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  7 0 Not a full answer, but here's a collection of related bits of info in no particular order: * Don't worry about sounding like an idiot. Just be polite and respectful; bartenders prefer polite and clueless over rude know-it-all any day. If it's a busy night, make your mind up before you get to the front of the line so you don't keep the bartender (and other customers) waiting. If you get a last minute bout of indecisiveness, just go for a simple standby like a rum-and-coke. * Tipping: if it's a simple drink that's just some alcohol and a mixer (eg. rum and coke), $1 per drink is usually fine, just as you'd do with beer. If it's more complex, and involves shaking, straining, muddling or whatever else, consider tipping more. ($2 for a $9 cocktail is reasonable, given that the bartender could have served up two $4 beers with a $1 tip each otherwise in that time.) * Practice this phrase and use if often: "...and a glass of water, please." Pretty much any bar will happily pour you a glass of water with your drink for free - whereas you'd have to pay $3 or so for a bottle of water if bought separately. Stay reasonably well hydrated to avoid the worst of hangovers. * Most bars will essentially have the same set of basic spirits to play with - usually some selection of well-known brands of vodka/rum/gin/whiskey/tequila; and then various other liquors in all flavors of the rainbow. Two given bars may not have exactly the same set of name brand whiskeys, for example, but they'll still have at least a couple to choose from. * The possible exception to this is some bars that focus on a specific type of spirit; eg. some bars may have an extensive selection of whiskeys/scotch or tequilas; asking for a "whiskey" there might be a bit like going to a Starbucks and asking for "coffee". But chances are if you're in one of these bars, you'll know it - they'll list their selection in a menu or on a chalkboard - and have something specific in mind (and will pay a premium for it too!). And these places typically have a full selection of the other spirits too. * Be sure to use the phrases "oh, what did you get? Can I try a bit?" when hanging out with friends. This is the best way to try new things without committing to a full serving of something you might not like. This is probably how many people discover their favorite drink. * At a basic approximation, drinks break down into a few common categories; the simplest two are single pours of just one type of spirit (eg. getting a scotch on the rocks - I think this is done usually just for whiskey-family and tequilas); and getting a simple single spirit plus mixer (gin and tonic, rum and coke, whiskey and ginger ale, vodka and orange juice - the last one being often called a screwdriver). You can pretty much order any of these in any bar. The other category is mixed drinks or cocktails, that have more complicated preparation and usually involve one or two base spirits and other ingredients. * There's a set of well-known cocktails that you can get just about anywhere regardless of whether they are on the menu or not. These include eg. martinis manhattan, margarita, cosmopolitan, lemon drop, appletini and so on. Google for "classic cocktails" or similar to see various lists of these on the web. Named drinks on a menu are often house speciality drinks specific to a particular bar/restaurant. Sometimes, though, these are just variations on well-known cocktails. * Shots - I'm not going to mention them other than to say that they generally don't have the same name as other mixed drinks. * Terminology - sooner or later you'll come across "Well drinks" vs "call drinks": Basic idea here is that in most places if you just ask for say "rum and coke", without specifying a brand name for the rum, you'll get a basic cheap generic rum, usually one that's in a bottle in an easy-to-reach (for the bartender) area behind the counter, alongside the tools and ice - called the "well". On the other hand, you can ask for a specific brand - say "bacardi and coke" or "captain morgan and coke" - and you'll get that specific brand; this is called a "call". Generally, a call is more expensive than a well, and may (or may not) be of better quality. While some bars do have cheap wells (with brand names you'd never hear of but only see on the lower shelf at the liquor stores), some others just use decent well-known mid-shelf brands, and it's all the same price; it can vary by bar. Calling is done usually with spirit+mixer drinks - like the examples above - but also for some cocktails, notably martinis/manhattans: eg. you might order a "Tanquery martini" to be sure you got one with that brand of gin rather than whatever they are using in the well. * Another terminology thing: some drinks you can get "up" or "on the rocks"/"in a rocks glass"; depending on the place and the drink you order, you could get asked which you want. "up" just means in a martini-style glass; "rocks" means a short tumbler (usually with ice). * Another terminology thing that's good to know: 'Martini' can mean different things to different people. Originally it meant a drink that was mostly gin with a touch of vermouth. Then it came to mean a vodka-based drink to a large group of people. And it can also mean "any mixed drink served in one of those martini glasses with the angled sides". Depending on where you are and who your with, you may need to be specific about what you are looking for. Or if you're getting a drink for someone, and they ask you for a 'martini', be sure to ask them what type. Musely answered in Alcohol 6 months ago | Report 2 comments by Luckier and capicola… 0 0 This is such an excellent answer. I would only add that if you want to sound like you know what you're doing, order that glass of water as a 'water back'. And have a standard drink in mind for those places that don't have a drinks menu. So, faced with no drinks menu, you might ask 'may I have a rye manhattan with a water back?' Luckier commented 6 months ago | Report 1 0 Great answer, Musely. Here's a great article on the history of the martini, including how "ultra dry" martinis became a badge of masculinity in the Brat Pack era, and how those nasty bathtub gin drinks (plus James Bond) led to the abomination that is today called the "apple/chocolate/vodka martini." