I had a friend tell me the other day that there is quite a bit of snobbery surrounding the cocktail world.
I, for one, was blown away!
Not really, I’m guilty of going through a phase of cocktail snobbery myself and I’m guessing it’s the norm. First of all, before I go any further it should be noted that my friend is a prospecting sommelier (wine expert). You could destroy entire forests writing about the snobbery in the wine world so trust me, I wasn’t offended, but it did bring up a good point. Like being a sommelier, a bartender has to have an ability to explain the product behind the bar and make suggestions. One of the side effects of being an “expert” in these fields is that the amount of product knowledge is overwhelming to the average guest. I know sommeliers and bartenders whose knowledge is disgustingly vast but the social aspect of relating that knowledge into a short, informative suggestion is horrible and sometimes even embarrassing. A good bartender will always have a way of walking the guest (quickly) through some drink suggestions, and preferably pushing them in a direction that pleases everybody.
I’ve heard bartenders tell guests that their drink order is a tasteless waste of money (Grey Goose Vodka, chilled, up). While I agree to a point, it is also the most unprofessional and rude statement to come out of a bartenders mouth. It puts the guest on the defensive and they are likely to (at the very least) talk bad about you after getting their drink and worst of all, most likely will never return. Here’s the bigger point; being a cocktail snob turns people away and hurts this exciting movement we are all a part of.
This happens to me on a daily basis, almost.
“Hey man, I’ll take a Lemon Drop please.” says the guest.
The cocktail snob in me is thinking “This guy sucks! What a d-bag! Our cocktail menu is world-class, not one wine is from America and you have 60 Tequilas and 7 Mezcals staring you in the face…”
What I really say, “I’ll make you a great Lemon Drop, how’s Hanger One sound?”
“Fine…. Sounds good” says the guest.
Then you go and make the best damn lemon drop you can possibly make and win these guys over to either come back again and again or in the best case, get to the point you can work some “cocktail dork magic” on them and make them think twice about habitually ordering the lemon drop.
As in any field that you have a passion for, you want things to be perfect and right. The bar environment is so many things to so many people but feeling like your stupid when you order a drink should not be part of that experience.
Cheers, let the countdown begins to December 5th….
By: Mark Sexauer
Filed under: Articles
I like this.
However, some guests might feel like bartenders don’t want to talk. I would love to go up to bartenders and ask to be schooled on new drinks and whatnot, but at the same time, I wouldn’t want to take the first step.
I assume. Have you ever gone out of your way to suggest something new and got turned down by a customer? I’d love to hear a fail story and a success story. I know you said “How’s Hangar One sound?”
But that isn’t necessarily an open invitation for the customer to say “Oh, what’s that? Is that good?”
And as a customer who doesn’t know anything outside of lemon drops and buttery nipples, how would a bartender want to be approached for education / advice / opinions. =)
Good points.
I think as far as a fail story the closest is a guest snapping back to “Just make the drink…” or something along those lines. The success stories are too numerous to count because lots of people these days are open to learn about liquor. If the bartender is busy or you are at a bar without a cocktail menu (a dive) then you are probably not going to get good feedback. My advice, barhop until you find that one bartender that satisfies, he or she is in your city somewhere, I promise…
There are issues; for instance, if I hear ‘how about [absolut, ketel one, grey goose]‘ I presume I’m getting an upsell on the price, not necessarily the quality. Same with most drinks in a chain restaurant, etc. At the downscale places where the bartenders talk, the best you can do is a bottled beer – at least it should be fresh. How do you avoid the implication of the up-sell while moving a truly premium drink?
Also, most bartenders I’ve dealt with at upscale places don’t have any time to talk, let alone recommend or finesse. I need to know what I want and be very specific – and quick. As a result, I order the same basic drinks, ones I know they can’t mess up too badly.
I was hanging with a group of bartenders from SF the other night and their response to this sort of thing was “We make Lemon Drops here, but they’re $20. How about I make you something off the cocktail list that you’re sure to love, especially if you like lemon drops?”
Love it.
Funny that I JUST wrote about this…
There seems to be a certain cultural aspect to being what us mortals would simply call “mixologists” (which I take to mean someone who has studied the actual interaction of ingredients in a cocktail rather than simply knowing how to assemble them.) It (can) come across as aloof, indifferent (perhaps rightly since most people “just want a cosmo” or “a Grey Goose martini no vermouth.” Sommeliers have a simliar challenge in steak houses where everyone orders fish, but they insist on a bottle of Silver Oak Cab.)
I’ve found the more “loose” the bartender is, the more likely I am to return. I’ve also found that asking them about ingredients, methods, techniques gets a better response than how the (FILL IN SPORTS TEAM HERE) are doing.
Same goes for the self-important “speakeasies” where you need to make reservations a lifetime in advance, drink what they serve you, and leave when you’re told. (Okay, I made some of that up.)
Again, like a good sommelier or bartender at a wine bar, if you TEACH people a bit about what they’re already drinking, and perhaps extend their tastes into a new realm, they will be much more appreciative than they would about a simple buzz.
My 2 cents.
Daniel
FoodandWhining.com
Any vocation requiring socializing, especially the SERVICE industry, needs coherent, engaging, and frankly, not pretentious way of communicating services offered. I believe the medical profession has a name for this: bed-side-manner.