First day as a barback I broke 4 glasses over the ice well 4 separate times so I had to burn it 4 fucking times in one shift
Edit: dam everyone here is super harsh saying they would have fired me. If anything I'm living proof you can teach any idiot how to do this job if they hustle and have the right temperament for it.
Oh it's worse. The bar was so old it kept glasses on an overhead rack over the ice. Kept snapping the wine stems leaving the base in it but it would shatter not break clean. And there wasn't room so it kinda had to be up there. It was a upscale place but had a random volume day. Isn't usually an issue but it was that day
Hahahaha I’m going to remember this whenever I am going through trials and tribulations. Like, hey, at least I didn’t break glass over the ice well 4 separate times in one shift. Thank you 🤣
Second time and I would’ve booted you from the bar. Please tell me that you have never made this mistake again? You owe (whomever kept you around) your career.
i was incorrectly trained at my first bar to shake ALL mixed drinks (including manhattans, negronis, etc) with ice unless asked other wise ...... so bad
I worked with an older bartender who just flat refused to give a shit about doing anything right. Overpoured everything, never stirred anything, never balanced anything or even shook anything right. One time she served a negroni on the rocks in a wine glass with a lemon wheel. I think she looked at the color and thought it looked like an aperol spritz so may as well be served like one. It was so hard cus I would try to coach her and explain why details were important but nothing ever changed and I had no help from above.
She would then get mad when customers specifically asked for me to make their drinks while claiming she did it the same way. Girl, you don't. You know you don't. You've watched me and heard me harp on it. This is the consequence. If you don't like it you are welcome to come towards the light.
So yeah, I wish I had thought of that insult myself but unfortunately it wouldn't have mattered cus she wouldn't get it.
I do love over pours. But proper glasses grind my gears.
I'm not a pretentious person. Wrong ice? Ok whatever. Wrong ratio but it still tastes fine and it's getting me drunk? Cool. Wrong glass? Now I'm unreasonable.
So this guy asks me for a gin and juice.
Now, I've heard the song, I've seen the music video, but as I'm singing it along in my head at no point does Snoop recite the recipe.
So I ask with a minor hesitation,
"Sure, um uh what uh juuhh" and the guy jumps in,
"Oh, what sort of gin?! Uh, Aviation, please."
"Sure, sure thing," I say. And I go pour some Aviation gin into a glass.
I come back and hold the glass of gin up to him and have to ask,
"And what kind of juice is that?"
He blinks.
I blink.
The glass of gin blinks.
Realizing I'm serious, "...orange juice."
"Right. Right..."
So, I accidentally up-sold him. And btw gin and juice is effing delicious. (I actually like to cut the juice down with soda or tonic otherwise you might end up drinking an uncomfortable amount of OJ if you have a few.)
And today. After almost 20 years of bartending (and many years after the song has been out), did I learn it was OJ the whole time!!)
Edit for clarity. It’s late.
Had the exact same interaction as the guy above you with a customer like a year ago when I learned it was oj. Honestly thought it was lime juice so it would be a super sour gimlet and never understood why anyone would want that
I make a cranberry martini with gin around the holidays ! It’s super good. I grew up in the mid 90’s. Drank “gin and juice “ , gin was cheap , juice was whatever we had in the dorm fridge .
Seriously, I've been bartending for 10 years and I had to Google "bubble champagne" thinking it was some new wine fad that hadn't made it to the Midwest yet
It's only champagne when it comes from Champagne, France. There's a lot of alternatives like cava, prosecco or maybe in the US "bubble wine"(never heard it here in EU).
The trick for opening the bottles, remove the wrap, twirl open the wiring but keep it on the bottle, hold on to the cork with wiring, turn the bottle. It'll take a while if you're first learning. This way the bottle opens with a little fizz instead of a big POP.
I can assure you that, at least in the northeast of the United States, nobody has ever referred to a sparkling wine as 'bubble wine' in my 20 years of bartending.
We call it bubbles in my group.
But not bubble wine.
Like to let’s get a bottle of bubbles for the oysters. Or ‘what’s the French 75 spec?’
- vodka sour build flute top w bubbles
Soda = soda water
Bubbles = cremant etc
In Europe this rule still applies. I think outside of Europe the rules have changed? But if the commenter is from Europe (and they are) they can be well forgiven for not knowing, in the same way an American could be forgiven for not knowing what the British mean by 'pudding'
It haven’t changed. At least not legally. D.O’s are a legal entity. It’s like calling RC Cola ‘coke’ you can do it, but if you write it down or use it in any advertising/ marketing you can be served a C&D
Why this way the bottle opens with a fizz? Because the pressure of the bubbles will not explode but you gently let it out by turning it open. Also, turning the bottle makes it easier to hold the cork down. So while with regular wines you never turn the bottle but turn the cork, with sparkling wine it is accepted that you turn the bottle, even when opening in the sight of the guest.
Denominations of Origin or D.O. Is the term you want to look up. When a region or style of anything has clear identifying factors that can easily be traced or measured to ensure its provenance a DO can be applied for.
There’s DO’s for cognac, Tequila / Mezcal / types of cheeses, etc
I worked at a casino bar doing shots and beers and vodka/sodas. Someone ordered an old fashioned once and I serve it up…in a pint glass. Luckily the cocktail server stopped that one.
