you’re asking for. This going to sound daft and it probably is, but if you’re out at different places often enough, get some business card stock for home printers (8.5x11 with perforations) and print up a few cards indicating how the drink is made and what your 1st and 2nd choices are for the key ingredients. It will save much agro and you will probably be able to get what you really want more frequently. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/69 "2010-11-11T03:29:10Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > So what can a non-drinker order to confer credibility? Knowledge and wit? Stranger ---
**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 11, 2010, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/70 "2010-11-11T03:29:32Z")
> [@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. :rolleyes: yourself. Fact is, a real man or woman orders what they want and a pussy worries about what some stranger standing next to him in the bar thinks about “O noes! What if he doesn’t think I’m MACHO enough for him?!” Geez. What kind of wimp actually spends time wondering “Gosh! Did the bartender think my drink was manly enough for me? What about that drunk two seats down. Maybe I should order something else!” You go to a bar to get a drink and hang with friends unless you’re a poseur trying to impress strangers. And really…if you are? Get a _life_. Order what tastes good. In any case if anyone’s seen the movie “Destry Rides Again”? Jimmy Stewart: one of the toughest guys in the movies AND in real life walks into a bar and orders a milk. Why? Because he’s not a fucking sissy who lives in terror of a stranger’s disapproval of him not conforming. > [@](#): > > Any woman ordering a cosmo looks like she’s trying to be Sex And The City superfan number one. Or…y’know…she _likes_ cosmos. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/71 "2010-11-11T03:33:11Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I knew a bartender in Wichita Falls who actually created one. Nasty stuff, a guaranteed sick if you drank more than two. > [@](#): > > Mr. Turnkey, it’s 10 PM in Wichita Falls > August 16, 1969 and I’m in some bar Your name wouldn’t happen to be Zager or Evans, would it? My standby drink is J&B on the rocks. Drink of choice for Shelly “The Machine” Levine. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/72 "2010-11-11T03:38:54Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > Or…y’know…she _likes_ cosmos. The ironic thing is that if you make a cosmo according to Toby Cecchini’s recipe, it’s actually a pretty hardcore drink. It’s not very sweet, and is aggressively sour. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/73 "2010-11-11T03:39:12Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > According to Steve Martin, it doesn’t matter as long as it has a little umbrella in it. > [@Tangent](#): > > “Be Somebody!” “And no more of that old stuff. Bring us some _fresh_ wine.” ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/74 "2010-11-11T03:40:40Z")
Back when I was tending bar (25+ years ago), it was anything that didn’t reek of fruity mixer (it was a college town bar - beaucoup strawberry margharitas and banana daquiris - blech) or make me use the blender when I was backed up with drink orders. Also, anything that didn’t involve a bunch of college kids drinking shots and getting really stupid really quickly. Like **MOL** , I tend to get instant cred as a woman by ordering a good bourbon, Scotch, rye or Irish whisk(e)y neat with water back, light rocks or in the warmer months, with water. A non-rail gin and tonic gets the same look. I think that ordering alcohol that has a distinct characteristic, not covered up by mixers that have a stronger flavor, usually does signify that you actually like the liquor itself and not just the effects. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/75 "2010-11-11T03:44:24Z")
> [@Hunter\_Hawk](#): > > Serious bars and restaurants have started doing stuff like house-made sodas and the like, so just take a look at the drinks list and see if there’s anything nonalcoholic already on there. Alternatively, I sometimes ask for “something nonalcoholic but interesting”. > > If all else fails, ask for a glass of tonic water. Perrier, maybe? Or would that sound pretentious? 😛 Maybe it works for you, but for me I can’t imagine myself saying “something nonalcoholic but interesting” without sounding like some sort of pretentious fop. 😃 Maybe something totally off the wall like “an unsweetened espresso with Ceylon cinnamon.” When they say they don’t have Ceylon cinnamon (or espresso), roll your eyes and say "never mind, just get me a Vernor’s ginger ale with a slice of Vietnamese persimmon. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/76 "2010-11-11T03:47:43Z")
A while back, I was sitting at the bar of the Zig Zag when a young woman walked up and ordered a shot of Old Raj gin neat. As she walked away, Murray and I had the interchange: Hunter Hawk: :eek: I think I’m in love. Murray: 😃 Man, _she’s_ welcome here any time! ---
**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, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/77 "2010-11-11T03:49:12Z")
Luckily, my tastes align towards “manly” drinks, so I don’t have to worry. 😉 Still, if I were one to prefer the more so-called “girly” drinks, I would take great pride in unapologetically ordering them, but in a specific, “manly” sort of way. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/78 "2010-11-11T03:52:09Z")
**davidm** , you’re evil. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/79 "2010-11-11T03:58:08Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Luckily, my tastes align towards “manly” drinks, so I don’t have to worry. 😉 > > Still, if I were one to prefer the more so-called “girly” drinks, I would take great pride in unapologetically ordering them, but in a specific, “manly” sort of way. Slam your fist down - “gimme a goddamn peach daiquiri, in a dirty glass!” ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224/80 "2010-11-11T04:00:16Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > **davidm** , you’re evil. 😃 I _guess_ I’ll take that as a compliment. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drinks-automatically-confer-credibility/560224.md?page=5)