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/02/03/ST2009020302812.html capicola commented 6 months ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  3 1 Another quick tip: If it is embarrassing to say the name of a drink then don't order it. Better yet: If you imagine that it would be embarrassing for your mom to say the name of a drink then don't order it. You may be comfortable ordering a "blow job" or a "Slow Slippery Screw Up Against A Wall" but most decent people are not. Take a page from their book. Ordering these drinks gets you put in the "asshole" category by the bartender. pairustwo answered in Alcohol 6 months ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  2 0 Most bars will have the ingredients to make a variation of most drinks. If you're ordering something weird ( like the drinks with silly names) know what goes in it and how it's prepared. But if you're ordering classic cocktails you can get them anywhere. I'd suggest trying things and figuring out what you like. If you figure out what brands of alcohol you like you can specify that. If you find a signature cocktail you love at a bar take note of the ingredients and try similar things at other bars. The perportions change but you'll at least have a starting point. And if you ask for something complicated at a busy bar ( things with muddling and what not) tip your bartender well sublevelthree answered in Alcohol 6 months ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  1 0 I like to drink beer, if I'm at a place I haven't been to before I'll just ask for a type of beer instead of a specific brand. This way I don't have to make the server rattle off a laundry list of beers and I'd forget half the list while trying to decide anyway. If you drank a mixed drink at your biddy's house and he called it something silly and you don't want to repeat it you can ask the bartender to make you a 'spirit' + 'mixer' + 'liquor' and they'd be like "Oh yeah sure I can make you a 'thing'." and then you'll learn the common name that wont make you red in the face to say in public. I worked in a place where the colorful clientele would order a "pink pussy" which was grapefruit juice + vodka, any other place that'd be called a "greyhound" internet_jen answered in Alcohol 6 months ago | Report 1 comment by internet_jen… 0 0 *"buddy's house", not "biddy's house", sorry about that. internet_jen commented 6 months ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  1 0 You can always ask the bartender "what's your favorite drink to make?" or something to that effect if you're at a bar on a quieter, slower-paced night (I'd skip the chitchat if there's music blaring and the bartender is running around, making 5 drinks at once). Any kind of alcohol can be a shot. But, people commonly stick to shots of whisky, tequila, jagermeister.. Shots can get fancy, as in more than one ingredient in them (recommended: Raspberry Stoli Kamakaze). But, you can literally point to a bottle and say "I'd like a shot of that" and I only recommend you make sure it has a proof of 80 or better. 80 proof means it's 40% alcohol. 60 proof would mean that 2/3 of your tiny little shot is not even alcohol because 60 proof is 30% alcohol. So, what's the point. Now, cocktails are actually pretty simple a lot of the time. They can get complicated, yeah, but when I tended bar I made a lot of drinks that had one kind of alcohol and then one or 2 mixers (a mixer is something non-alcoholic that one mixes with alcohol; i.e. soda or juice). My favorite was once gin and tonic. Then I began to enjoy just gin on the rocks (ice). Then I gave up drinking! haha. Don't worry about sounding like an idiot. Even if others look comfortable, the bartender hears people reveal themselves to be in the dark about things all the time, and it's OK not to know everything about booze! I advise you to look at a drink recipe book, not so much for the recipes but for the other info it provides: safety, tipping, and a basic vocabulary. Also, trendy drinks come and go. There's usually a drink of the summer that changes every year, like fashion. The mojito has been popular the past few summers I guess, just saying. It's a wonderfully refreshing drink that is rum-based and tastes like mint and lime. Below is a little list to begin with and you can narrow down your tastes with this, and possibly find your favorite drink, or find the direction of your fave drink. Some drinks are ordered by name ("Long Island Iced Tea" "Margarita" "Kahlua Sombrero" -you can Google these), but many are just asked for by ingredients ("Rum and Cranberry" -yuck btw). Just keep your composure. Fake confidence is everything when getting swilly. *[Classic] Martini: gin and a drop of dry vermouth *Vodka Martini: made w/ vodka *Vodka and Cran *Vodka Tonic *Vodka and Soda: the drunk's choice because carbonated drinks go to your head faster. Soda is club soda. Vodka comes unflavored as standard but you can see what they have for flavors. If you end up liking vodka, there's a huge difference in quality. Paying an extra buck is worth it for top shelf stuff. *Madras: Vodka, Cranberry and OJ *Rum and Coke (they'll ask whether you want spiced rum. I say yes. Sailor Jerry's or Captain Morgan's. If you don't want spiced rum you'll maybe get Bacardi) *Jack and Coke *Jack and Ginger *Tequila Sunrise: tequila, OJ, and a little cherry syrup ...Geez, there are many more... If you like a fancy concoction at one bar, yeah, they can probably do it at another bar but you might have to sort of know & tell the bartender the ingredients for a closer approximation. Have fun! Tip well! mizmojo answered in Alcohol 6 months ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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