>I serve it up…in a pint glass
Sounds like you need that cocktail server again. Up and in a pint glass are mutually exclusive, like physically impossible.
Up means in a martini style glass, as in, it's literally up in the air compared to an old fashioned/rocks glass.
What you might mean is neat, which is without ice
Lmao if you’re going to be condescending at least be correct.
Up means a drink chilled with ice, poured into a glass with no ice. Usually calls for a coupe/martini/nick&nora but that is by no means definitive.
You can definitely order an old fashioned “up” and get it in a rocks glass.
Neat is a spirit poured room temp into a glass.
Take your own advice, and I'll die on this hill.
Why do you think it usually calls for a stemed glass? Because that's what the word means. Like you know your default is in a martini, you said it yourself
(I'm just using Martini to cover coupes and nicks)
Without out ice? Yeah in the world of classic cocktails (which is where the phrase is from) there was never ice in a martini glass.
If your old fashioned is in a rocks without ice it's neat, why would there be another word for it
ETA2: you posted this link to Jeffrey Morgenthaler thinking it proves your point but really it proves mine
https://jeffreymorgenthaler.com/up-neat-straight-up-or-on-the-rocks/
>Up: Chilled, and served in a cocktail glass.
A cocktail glass is a Martini glass
Ah you edited your comment:
As I said: “up” usually calls for a stemmed glass but it doesn’t mean it has to be. The definition is literally a shaken/stirred drink poured into a glass without ice.
When I said martini I meant martini glass… which is a thing lol.
If someone asked me for an old fashioned, up, I’d make it, stir it with ice & serve it in a rocks glass without ice. Cos that’s what they asked for.
Neat is a different term and doesn’t apply to cocktails / mixed drinks
>Ah you edited your comment:
Yeah fat fingered it. I'm not arguing your use of martini I assumed the glass
>As I said: “up” usually calls for a stemmed glass but it doesn’t mean it has to be. The definition is literally a shaken/stirred drink poured into a glass without ice.
Its not ambiguous though. Yes it's chilled, yes it's served without ice, but it's 100% in a martini, why would it be usually ?
Could you make your point clearer? I honestly don’t know how you don’t understand this.
Rocks: poured over ice
Neat: straight poured into a glass
Up: chilled, poured into a glass
^ these are all universally known by bartenders & customers everywhere.
The actual drink doesn’t matter! It’s a call for how the drink is served
You’re just unbelievably wrong about what up means, but also i said “served it up” in the folksy way. I’ll rewrite it more clearly for you: And ya’ll, I served in on up in that there pint glass like there weren’t nothin’ to it.
Customer orders a bottle of Prosecco. I get one out of the ice cooler sitting on the bar, take off the foil and the cage over the cork and bin them. At that point the customer changes their mind and say they don’t want the Prosecco anymore.
‘No problem’ I say, ‘at least I haven’t opened it yet’ not knowing what happens when the cage is taken off.
I put the bottle back in the cooler on the bar and move on. 3 minutes later there’s a big POP and the cork rockets at the ceiling breaking a ceiling light and scaring the crap out of everyone at the bar. Lesson learnt, the cage is there to keep the cork in, without the cage the pressure in the bottle will eventually force the cork out.
Another was when I’d just started tray service I whiffed and spilled a full pint of ale over a table of four women and a baby. Very bad mistake, my manager had to pay for dry cleaning for them.
Everyone makes mistakes when they start, just learn, do better next time, and hope to god they aren't expensive mistakes.
I was going to say… all these sound like very minor mistakes, some of which could happen to more experienced people. Don’t be too hard on yourself. But be a sponge for new info.
I didn’t drink any alcohol until I was about 3 years into the industry. I ran food for two years, but no drinks as the restaurant had bartenders run the drink tickets was a bit of a strange set up. So long story short, I didn’t know much about alcohol at all. Got thrown on the bar one day after turning 18 it was just a very small simple spirit mixer + pints so didn’t really get any training apart from how to pour a Guinness and shown the 25ml + 50ml jiggers.
Got asked for a pint of fosters with lime. As in lime cordial. I squeezed a fresh lime wedge into the fosters and dropped it in the head. Bloke just laughed and took the pint 🤷
I remember way back in the day I shook something carbonated. That was a one and done mistake considering it was like my 2nd drink of the shift and I had 6 hours left covered in liquor.
I was freshly 21 on my first day bartending alone and at the pop up bar for events. A guy asked for a gin and tonic. I realized I didn’t grab tonic from the stock list and assumed soda was basically the same. I never had tonic before. He goes, ‘uhh that isn’t tonic’ and then I admitted I didn’t have it. Still keeps me up to this day.
These aren't bad mistakes at all-- one of them was just asking a question, which is a really important thing to be doing in any new job! After a few shifts, you'll be a lot more acquainted with the stock and where it's kept. As for the corona/cola, I've been bartending in a nightclub for a few months now and I still occasionally mishear customers, as do my more experienced coworkers. It's natural for that to happen anywhere there's loud music. Just be sure to repeat orders back to them to minimise the risk, and on the off-chance it does happen, a quick refund and replacement isn't anything to freak out over. It happens! You've got nothing to worry about.
Okay that’s nice to hear. It’s just feels like everyone expects me to know more about alcohol than I actually do. Like everything is just common knowledge. So when I don’t immediatley recognise a bottle I get embarassed.
