# What kind of bartender can't mix a martini? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 15, 2019, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bartender-cant-mix-a-martini/840250 "2019-09-15T05:32:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kirkrapine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7ea924/32.png) [@kirkrapine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirkrapine)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bartender-cant-mix-a-martini/840250/21 "2019-09-15T20:40:21Z")
You wave a bottle of gin in the general direction of Italy. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bartender-cant-mix-a-martini/840250/22 "2019-09-15T20:46:16Z")
Expecting a good mixed drink at a Red Lobster is not really reasonable. It would be like expecting a good and properly cooked steak at a chain restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bartender-cant-mix-a-martini/840250/23 "2019-09-15T20:48:18Z")
I learned many years ago never to order a martini unless I am in New York, Chicago, or San Francisco. I had regularly had awful martinis — to the point of having to send them back — in cosmopolitan centers like Miami, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Boston, and so on. It’s only in NYC, Chi, or Frisco that barkeeps get them right on the first try. And NEVER ask for one outside the U.S. You should be drinking the local concoctions anyway. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bartender-cant-mix-a-martini/840250/24 "2019-09-15T21:07:00Z")
Too funny, since I used to work at a Red Lobster in college. Yeah, 90% of the bar business was beer or wine or else one of the frozen drinks. Almost no cocktails. The regular bartender was basically working there so she could hook up with all the college guys (and some of the gals) They didn’t do much in tips except on some Friday/Saturday nights. I’m sure she could probably do a martini although I never saw one when I worked there. Most of the cocktails ordered were more like jack and coke. ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bartender-cant-mix-a-martini/840250/25 "2019-09-15T21:11:02Z")
Hell, even Koreans could make a martini, with a little help from Hawkeye. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Mq0IChJXJ14/maxresdefault.jpg "Hawkeye Pierce ordering a very, very dry martini") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq0IChJXJ14) ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bartender-cant-mix-a-martini/840250/26 "2019-09-15T21:14:33Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I remember reading a criticism of that movie ([Cocktail](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocktail_(1988_film)), starring Tom Cruise and Bryan Brown) when it came out. Someone pointed out that bartending is a volume business and no bartender is going to spend so much time on showmanship and acrobatics, since it would slow them down, reducing the number of tips. Never seen it. But I’ve had plenty of slowly-made drinks. Just charge $20 for that Ramos gin fizz and pay your 'tenders well and the economics can work out. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bartender-cant-mix-a-martini/840250/27 "2019-09-15T21:29:55Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Even decades ago, there were [books](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Boston#Famous_%22Bartender's_Guide%22) with drink recipes one could refer to. Today, one could use the internet, perhaps even look at a video demonstration. Cool book! I have a small collection of old cocktail “recipe” books. I like the history of it and the ties to the Prohibition Era. Does anyone know why a Blind Pig was called that? Was it a comment on the quality of the hooch? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bartender-cant-mix-a-martini/840250/28 "2019-09-15T21:30:50Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > How many bartenders are actual bartenders? I would guess 99% of “bartending” at Red Lobster is serving beer or wine. > > At my local bars, I don’t think I would ever ask them to make a drink with more than 2 ingredients, at least not after the Gimlet (2 ingredients, 3 if fancy) with 7-Up. Hah! Around here, you have to specify GIN gimlet or else you’ll get a vodka gimlet. Despite the fact that a gimlet is by definition made of gin. ---
**Author:** ![neofishboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/neofishboy/32/444_2.png) [@neofishboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neofishboy)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bartender-cant-mix-a-martini/840250/29 "2019-09-15T21:44:49Z")
I spent a Summer doing asphalt maintenance in Angel’s Camp, CA and stopped at a local bar with the crew one afternoon after finishing. I’d just recently turned 21 so this was still fairly novel to me. I wasn’t much of a drinker (yet) but I’d been served a Long Island Iced Tea before so I knew I liked them and ordered one. “NO ICED TEA THIS IS A BAR!!” was the response literally shouted at me by the grizzled lady behind the bar. We left. Granted, it was the bartender’s attitude more than her ignorance that made that decision for us. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bartender-cant-mix-a-martini/840250/30 "2019-09-15T23:16:17Z")
