cocktails anyone?

[molly1216]

i just got my bartenders card
and now i am doing the cocktail studying part.
(they don't teach you much in bartending school..basically they teach you just enough not to embarrass yourself behind a bar.)

unfortunately i am not really much of a drinker
so this is all new ground to me.

anyone have a favorite cocktail? a home bar? whatchagot?

[Steve T Power]

Unfortunately for me, outside of shooters (which are goddamn evil) i'm an expensive drunk, and the amount of alcohol it would typically take to get me "on the go" as we say, is too sickening to think about. I do enjoy a cold beer on a hot day, or after some manual labor, but drinking beer as a recreational drink doesn't sit well for me, as it typically takes me a dozen or more to really put a good buzz on. Which is disgusting.
When we do get into a bit of old school "party hearty-ing", i have a few choice beverages:

I'm all about a good Long Island Iced Tea.

Ingredients:

1/2 oz triple sec
1/2 oz light rum
1/2 oz gin
1/2 oz vodka
1/2 oz tequila
1 oz sour mix
cola
lemon wedge for garnish.


The typical one we mix these days is a mixer marketed as "Long Island Iced Tea", combine that with that sugary lemonade you get in the supermarket dairy cooler, and a splash or two of cola for color - mmm mmm mmm . And it will blow you onto your butt fairly quickly (like most Vodka mixes).

I'm also still a huge proponent of the good ole fashioned Kahlua and Milk - that's my "sippin' drink".

Sangria is another favorite - basically a punch bowl full of shit that tastes awesome and destroys the capacity for human thought.

[molly1216]

i used to like a good long island ice tea but fewer and fewer places make it from scratch and the premixed tastes like crap

the more i learn the more i know better than to drink anything made off the speed rail anyway.
those nameless bottles under the bar the bartender makes everything with
unless you actually call a name off the back rail.

i don't drink much but i find that i am also an expensive drinker
one of the reasons i am not partial to alcohol is that all i have ever tasted was the rubbish.
a little of the better stuff goes a long way with me.

[tucco]

"i used to like a good long island ice tea but fewer and fewer places make it from scratch and the premixed tastes like crap" - molly

Ain't that the truth.....been that way since the nineties.....

Also where you bartend is crucial to your effectiveness......there are more and more upscale lounges (yes they are calling the trendy bars lounges again) at which my female friends love buying 12 dollar martinis made with cucumber juice and all that stuff that make James Bond look like Jan-Michael Vincent.

It may not be your taste, but a hoppin' rock club complex will get you great tips, while serving mostly beer, Jack and Cokes and frozen mudslides.

Edit: And why is it I haven't heard anyone order a boilermaker since 1988? out of style?

[molly1216]

"i used to like a good long island ice tea but fewer and fewer places make it from scratch and the premixed tastes like crap" - molly

Ain't that the truth.....been that way since the nineties.....

Also where you bartend is crucial to your effectiveness......there are more and more upscale lounges (yes they are calling the trendy bars lounges again) at which my female friends love buying 12 dollar martinis made with cucumber juice and all that stuff that make James Bond look like Jan-Michael Vincent.

It may not be your taste, but a hoppin' rock club complex will get you great tips, while serving mostly beer, Jack and Cokes and frozen mudslides.

Edit: And why is it I haven't heard anyone order a boilermaker since 1988? out of style?

well unless you have a lot of bar hours the hopping rock club isn't going to hire you
so you take what you can get at first.
i am starting at the bottom and see what i get.

and yes i have seen folks order boilermakers but then these are are old alkies holding up the end of the bar.
rusty nails are still in vogue too.

[Dunnyman]

Try my favorite (and it still elicits a call of "Greg? when anyone orders it at any of my old haunts), it's a little classic called a Chocolate Rum
Equal parts:
White Rum
Creme De Menthe
Creme De Cocoa
Half & Half
Blend it with ice, and you have a chocolate mint chip shake that'll knock you on your ass after a dozen or so....

[BrettCullum]

I am simple. I just like two ingredient drinks...
Gin & Tonic
Vodka & Tonic
The general rules are I drink things that won't stain if they spill and look good coming back up just in case things get out of hand.