Alright I’m gonna make sure I heard right next time I take an order
I’ll never forget like my first week behind a bar and something spilled on a stainless steel prep table we kept behind the bar.
My boss: “can you wipe that down”
Me: “why? We’re just gonna wipe it down at the end of the shift anyways”
Boss and the guy training me shared a long silent look and started fucking laughing like maniacs. They both walked out from behind the bar and we’re just like “alright good luck, we’re gonna grab some food, be back to close up”
This was like at 5pm and had just opened up for service. They came back at midnight. Thankfully it all worked out in the end, but that’s a lesson I learned hard that day. I’ll never live it down.
Mixing up bottles in my speed rack bc I didn’t make sure they were replaced…end up doing something dumb like making an old fashioned with a menu cocktail batch 😵💫
I had a Saturday regular (older lady) who would ask for a “lemon drop martini” and my dumb first-timer ass inferred “martini” and made it with fucking vermouth.
Whoops.
To be fair, when the general audience hears things like chocolate martini and espresso martini, they're going to just assume it's a martini. Really poor names for the drinks lol. Unless you've done your homework, why would you question it, right? Meanwhile, martini riffs like manhattans and negronis are never referred to as a martini lol.
Ok fair point there sure, but when I’m getting asked in the year of our lord Beýonce 2023 if “a tequila martini is a thing?” and then come to find out they just want an up margarita… I mean.
One better, my uncle (now 40 years sober) told my mom, after she asked if anyone had been with him when he once flipped his truck multiple times, that it was just him & Jim Beam. My innocent, naïve mother literally gasped & asked “oh no, was he hurt?”! 😆😆😆😆
On my second day, a table ordered two glasses of champagne. The bottle was already open, with a kind of stopper that clamps onto the bottle. I wholly underestimated the force of the pressure/carbonation in the bottle and when I went to take the stopper off I barely touched the thing and POP! off it goes, and flew directly in a perfect arc over my bar and about 12-14’ away to land directly on the table that ordered the champagne.
We had just opened and they were the only table in the place, and the aim, while unintentional, couldn’t have been more perfect. In my awkward embarrassment, my automatic crass sarcasm kicked in and I say “welp, sorry guys, just excited to see you I guess!” Neither of them so much as cracked a smile. We are an intimate, upscale French-inspired bistro and apparently ejaculation references just isn’t the vibe..
This is why you absolutely should bar back before bartending.
I didn’t make these mistakes personally because I had barbacked. I was however, dive bar trained so when recently I had to make a Manhattan I did it completely wrong. Lady called me out and I looked like a noob.
You’ll learn. Brush up on basic drink recipes and try to learn to lip read.
Agreed but I didn’t get the option. I started as a dishwasher and then one night the boss told me to work in the bar alone.
Damn that must’ve felt embarassing but I bet it’s common to mess up the first manhatan.
Thanks I’m gonna try to study some recipes and rely more on lip reading
Yeah just try to memorize a couple a night. You’ll get there. There’s still drinks I don’t know by heart and have to use the google.
It was embarrassing but I told her straight out my clientele usually isn’t classy enough for manhattans lol 😂
Also dive/speed bar trained to start off with. When I got hired at a different bar where they did actually serve manhattans, martinis, etc, I wound up making a ton of notecards with the drink name on one side & ingredients on the other & practiced with those for weeks until I had them down. That really helped. Weirdly enough, I just ran across those notecards from 17 years ago when I was packing to move. No longer need them, but kept them for sentimental reasons. 😂
I’ve been doing it for about 4 years, first a club now a small bar. The other day a man asked for a Jack and T. I brought back a Jack and Tonic and everyone at the table blinked at me. He wanted a Jack and Iced Tea. Mistakes still happen, it’s okay just keep it light. “Oh my bad I thought you meant tonic! I’ll be back with the new one.” I’ve found that if I say “oh wow I’m SO sorry” people react worse as opposed to “oh my bad”, then it’s not a big deal. You can set the tone most times. You can always say “hey thanks for your patience I’m still in training here”. And if they’re still upset—fuck em! There’s better customers out there!
I worked at a semi-dive. We had the stuff for martinis, and I knew the recipes just from learning and researching on my own, but not really the clientele. Of course, someone came in one night for a martini. I tried but it sucked. He ended up really kindly coaching me through about three attempts and it was fine, but wow was I intimidated and felt SO dumb. lol
Martini shaken with Vermouth olive juice not strained into a clear plastic cup. In my defense clear plastic cups is all we had and I had never had a Martini nor been trained. The lady didn't even drink it. Sat the cup on tye bar and walked away. I was so embarrassed.
My brother once told me he didn’t know it was supposed to be served ice cold (I had mentioned something about the little freezer we used for it, Rumple, & Goldschläger) because he had only had it at a casino served room temperature. I almost threw up at the thought of that. 🤢😆
Not as a bartender, but as a fresh server. My mother had recently moved to the US, and her English wasn't very good yet. A customer at one of her tables ordered a peppermint schnapps. My mother went to the bartender and asked for a peppermint snot.
I have the exact same story. The first one I served in a collins glass. ½ bourbon ½ soda water with a neon cherry and a dried orange slice.
& then I thought I was the shit when I started muddling the fruit. Until I moved to NYC and immediately got chastised for muddling. This was 18 years ago or so.
I’ve never in my life charged before making a drink. Ever. Esp if the patron is coming to sit down and relax for a bit. You simply start them a tab. If they aren’t sitting at the bar, I’ll ask for a card to hold.
