Category: Let's talk
Bars really aren’t my social scene, but they happen now and again, and I’m always left wondering what to order. I’m not going to ask for beer, wine or cider, because I can get those from the store easily enough. I want a mixed drink, something I’m not going to make myself. On the flip side, I ask myself, “Do people really ask the bartender for a sex on the beach or a cosmopolitan? Is that normal?” I really like sex on the beach, but I feel a little silly asking for one. There are vast online lists of popular cocktails, and I know bartenders know their stuff. But I don’t want to ask for some random drink and the man behind the bar have no clue what I’m talking about. I fall back on long island iced teas if I know the place makes them well, or my standby drink, a 7 and 7. So what do you all ask for when you’re up at the bar?
Well this is a good topic, since this weekend I"ll turn 21, so I'm going to a bar. I
want to try some different cocktails, mmmmmmmmm! definitely a sex on the
beach. I wonder what's coming. lol!
I don't know much about cocktails either. Basic drinks can be something like margaritas, cranberry with vodka, a White Russian which reminds me a lot of coffee, Coke mixed with various types of liquor such as rum, Jack Daniels, etc. But it looks like you're looking for things that are more classy than those are lol.
you bet! lol!
So I have a few things.
I don't often drink mixed drinks except maybe the occasional martini at a dinner party, but if you do, bars often specialize. So why not ask the people at the bar what their specialties are? What people most often order there?
And don't be so quick to pass up the beer, wine and cider. I know this varies from region to region, but lots of times you can get a beer or a cider that is unusual. If your beer selection is just the big three main ones, I understand your distaste. But treat a bar like you would anywhere else: Go to enjoy the experience, see what they have, order up, and have fun.
I'm not 'in the scene' as the kids call it, but I sure do like to drop in at neighborhood places and have one or several and just enjoy the atmosphere, maybe get involved in a conversation or maybe just bird watch, as it were. It's all up to you. There's no right or wrong way to go about it. Except remember you are shopping there, so see what they have, and now you can read their reviews ahead of time.
Of course, this won't apply if you're early 20s just looking to bar hop and get shit faced. In that case, drink what you can get. But don't call in sick the next morning because chances are your boss did the same thing, only in a time when real men don't call in sick because of a hangover. lol. Guess that may be real women also? But I cannot speak for them, or what is tolerated.
Anyway, the experience is to be enjoyed, it's not a who's who. I hate it when people do that, whether it's bars or cigars. Or they think just because some of us *appear* to "know what we're doing" there, that they should just copy us, that there is some kind of in club. There isn't. Go and enjoy it, and take my advice: only take cash with you not your debit card.
Had they debit cards when I was in my early 20s what financial fools some of us would have been. lol
The first time I had a Long Island Ice Tea it was at a bar that supposedly specialized in them. I didn't care for it. However, over the years it has become my favorite drink. Go figure.
If you like peaches and anything peach flavored, try a fuzzy navel. Cute name and great drink.
If you like strawberries try a strawberry margureeta (sorry if I misspelled that) or a strawberry daiquiri.
I love anything that tastes fruity and is pretty to look at. I once tried something called a Blue Hawaiian. It was a pretty blue color and tasted great.
I'd second Leo's comment about not ignoring the beers unless it's just the larger
usual suspect breweries on display.
If you want to dip your toe in the water regarding a drink with a mixer but
stopping short of a cocktail, then a gin and tonic is a perfectly respectable order,
particularly for a wench. Assuming you like the constituents, at worst it will be
good and at best excellent.
I love fruity drinks! I've tried a strawberry margarita and they're awesome! I'm
not looking to get hammered, just to try some very great mixes. Oh I hate
bloody marry. I'd rather try several drinks on different occasions and then get
drunk. It's one of those things that I enjoy socially.
I'll go further. So many people pass up brew houses, so-called family friendly establishments that serve drinks and have great atmosphere.
Or places that feature live music and booze. I had so much fun at such places it's ridiculous!
I still go out now, especially since I live in the city again, but not as often as some of you younger foos hahahaha some of us gotta work in the morning and don't bounce back like we used to, so.
People are so one-dimensional about those types of places. And there is more variety of bars / clubs / brewhouses than there is in a lot of other types of establishments. Atmosphere, people, drinks, music, acoustics even. Sit and drink in an old cellar tavern. Or in an old house pub. Or in some shiny modern hipster establishment and watch them monkeys dance. It's all good, because it's so varied.
Miller Highlife for the most part, because it's what I can afford. Place near me also has pretty good wings. Sex on the beach is yummy, I don't care if it's girlie to other people.
Imprecator that is definitely a chick drink, like the Long Island Iced Tea. have at it if you want though. lol.
Different times.
The wife worked with a lot of mid 20 something people, and one guy she worked with asked me about mixed drinks. I told him when I started, if a man drank like that he got told he was drinking like a girl.
I do mix Scotch and water sometimes if I want to make a shot or a double last longer.
Scotch, bourbon, and whiskey don't get along with me. And I like piña coladas and mojitos too, so there. Oh and bloody Maries with pepper vodka.