My new favorite holiday drink is called a POINSETTA around here, but I am sure it is called something else as well...
It is merely Champagne and Cranberry Juice

[mhansen]

I've been all about a Salty Dog recently.
But, here are some more ideas...
http://goop.com/newsletter/63/en/

[molly1216]

i have been stuck in a milk mixer loop lately (ala lebowski)
it started with a Toasted Almond (Kahulua, Amaretto & milk) but when i'd run out one liqueur i tried others.
right now i am working through some butterscotch schapps and Kahulua.

[mhansen]

Save some of that Buttershots to put in your next cup of hot cocoa!

[molly1216]

Save some of that Buttershots to put in your next cup of hot cocoa!

oh my....i know what i am having later today!
next bottle i get will be creme de cacao i have a recipe for an almond joy around here.

btw if ANYONE wants to see the COOLEST webadvert ever
try the website for the new Kraken Rum www.kraken.com

[Steve T Power]

I'm ALL about the Kahulua. Try Kahulua, a bit of Orange Juice, and milk... mm mmm mmm

[molly1216]

I'm ALL about the Kahulua. Try Kahulua, a bit of Orange Juice, and milk... mm mmm mmm

i was reading this recipe for Kahulua sounds easy enough.

[Dan Mancini]

When I was in a clubbing band, I used to baffle bartenders by ordering Rob Roys. It's amazing how many of them had no clue how to make one -- especially since it's basically just a Manhattan with Scotch instead of bourbon.

[molly1216]

When I was in a clubbing band, I used to baffle bartenders by ordering Rob Roys. It's amazing how many of them had no clue how to make one -- especially since it's basically just a Manhattan with Scotch instead of bourbon.

one of the things i have noticed is that MOST bartenders don't get vintage cocktail orders
they concern themselves with drink of the weeks and overly sweet crap

and when someone does order a classic drink they just say..the ingredients.

[tucco]

Are Dr. Peppers still popular? I remember a girlfriend who loved them in the eighties....
She might have said it's the same thing as a boilermaker but I'm not sure....

Tasted just like Dr.Pepper though.

[Steve T Power]

Are Dr. Peppers still popular? I remember a girlfriend who loved them in the eighties....
She might have said it's the same thing as a boilermaker but I'm not sure....

Tasted just like Dr.Pepper though.

What is this drink! I must know!

I love Dr. Pepper.

[mhansen]

What is this drink! I must know!

I love Dr. Pepper.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaming_Doctor_Pepper

[SmokestackJones]

i just got my bartenders card

Congrats girl!

(they don't teach you much in bartending school..basically they teach you just enough not to embarrass yourself behind a bar.)

That means more time "experimenting." Mua hah hah!

anyone have a favorite cocktail? a home bar? whatchagot?

Well, I started out my drinking career with sloe gin fizzes and quickly graduated to rum and Coke (I prefer Meyer's Dark but if you slip 151 in there watch me fly). Nowadays it's mostly malt liquor (Seagram's Ice pr Mike's Hard Lemonade are the preferred poison) but I do appreciate a good Margarita.

-SJ

[Steve T Power]

What is this drink! I must know!

I love Dr. Pepper.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaming_Doctor_Pepper

meep!

[molly1216]

What is this drink! I must know!

I love Dr. Pepper.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaming_Doctor_Pepper

meep!

now that sounds interesting.

btw my bottle of Kraken Rum is in at my local purveyor
he was most impressed with my order...i think he just wanted to order some for himself.

[chris_mcclinch]

Gin and tonic for me. Bombay Sapphire, Hendricks, or (if you can find it) Leopold's Small Batch gin.

[molly1216]

Gin and tonic for me. Bombay Sapphire, Hendricks, or (if you can find it) Leopold's Small Batch gin.

i have always used Sapphire
but i am working through this bottle of Plymouth which has been reputed to be the smoothest gin
i am very fond of things with a lot of fresh lime and simple syrup
gimlets these days.

there are a lot of yummy cocktail blogs out there..
and if you can find it a new magazine/website called Mutineer which covers a wide range of beverages
is worth reading.