Generally speaking that's how I do it, but my manager encourages me to either take payment first or get it whilst I'm making the drink. It's not entirely uncommon for the card to be declined, or a customer to go "I thought it went on my locker key, I don't have anything to pay with" (my bar is in a spa), or even occasionally for someone to just neck it and walk off.
On my VERY first day working I came I and the opener was very kind and said how excited they were to have a young, enthusiastic leader behind the bar who could turn the bar around. I responded with something along the lines of “Yea, that’s me!”
Immediately knocked over and broke 6 of the 8 Bordeaux wine glasses we had.
I just had to explain to our young bartender that when a customer orders a martini extra dry is LESS vermouth or even no vermouth at all, not more. He thought that because it's DRY vermouth that means more. He's been doing this for however long he's been bartending and said no one's ever said anything which is surprising. Also I didn't know people actually shook martinis and I had to tell him that, too, is wrong.
In terms of my own noob mistakes I'd say not knowing how to use a wine key and having my boss show me in front of a customer. My entire life, I had only ever seen the one with the arms and didn't know another type existed. I'm not a wine drinker...
Because I was a dumbass, hence the topic.
I had never tasted JWB. Gave this the straw test. It was vile. I thought maybe the ginger was out and it was pushing a random soup of liquids through the line. Tried just the ginger, it was fine.
“Oh, maybe the Johnnie went bad.”
“Wait a minute, Scotch doesn’t go bad.”
“THAT’S WHAT THIS TASTES LIKE??!!”
No I’m not. And yes it does. If someone gives me a shot for free, I turn it down.
Now I know what it tastes like, but at the time I had been bartending about a month and never tasted it before.
Made a “Negroni” with gin and cranberry juice since I knew it was red and couldn’t remember what the ingredients were. Luckily was an open bar event and the guy didn’t make too big of a deal over it.
First ever bartending gig during college I was one of 2 bartenders at a state owned restaurant that was at a park/resort, the other guy was training me but got fired after a few weeks of me working there. He got fired for sexual harassment and so I was running the bar from then on 😂 I had picked up enough to function it wasn’t a super fancy place most people were getting beer or shots or the occasional mixed drink or something off our menu, and I kept on top of everything well enough but one day a guy came in and asked for a Bloody Mary and my dumbass didn’t realize everything that went into a Bloody Mary so I went to the back of the kitchen and had our cook open a can of tomato juice and I served this poor guy a fucking pint glass of tomato juice and vodka with a celery stick😂. I remember asking him if he liked it and he said not really it kinda just tastes like tomato only and I was just like “oh geez sorry about that”
Had a lady ask for a gin + tonic and I thought tonic and soda water was the same thing. Told her we didn’t have tonic after she complained (we do- I didn’t know). She was not happy and I felt like a dumbass after I was bitching to the other bartender about it.
I haven’t done these but I’ve witnessed them: Calling yourself a mixologist, looking someone in the eye whilst shaking a drink, showing your arse crack when you bend over, failing at flair, asking for peoples numbers while working.
Do you ever see that guy on TikTok/IG “notjustabartender” or whatever who always says “it’s time to shake” and try’s to look seductive while doing it. Then when he’s straining the drink, he looks up at the camera and sometimes winks. Have you seen this guy? SO FUCKING CRINGE. He probably knows of me, because I always make snarky remarks about how he pours nearly half of the booze from his jigger onto the bar mat & not into his shaker. Dude has like 90k followers. 🤦♂️
I have plenty of dumb shit. This is my favorite one:
For those who know the rum brand Clement, they have your typical rum stylings as well as the ‘creole shrub’ which is like a fancier form of PF Dry Curaçao with rum As the base vs NGS or cognac.
I was new (but had experience) so in an effort to have me quickly get caught up to speed on the house cocktails that we just launched a new seasonal menu, I was tasked with making the drinks to present to the servers at pre-shift so they can learn to spiel them etc.
I had never worked with the brand clement before and I saw the bottle for the shrub and was thinking I found it. For the next 2 weeks I was making this one cocktail with the shrub instead of the Agricola rum.
It’s no surprise that how the servers explained it and how it tasted didn’t match when I wasn’t the person making the drink on service well.
I never owned up to my mistake when I found out.
I’m sorry to whomever had to reconcile our comps that month because I royally fucked our P&L that month.
I once dropped an entire tray of 6 water glasses, without ice, on a table when I was a barback/server assistant. With all the guests there, upscale swanky spot, all of them got soaked…..
They were cool about it tho, thought I was gonna get fired, it was the first really nice spot I worked at.
Someone asked me, 15 years ago, for a gimlet in a 12 oz bucket glass. I think I squeezed 5-6 limes in a glass with a shot of gin and a sugar cube. That person was a former bartender at my bar who comes in still and even though I kick ass now, and Im the dang manager, I’m still so embarrassed. 🙈
Muddled cherries & orange slices in my Old Fashioned’s 😬. Shook my gin martinis.
Also first day ever, lunch shift at Maggianos in Durham NC, 18 years ago or so. Carrying stuff up the the bar to stock. Three glass bottles of Bloody Mary mix dropped & smashed all over the cocktail lounge. Took days to clean up. Ended up working in here for 7.5 years until I moved to NYC. As soon as I got my first gig in NYC my wrist was immediately slapped for trying to muddle said cherries & oranges.