I also like to check out micro brews. Had a really good one last week, I forget the name but it's a pale ale.
I drink soda.
At a bar? Why?
I agree with leo about not passing up beer just because you're at a bar. There's no shame in asking what they have on tap. I've had several good experiences with trying different beers that way. yes, I'm female, what of it? Lol
On a side note, I don't know what the big deal is about guys who drink mixed drinks, or girls who drink beer or take shots of whiskey. It's just another totally ridiculous gender-specific expectation, if you ask me. I for one enjoy both, and don't actually indulge in mixed drinks except on rare occasions when I'm feeling adventurous.
Speaking of that, I had a funny experience once concerning what I suppose is a fairly obscure cocktail. I had gone out to a bar with two friends of mine who are a couple. While we were driving there, they asked me if I had ever had a cowboy cocksucker. I'd never heard of it, so they told me I just had to try it. Well, we got to the bar, and my female friend made the request. The bartender looked at her like she had 8 heads! It was actually pretty funny. I don't have enough vision to have gauged the exact expression, but I was assured it was priceless. To this day I'm still not sure what that drink entails.
Craft brew is such a cool market right now. I've probably had 200 different micros between IPA's and stouts! If a mix drink probably a manhatan or gray goose martini. As far as craft brews go, I love founders, clown shoes, two brothers, bell haven, sam smith, averies, just to name a few.
I'm not a mix drink man, but girls are, so this is what I've learned on dates.
Ask about the drink specials. A well drink will be whiskey and soda of some kind, or gin and juice, so go above that.
The bartender knows girls, or the wait staff, so ask them for good mix drinks.
Bars have different names sometimes for same drinks. Some make say a longbeach, but not in New York, if you understand me.
The mix drinks, if not on happy hours, or the special, will be the most expensive, so if money is tight, don't be shamed to ask how much!
They can go as much as 8 dollars, so.
Myself, I like beer and these well drinks, unless I'm at a place that makes a specific thing well.
I prefer mixed drinks, but I don't think it's because I'm a girl. I do order beer on occasion but have never really enjoyed it. I know a couple guys who love Long Island ice teas, and I never thought it made them less manly. I hate these kinds of stereotypes. People should drink whatever tastes good to them and not worry about what others think.
Long islands are good, and margaritas, plain and strawberry. Think I'll get some margarita mix pretty soon. I also like white russians but the store bought ones are overly sweet.
I too don't get the "girlie drink" crap. Total ridiculousness. I like some beers and some mixed drinks and some shots and decent vodka. Don't assume based on gender either way.
Most wine tastes like cough syrup to me and yet I've had guys assume that's all I'd drink since I'm a "lady".
Snort.
I like white, but not red.
I love red wine
I love red wine, but I don't like white at all. When I go to a bar, I usually order a sea breeze, which is grapefruit, cranberry, and vodka with lime. I don't tend to order it by name, though, unless I know the staff knows what it is, to avoid getting something I don't like.
Wo my prior comment stirred up controversy. It was not so much my opinion as it was just culture.
Sure, like lots of cultural things it is silly. I mean, why assume because your chopsticks are sticking straight up in a bowl of rice, that you are offering it to the dead? But that is a cultural thing I learned the hard way in Tokyo.
My main reason for avoiding most mixed drinks is I don't like sweet.
and yes of course I know many women who drink beers and shots.
In fact, the move in the 90s to make sweet fruity beers was a failure. Its intent was to attract non beer drinkers. They tasted bad to beer drinkers who wanted beer. And non beer drinkers, who happen not to like beer, thought thtey tasted like beer.
So, at least we can see some have remember their lessons from Freshman year in college and have to jump out and amek sure everyone remembers stereotypes don't exist. Very well recitations of the catechism as it were.
I know the stereotypes about pairing white wine with fish and red wine with beef. Also I am aware they are junk science. But they are nonetheless culturally true more often than they are not, even if I happen to be someone who will pair red with fish sometimes, dependings on the red and the fish. Not a huge wine connesseur.
Speaking of another stereotype which is generally true, it's said men over 30 graduate from mainly beer to mainly wine. I've seen it, I'm a fre enough thinker idon't have to recite the above katekism every time I am outside this stereotype: I'm not a wine drinker. For no real reason except I like beer, and haven't really acquired the knowledge to decide what it is about a particular wine that I like or don't.
Truth is, we all are exceptions to some average or other. Only not all of us have to repeat the katekism about 'not everybody is that way.' Notice it is only said repeaters using terms like 'everybody' or 'all'.
To the one who drinks sodas at a bar, you should seriously consider trying out their craft root and ginger beers - most brew houses make their own - or their mixed sodas. That's a lot of what I see teetotalers doing. And I'm sure, for the sake of the abovem-mentioned repeaters, there are probably exceptions to that also, since 'a lot of' doesn't necessarily mean 'all'.