> [@digs](#): > > But if I was even applying for a bartender job, I’d be studying the 50 most-ordered drinks. If I got the job, and started Monday, I’d memorize the top 100 and be practicing on my friends all weekend. And what kind of place hires someone and gives them zero training? If you memorized 100 drinks, you’d be the most experienced bar tender I’ve ever known. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2019, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bartender-cant-mix-a-martini/840250/31 "2019-09-16T00:07:44Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > I’ma stop you right there and say the answer to your question is “The kind of bartender who works at Red Lobster.” Beat me to it. > [@What Exit/](#): > > Expecting a good mixed drink at a Red Lobster is not really reasonable. It would be like expecting a good and properly cooked steak at a chain restaurant. You can get excellent steaks at medium price to upscale chain restaurants (example of the former - Longhorn restaurants). Not to beat up on Red Lobster too much (but why not?), any place that routinely prepares seafood in semi-non-palatable fashion can’t be trusted to do anything right. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2019, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bartender-cant-mix-a-martini/840250/32 "2019-09-16T01:51:31Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Not to beat up on Red Lobster too much (but why not?), any place that routinely prepares seafood in semi-non-palatable fashion can’t be trusted to do anything right. Except those cheddar bay biscuits, those are awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2019, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bartender-cant-mix-a-martini/840250/33 "2019-09-16T03:19:53Z")
> [@](#): > > What kind of bartender can’t mix a martini? Didja ever order a martini in England? Some years ago I did, and they had to (after being instructed by me) order out for the olive. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2019, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bartender-cant-mix-a-martini/840250/34 "2019-09-16T18:47:06Z")
I’m a little surprised by that. London had a cocktail culture in place as soon as the 1920s. Lord Peter Wimsey loved his dry martinis. Ordering a martini almost anywhere on the continent, though, will fetch you a glass of Martini & Rossi brand vermouth. (Which I admit makes a fine aperitif, in a tall slender glass with an ice cube or two. The white dry and the red sweet — not all that sweet — are equally good.) ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2019, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bartender-cant-mix-a-martini/840250/35 "2019-09-16T18:53:21Z")
In England outside of London, best to just ask for a Large Gin. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2019, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bartender-cant-mix-a-martini/840250/36 "2019-09-16T19:02:50Z")
Went to an upscale burger chain that features a full bar. Asked the waitress for a rum and coke. She said, “What is that?” I said, “I don’t know how to explain it more clearly.” ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2019, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bartender-cant-mix-a-martini/840250/37 "2019-09-16T20:00:23Z")
most of the bartenders around here look confused if you want anything more than a screwdriver or a gin and tonic or whiskey and coke… ive had a few ask me "do you know how to make it ? " when i wanted something somewhat complicated … ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2019, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bartender-cant-mix-a-martini/840250/38 "2019-09-16T20:19:36Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > most of the bartenders around here look confused if you want anything more than a screwdriver or a gin and tonic or whiskey and coke… > ive had a few ask me "do you know how to make it ? " when i wanted something somewhat complicated … I’d much prefer that! I could get a drink just the way I want it. Look, free life lesson: if you’re new and out of your depth, ask for help. But if an inexperienced bartender asked me, I’d take the chance to make a new, custom version… “Okay, in that case I want a Digs Old Fashioned. First, you’re going to get out your mortar and pestle, and crush up a sugar cube, a Luxardo or maybe even a Door County cherry, and a kumquat. Kumquat. Just go down the the market, they have 'em. And while you’re there… oh, don’t worry, I’ll wait, I wouldn’t miss out on this.” ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2019, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bartender-cant-mix-a-martini/840250/39 "2019-09-16T20:20:18Z")
I ordered a Jack and Coke in a Spanish bar near a US military base, and received scotch and Coke. Now, I watched her pour it out of the Jack Daniels bottle, so it wasn’t just a mistake; they had filled the Jack bottle from a bottle of cheap scotch. When I complained, I heard her tell another bar gal “I told you!”. I laughed, which is when they realized that I understood the language. Also, I’ve received a vodka martini right here in the states, at a reputable bar, after ordering a Beefeater martini. To the best of my knowledge, Beefeater doesn’t make vodka. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2019, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bartender-cant-mix-a-martini/840250/40 "2019-09-16T20:40:57Z")
> [@FluffyBob](#): > > Red Lobster ? Its a kid working in a place that probably has a section in the drink menu labelled ‘martinis’ - sweet colourful beverages in cool little conical glasses that never contain gin. > > I like martinis, but here in Alberta I am hard pressed to think of anyone I know who drinks them besides me… I do. Never really had a problem ordering them, though you have to be careful where you order them–upscale places such as the bars at the Fairmont properties in Alberta, restaurants like Ruth’s Chris and Hy’s, and even places like The Keg and Earl’s, generally have no problem making a fine martini. But I doubt very much that your average sports bar or popular chain restaurant (Boston Pizza, Montana’s, Swiss Chalet, and yes, Red Lobster) would have any idea what to do. Interestingly, after a recent change of ownership, the local sports bar where I spend a lot of time, has introduced a list of fancy cocktails. When I asked my Friendly Neighbourhood Barman (who, to date, has been challenged by nothing more difficult than a Bloody Caesar) what he’d do if anybody ordered one, he said, “I’d have to look up the recipe. I’d try my best, but I wouldn’t guarantee anythng.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bartender-cant-mix-a-martini/840250.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-bartender-cant-mix-a-martini/840250.md?page=3)