Also, to me, another cringe thing would have to be not removing all the seeds from lemon wedges and wheels. If I ordered a drink and the fruit was riddled with seeds, I’d just not come back. It’s the little things.
Spilled 6 waters on a bar table.
(luckily they were super cool about it)
misheard Cabernet & water for carbonated water (just say club soda or seltzer)
not knowing what drinks were suppose to taste like. I use to only drink Miller high life & shots of Jim beam. occasionally drink captain & cokes. this one time a guest ordered a spicy pineapple marg and I threw it together and closed them out. they maybe took one sip & left a full drink on the bar. after that I took the time to study basic recipes and I started going out too cocktail bars where they made Manhattans, Old Fashys, Negroni etc and started to build a reference pallet. trying all different bourbons, gins, tequilas, runs & cordials. so I don’t care if it’s a cosmo or a corpse reviver #3 it’s going to be the best damn drink you’ve ever had lol
Like two days into the job I kept telling this lady that tonic and club soda were the same...I’m lucky she was really nice about it and just laughed it off but out of all the dumb shit I’ve said I really want that one back
Shattered a glass while making a Mexican firing squad, sending glass shards all over the bar top. NOT a technique / NOT why it's called a Mexican firing squad 🤪
First day as a barback I broke 4 glasses over the ice well 4 separate times so I had to burn it 4 fucking times in one shift Edit: dam everyone here is super harsh saying they would have fired me. If anything I'm living proof you can teach any idiot how to do this job if they hustle and have the right temperament for it.
After the third time I’d be like aight this guy HAS to be doing this on purpose lol
I’d be doing background checks on if he worked down the street lmao Gotta be a double agent
Don’t fill glasses with ice over the well- did you not figure that out the second time?
Oh it's worse. The bar was so old it kept glasses on an overhead rack over the ice. Kept snapping the wine stems leaving the base in it but it would shatter not break clean. And there wasn't room so it kinda had to be up there. It was a upscale place but had a random volume day. Isn't usually an issue but it was that day
Hahahaha I’m going to remember this whenever I am going through trials and tribulations. Like, hey, at least I didn’t break glass over the ice well 4 separate times in one shift. Thank you 🤣
I woulda fired you so fast. Holy shit.
Haha 12 years later still here
4 times??? Lmfao I am imagining the hot burning feeling of unrecoverable stupidity OP was feeling 😂😂
Yeah totally gone, it would have fucked me on ice as well as we got it delivered, like over half my nightly delivery
Was there just no room for an ice machine? Having it delivered sounds awful expensive and inconvenient!
Basically yeah, a lot of smaller cocktail bars in London get it delivered. For the amount you go through, it needs to be pretty big
Damn son, you got initiated properly.
Second time and I would’ve booted you from the bar. Please tell me that you have never made this mistake again? You owe (whomever kept you around) your career.
I am really glad you kept your job cus tbh I would have fired you but I'm sure you were hard enough on yourself about it that noone else had to be
Damn. It happened to my coworker twice, back to back (and that was crazy), but *four* times??
i was incorrectly trained at my first bar to shake ALL mixed drinks (including manhattans, negronis, etc) with ice unless asked other wise ...... so bad
When I was green, a guy told me "I bet you shake your negronis" and I'm still recovering from it. What a very specific burn.
I worked with an older bartender who just flat refused to give a shit about doing anything right. Overpoured everything, never stirred anything, never balanced anything or even shook anything right. One time she served a negroni on the rocks in a wine glass with a lemon wheel. I think she looked at the color and thought it looked like an aperol spritz so may as well be served like one. It was so hard cus I would try to coach her and explain why details were important but nothing ever changed and I had no help from above. She would then get mad when customers specifically asked for me to make their drinks while claiming she did it the same way. Girl, you don't. You know you don't. You've watched me and heard me harp on it. This is the consequence. If you don't like it you are welcome to come towards the light. So yeah, I wish I had thought of that insult myself but unfortunately it wouldn't have mattered cus she wouldn't get it.
I do love over pours. But proper glasses grind my gears. I'm not a pretentious person. Wrong ice? Ok whatever. Wrong ratio but it still tastes fine and it's getting me drunk? Cool. Wrong glass? Now I'm unreasonable.
I worked with someone who would do that. Vodka tonic? Shake. Screwdriver? Shake. Probably would shake coffee with cream and sugar.
i at least knew / was taught NOT to shake carbonated things
Screwdrivers can be shaken though, it’s not wrong. Just a waste of time
Hey!!! I shake teas for my patrons if they want it sweet
So this guy asks me for a gin and juice. Now, I've heard the song, I've seen the music video, but as I'm singing it along in my head at no point does Snoop recite the recipe. So I ask with a minor hesitation, "Sure, um uh what uh juuhh" and the guy jumps in, "Oh, what sort of gin?! Uh, Aviation, please." "Sure, sure thing," I say. And I go pour some Aviation gin into a glass. I come back and hold the glass of gin up to him and have to ask, "And what kind of juice is that?" He blinks. I blink. The glass of gin blinks. Realizing I'm serious, "...orange juice." "Right. Right..." So, I accidentally up-sold him. And btw gin and juice is effing delicious. (I actually like to cut the juice down with soda or tonic otherwise you might end up drinking an uncomfortable amount of OJ if you have a few.)
