Bar Etiquette NO NOs #6: Challenging the Bartender

How NOT to Order Drinks in a Bar

Here’s the sixth in our Bar Etiquette NO NOs video series – this one’s called Challenging the Bartender

Bar Etiquette NO NOs #6 – Challenging the Bartender | How NOT to Order at a Bar

So you ask the bartender for a drink, ok? And maybe you just graduated from bartending school…maybe you’re on your iphone, you know, and you’ve got that bartending app that shows you all those fancy drinks that you can make.

Maybe you’re sitting at that bar, and you’re like “ohhh… this one, this one, this one…”. Right?  And then you go to the bartender: “Yeah, I’ll have a… Orangutan Down Under”. Sorry?  “An Orangutan Down Under. You don’t know how to make that?” No, no… I’ve actually… I’ve never heard of that. “Whoa… look at this guy, look at this guy the bartender. He’s the bartender, and I know how to make it.”

Ok, smart guy with the iPhone.  Ok. I’ve never heard of that drink. I’ve been bartending for 20 years. Really?  What do you want? Don’t be stupid with the drinks. If you want to play around with your iPhone, and you want to go through the bartending manual and the cocktail drink recipe book, then go to a pub.

Go to a pub when it’s not busy, and talk to the bartender, and just start making drinks. Get the bartender to make drinks, and they’ll be happy to do it there, because they’re bored. But at a nightclub, on a Friday, Saturday night, to impress your friends? Don’t do that.

Watch Bar Etiquette Video #5 – What’s Good

Watch Bar Etiquette Video #7 – Do You Know Who I Am?

the Barman

Reese Richards aka "the Barman" is a 20+ year veteran of the bar industry and founder of BarsandBartending.com. His goal is to bring the joy of bartending to as many people around the world as possible by producing high quality content in the form of articles, interviews, infographics, recipes, videos and training courses.