As to some guy assuming a girl does or doesn't drink something? Hmm, been awhile since I took a woman besides my wife on a date, but, I only went with one assumption. That they'd tell the bar people what they wanted. And if it sounded good, I might order it too.
I don't like sweet either. One of my sisters accused me of being boring because I always order the same drink, but it isn't sweet and doesn't taste like pure alcohol, and I like it.
The girl drink, or girlie drink, or female drink is not the fault of us, but the bars and barbenders themselves.
I guess they've learned that most women like sweet tasting, or mild drinks, so serve these as such.
Many bars offer free drinks to women say before 10, and these drinks are always sweet type drinks, not beer, or whiskeys.
Some women like beer, but many I know don't seem to.
Liquirs are good, like Granma ya, don't think that is the correct spelling, but it sounds that way.
I had a cosmopolitan and it was so fucking awesome! I also had some red wine
with a double espresso so I"m feeling great tonight! mmmm
Have you some Baileys on ice. MMM!
no I should try it
Because I don't drink alcohol.
Thank the Lord I can drink again. lol I don't do it often, but when I do, I like Long Island iced tea.
There are mixed drinks that are not sweet, and in fact use bitters. I have been offered,
should I get to visit my friend in San Francisco, that she will make me some of these
which are a specialty she and her wife enjoy.
Again stereotyping, sorry kidlets: I would probably very much enjoy said drinks, but I
would not dare attempt at making one without sufficient tootlage from her or her wife.
These always taste rare, complex, and difficult to make. I don't remember the names, but
they are made using herbs and bitters also.
To the one accused of being "borx," your trip to a bar or a club is yours. So drink what you
like. If you're not curious about new things, you won't enjoy trying them the way the
curious might. And anyway if I am just checking out a new place, or want to be out for a
bit I will just get a beer and a Scotch. I will usually only order a wine if I am with
someone who knows something about it beyond the basics of what I know.
Do what you like, I say.
Precisely.I go to the one bar I go to for the Karaoke not for the alcohol.
One a these days I'm gonna get really fucked up at the karaoke bar and sing War Pigs. My shyness disappears when I'm drunk, as I'm sure it does with lots of people.
Am a long island girl straight up. If I am looking for a more mellow bar seen though, I go for the fruity sex on the beach and or some kind of coconut something.
Also news flash to teetotalers, brew houses and many really nice clubs have their own coffee roasters, or contract ith a local coffee roaster. Usually very good coffee can be had at said establishments.
That and any number of smoothies, slushies, Italian sodas and other beverages I have bought for teetotalers or oex-drinkers when out. Bars are drinking establishments, which in a lot of places means beverages of all sorts.
@Imrecator, I would be happier as part of the crowd while you sang War Pigs, You won't catch me up there doing it. Even drunk I awlasy find a way to philosophize my way out of goinb up front. One notable exception being a Christmas party at the office, where we all did, and so I was still just part of the crowd.
I'd probably sing it Ronnie James Dio style, with lots of obnoxious shouts and such.
I love sex on the beach. The french martini was a little too sweet for me, but it
was good. Any of you have a screaming orgasm?
Hey Dolce, how was your b-day?
I fail to see the relevance of your last question.
Just saying...
Bob
A Screaming orgasm is another cocktail.
I myself prefer a really nice cider that's not Bulmers or Magnars, something light and tasty on the pallet. If I'm having a harder night, or a club night, it's double rum and coke all the way. But ultimately, I won't outrightly say no to anything unless I've had it once or twice before. Beer nights are great, but I'd rather have them at home or at barbeques, or if I'm at a really nice, quiet pub where I can relax a bit more.
I tried the drink Screaming Orgasm once. I don't like Amareto. It tastes strange. anyone ever tried a drink called Slippery nipple? It sounds sweet, almost too sweet, but I'm willing to try just about anything once
Made me laugh as usual Bob. Smile.
lol it was good, I had a sex on the beach and a french martini. There are tuns of
cocktails with rather strange names. It's funny! :)
I'm totally with Bryan on this. unless I'm at Olive Garden where I can get a Vanesian Sunset, you won't catch me drinking alcohol.
You'll never catch me drinking alcohol. It used to piss my brother off. LOL.
Doesn't mean it'll affect you the same way.
I'm not curious enough to find out.
I tend to like flavorful drinks when I have one. They tend to be expensive so I don't drink often, but most of the time I like those tropical ones, margaritas and mojitos and the like. The place my wife and I are going out to next week has something called jungle juice. No idea what's in it but it's tasty. During the winter I like to wait and have my drink as dessert so I can have a bailey's and coffee or something similar.
My local doesn't have the stuff to make mojitos. Blah.
You may catch me drinking alcohol. Never piss on my brother though.
Last drink I had at the bar was Monday. Boring whiskey and soda.
It was a loved ones birthday.
jungle juice? Sounds like ... Hmmm .. I don't know ... but it does sound interesting.
Yeah, I'll need to find out what's in it when we go to this one restaurant. And yeah, we really order drinks at restaurants, I can't say we've been to an actual tavern-type place very often and if we have, it's usually for other things.