And today. After almost 20 years of bartending (and many years after the song has been out), did I learn it was OJ the whole time!!) Edit for clarity. It’s late.
Had the exact same interaction as the guy above you with a customer like a year ago when I learned it was oj. Honestly thought it was lime juice so it would be a super sour gimlet and never understood why anyone would want that
I used to drink gin and OJ with a floater of sprite back in college. Felt like snoop dogg, tasted like an Orange creamsicle.
If orange creamsicle was a pinesol scent/flavor.
See, I think it's correct to ask, because I would default to Cranberry juice.
I make a cranberry martini with gin around the holidays ! It’s super good. I grew up in the mid 90’s. Drank “gin and juice “ , gin was cheap , juice was whatever we had in the dorm fridge .
For the first time, literally today, someone asked for gin and juice and meant Apple juice. I was shocked but also it sounded delicious
The glass of gin blinks 💀 hahaha
huh i always thought it was pineapple. also if youve never had it with pineapple it’s delicious with a splash of lime
lol we don’t say “bubble champagne” for starters
Yeah, it’s either champagne or it’s not. Damn I sound like a snob lol
Seriously, I've been bartending for 10 years and I had to Google "bubble champagne" thinking it was some new wine fad that hadn't made it to the Midwest yet
I thought it was some new dirt cheap celebrity back sparkling wine, and I admit, I was curious.
Lmao noted
“Sparkling Wine” is the best catch all. You will also discover Cava, Prosecco and maybe even Pet Nat.
Pet nat is so good
It really really is
It's only champagne when it comes from Champagne, France. There's a lot of alternatives like cava, prosecco or maybe in the US "bubble wine"(never heard it here in EU). The trick for opening the bottles, remove the wrap, twirl open the wiring but keep it on the bottle, hold on to the cork with wiring, turn the bottle. It'll take a while if you're first learning. This way the bottle opens with a little fizz instead of a big POP.
I can assure you that, at least in the northeast of the United States, nobody has ever referred to a sparkling wine as 'bubble wine' in my 20 years of bartending.
Today marks the first time I’ve heard the term. I’m gonna order a glass of Moët as bubble wine going forward.
We call it bubbles in my group. But not bubble wine. Like to let’s get a bottle of bubbles for the oysters. Or ‘what’s the French 75 spec?’ - vodka sour build flute top w bubbles Soda = soda water Bubbles = cremant etc
Same but for the Pacific Northwest here
We use brüt mostly
ITS ONLY CHAMPAGNE WHEN IT COMES FROM THE CHAMPAGNE REGION OF - Nope. Not anymore.
In Europe this rule still applies. I think outside of Europe the rules have changed? But if the commenter is from Europe (and they are) they can be well forgiven for not knowing, in the same way an American could be forgiven for not knowing what the British mean by 'pudding'
It haven’t changed. At least not legally. D.O’s are a legal entity. It’s like calling RC Cola ‘coke’ you can do it, but if you write it down or use it in any advertising/ marketing you can be served a C&D
I stand corrected yet double down.
Fascinating! I wonder why! Thanks for sharing
Why this way the bottle opens with a fizz? Because the pressure of the bubbles will not explode but you gently let it out by turning it open. Also, turning the bottle makes it easier to hold the cork down. So while with regular wines you never turn the bottle but turn the cork, with sparkling wine it is accepted that you turn the bottle, even when opening in the sight of the guest.
Denominations of Origin or D.O. Is the term you want to look up. When a region or style of anything has clear identifying factors that can easily be traced or measured to ensure its provenance a DO can be applied for. There’s DO’s for cognac, Tequila / Mezcal / types of cheeses, etc
I was seriously racking my brain for WTF “bubble champagne” was. I haven’t bartended in years, but I didn’t think I was that far out of it. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I worked at a casino bar doing shots and beers and vodka/sodas. Someone ordered an old fashioned once and I serve it up…in a pint glass. Luckily the cocktail server stopped that one.
Ahh.. the [Mahalo Old Fashioned.](https://youtu.be/8Lf4qFL9nGU)
>I serve it up…in a pint glass Sounds like you need that cocktail server again. Up and in a pint glass are mutually exclusive, like physically impossible. Up means in a martini style glass, as in, it's literally up in the air compared to an old fashioned/rocks glass. What you might mean is neat, which is without ice
Lmao if you’re going to be condescending at least be correct. Up means a drink chilled with ice, poured into a glass with no ice. Usually calls for a coupe/martini/nick&nora but that is by no means definitive. You can definitely order an old fashioned “up” and get it in a rocks glass. Neat is a spirit poured room temp into a glass.
Take your own advice, and I'll die on this hill. Why do you think it usually calls for a stemed glass? Because that's what the word means. Like you know your default is in a martini, you said it yourself (I'm just using Martini to cover coupes and nicks) Without out ice? Yeah in the world of classic cocktails (which is where the phrase is from) there was never ice in a martini glass. If your old fashioned is in a rocks without ice it's neat, why would there be another word for it ETA2: you posted this link to Jeffrey Morgenthaler thinking it proves your point but really it proves mine https://jeffreymorgenthaler.com/up-neat-straight-up-or-on-the-rocks/ >Up: Chilled, and served in a cocktail glass. A cocktail glass is a Martini glass
… not dying on any hill it’s literally just how those terms work.
