For just pennies a day you could save a bartender from a horrible life of boredom. Everyday in bars, just like the ones in your backyard, bartenders are forced to make vodka sodas - one after another - with little or no break for creativity. Long gone are the days where people ordered Rusty Nails, Harvey Wallbangers and other cocktails with personality. Where the thin layer of frost, amassed on the body of the cocktail shaker, indicated the flavorful, mouth-watering elixir was ready to drink. We have become a culture of ____ and tonic.
It’s time for a change.
It’s likely the problem is originating on both sides. ____ and tonics are easy for the bartenders to make, taking little or no time to prepare, which means more drinks and more tips. There is no motivation (other than personal pride in the profession) to push multi-ingredient, several-step concoctions. This is tragic because the level of creativity and skill in the profession is greater today than it has ever been. And we the patrons get stuck in our ruts. It’s easier for us to order the same thing night after night than to try something new. You know it’s bad when your friends can order your drink without having to ask you what you want. But that’s all the more reason to branch out and try something new. Here are the cocktails to mix things up but won’t take you too far from comfort.
Vodka and tonic drinker, try:
Moscow Mule – vodka, lime juice, ginger-ale
Salty Dog – vodka, grapefruit juice, ginger-ale, sparkling lemonade
Kir Lethale – vodka, crème de cassis, champagne
Gin and tonic drinker, try:
Gimlet – gin, lime juice
Horse’s Neck – gin, lemon, gin, ginger-ale
White Lady – gin, Cointreau, lemon juice
Gin Smash – gin, sugar, fresh mint
Whiskey and soda drinker, try:
Manhattan – rye whiskey, dry and sweet vermouth
Mint Julep – bourbon, sugar, mint leaves
Blizzard – bourbon, cranberry juice
Highland Morning – scotch, Cointreau, grapefruit juice
With your pledge and support we can help re-spark their creativity, provide guidance and give them the chance…(pregnant pause)…to be bartenders again. Please act now.