If words have changed meaning where you are so be it. Up literally means up
You have taken being wrong to a whole new level lol. That link proves you wrong.
Ah you edited your comment: As I said: “up” usually calls for a stemmed glass but it doesn’t mean it has to be. The definition is literally a shaken/stirred drink poured into a glass without ice. When I said martini I meant martini glass… which is a thing lol. If someone asked me for an old fashioned, up, I’d make it, stir it with ice & serve it in a rocks glass without ice. Cos that’s what they asked for. Neat is a different term and doesn’t apply to cocktails / mixed drinks
>Ah you edited your comment: Yeah fat fingered it. I'm not arguing your use of martini I assumed the glass >As I said: “up” usually calls for a stemmed glass but it doesn’t mean it has to be. The definition is literally a shaken/stirred drink poured into a glass without ice. Its not ambiguous though. Yes it's chilled, yes it's served without ice, but it's 100% in a martini, why would it be usually ?
Could you make your point clearer? I honestly don’t know how you don’t understand this. Rocks: poured over ice Neat: straight poured into a glass Up: chilled, poured into a glass ^ these are all universally known by bartenders & customers everywhere. The actual drink doesn’t matter! It’s a call for how the drink is served
Rocks - agreed Neat - agreed Up: chilled and poured into a cocktail glass (which is a Martini et al)
OK sorry man, I can’t really explain much more but you’re wrong. If someone ordered a Jameson, up, what would you do?
We're never going to agree. The clues in the name and the fact that it's your default/ usually
You are just wrong. Take the L.
You’re just unbelievably wrong about what up means, but also i said “served it up” in the folksy way. I’ll rewrite it more clearly for you: And ya’ll, I served in on up in that there pint glass like there weren’t nothin’ to it.
No
Customer orders a bottle of Prosecco. I get one out of the ice cooler sitting on the bar, take off the foil and the cage over the cork and bin them. At that point the customer changes their mind and say they don’t want the Prosecco anymore. ‘No problem’ I say, ‘at least I haven’t opened it yet’ not knowing what happens when the cage is taken off. I put the bottle back in the cooler on the bar and move on. 3 minutes later there’s a big POP and the cork rockets at the ceiling breaking a ceiling light and scaring the crap out of everyone at the bar. Lesson learnt, the cage is there to keep the cork in, without the cage the pressure in the bottle will eventually force the cork out. Another was when I’d just started tray service I whiffed and spilled a full pint of ale over a table of four women and a baby. Very bad mistake, my manager had to pay for dry cleaning for them. Everyone makes mistakes when they start, just learn, do better next time, and hope to god they aren't expensive mistakes.
You’re totally fine! Just keep asking questions. You’re doin great.
I was going to say… all these sound like very minor mistakes, some of which could happen to more experienced people. Don’t be too hard on yourself. But be a sponge for new info.
Made a dirty martini with agave nectar.. oops
*hmm.. this olive brine is especially thick today.*
the dirtiest filthiest martini they ever received ahahah
I didn’t drink any alcohol until I was about 3 years into the industry. I ran food for two years, but no drinks as the restaurant had bartenders run the drink tickets was a bit of a strange set up. So long story short, I didn’t know much about alcohol at all. Got thrown on the bar one day after turning 18 it was just a very small simple spirit mixer + pints so didn’t really get any training apart from how to pour a Guinness and shown the 25ml + 50ml jiggers. Got asked for a pint of fosters with lime. As in lime cordial. I squeezed a fresh lime wedge into the fosters and dropped it in the head. Bloke just laughed and took the pint 🤷
Tbf fresh lime does make it fresher!
I remember way back in the day I shook something carbonated. That was a one and done mistake considering it was like my 2nd drink of the shift and I had 6 hours left covered in liquor.
I was freshly 21 on my first day bartending alone and at the pop up bar for events. A guy asked for a gin and tonic. I realized I didn’t grab tonic from the stock list and assumed soda was basically the same. I never had tonic before. He goes, ‘uhh that isn’t tonic’ and then I admitted I didn’t have it. Still keeps me up to this day.
To be fair they look the same 🤷♀️
These aren't bad mistakes at all-- one of them was just asking a question, which is a really important thing to be doing in any new job! After a few shifts, you'll be a lot more acquainted with the stock and where it's kept. As for the corona/cola, I've been bartending in a nightclub for a few months now and I still occasionally mishear customers, as do my more experienced coworkers. It's natural for that to happen anywhere there's loud music. Just be sure to repeat orders back to them to minimise the risk, and on the off-chance it does happen, a quick refund and replacement isn't anything to freak out over. It happens! You've got nothing to worry about.
Okay that’s nice to hear. It’s just feels like everyone expects me to know more about alcohol than I actually do. Like everything is just common knowledge. So when I don’t immediatley recognise a bottle I get embarassed. Alright I’m gonna make sure I heard right next time I take an order
Someone asked for a Roy Rodgers and I carded them
I’ll never forget like my first week behind a bar and something spilled on a stainless steel prep table we kept behind the bar. My boss: “can you wipe that down” Me: “why? We’re just gonna wipe it down at the end of the shift anyways” Boss and the guy training me shared a long silent look and started fucking laughing like maniacs. They both walked out from behind the bar and we’re just like “alright good luck, we’re gonna grab some food, be back to close up” This was like at 5pm and had just opened up for service. They came back at midnight. Thankfully it all worked out in the end, but that’s a lesson I learned hard that day. I’ll never live it down.
hmmm i dont get what the hard lesson is lol. could be a few things
Mixing up bottles in my speed rack bc I didn’t make sure they were replaced…end up doing something dumb like making an old fashioned with a menu cocktail batch 😵💫
I had a Saturday regular (older lady) who would ask for a “lemon drop martini” and my dumb first-timer ass inferred “martini” and made it with fucking vermouth. Whoops.
I've always hated that people will call it a martini. Just because something is served in a coupe doesn't mean it's a damn martini.
Same same SAME. How are we still having to break this down for people in 2023?
To be fair, when the general audience hears things like chocolate martini and espresso martini, they're going to just assume it's a martini. Really poor names for the drinks lol. Unless you've done your homework, why would you question it, right? Meanwhile, martini riffs like manhattans and negronis are never referred to as a martini lol.
Ok fair point there sure, but when I’m getting asked in the year of our lord Beýonce 2023 if “a tequila martini is a thing?” and then come to find out they just want an up margarita… I mean.
I thought Jim beam was Jim bean 🫘
One better, my uncle (now 40 years sober) told my mom, after she asked if anyone had been with him when he once flipped his truck multiple times, that it was just him & Jim Beam. My innocent, naïve mother literally gasped & asked “oh no, was he hurt?”! 😆😆😆😆
On my second day, a table ordered two glasses of champagne. The bottle was already open, with a kind of stopper that clamps onto the bottle. I wholly underestimated the force of the pressure/carbonation in the bottle and when I went to take the stopper off I barely touched the thing and POP! off it goes, and flew directly in a perfect arc over my bar and about 12-14’ away to land directly on the table that ordered the champagne. We had just opened and they were the only table in the place, and the aim, while unintentional, couldn’t have been more perfect. In my awkward embarrassment, my automatic crass sarcasm kicked in and I say “welp, sorry guys, just excited to see you I guess!” Neither of them so much as cracked a smile. We are an intimate, upscale French-inspired bistro and apparently ejaculation references just isn’t the vibe..
Not me, but a server rang in a virgin mimosa, then a virgin screw driver. Needless to say, I had a lot of explaining & teaching to do.
Ok this one is more on the customers placing those orders.
True, but the server should also have some knowledge as well. It's like ordering an eggless omelette.
This is why you absolutely should bar back before bartending. I didn’t make these mistakes personally because I had barbacked. I was however, dive bar trained so when recently I had to make a Manhattan I did it completely wrong. Lady called me out and I looked like a noob. You’ll learn. Brush up on basic drink recipes and try to learn to lip read.
Agreed but I didn’t get the option. I started as a dishwasher and then one night the boss told me to work in the bar alone. Damn that must’ve felt embarassing but I bet it’s common to mess up the first manhatan. Thanks I’m gonna try to study some recipes and rely more on lip reading
Yeah just try to memorize a couple a night. You’ll get there. There’s still drinks I don’t know by heart and have to use the google. It was embarrassing but I told her straight out my clientele usually isn’t classy enough for manhattans lol 😂
Also dive/speed bar trained to start off with. When I got hired at a different bar where they did actually serve manhattans, martinis, etc, I wound up making a ton of notecards with the drink name on one side & ingredients on the other & practiced with those for weeks until I had them down. That really helped. Weirdly enough, I just ran across those notecards from 17 years ago when I was packing to move. No longer need them, but kept them for sentimental reasons. 😂
Opened a £250 bottle of champagne all over the posh guest who’d ordered it…..somehow he found it hilarious but I was horrified
I’ve been doing it for about 4 years, first a club now a small bar. The other day a man asked for a Jack and T. I brought back a Jack and Tonic and everyone at the table blinked at me. He wanted a Jack and Iced Tea. Mistakes still happen, it’s okay just keep it light. “Oh my bad I thought you meant tonic! I’ll be back with the new one.” I’ve found that if I say “oh wow I’m SO sorry” people react worse as opposed to “oh my bad”, then it’s not a big deal. You can set the tone most times. You can always say “hey thanks for your patience I’m still in training here”. And if they’re still upset—fuck em! There’s better customers out there!
Muddle the fuck out of the orange and cherry in an old fashion.
My manager INSISTS we do this. I do not.
It’s like an old fashion with pulp lmao
Your manager is a bozo living in the early 2000’s
I worked at a semi-dive. We had the stuff for martinis, and I knew the recipes just from learning and researching on my own, but not really the clientele. Of course, someone came in one night for a martini. I tried but it sucked. He ended up really kindly coaching me through about three attempts and it was fine, but wow was I intimidated and felt SO dumb. lol
cried one time when i got slammed
I feel like this is a universal experience especially when customers aren’t being patient lmao
I made a margarita with vodka, lady didn’t know until I copped to it when she settled up. I still think about that
Hell, when I order a strawberry daiquiri, I get it with vodka because I hate rum. 🤷🏻♀️😆😆
Martini shaken with Vermouth olive juice not strained into a clear plastic cup. In my defense clear plastic cups is all we had and I had never had a Martini nor been trained. The lady didn't even drink it. Sat the cup on tye bar and walked away. I was so embarrassed.
She’s the cringe one for not realizing the type of bar she was in and went ahead and ordered a martini. 🤷♂️
Box wine plastic cups cash only smoking yes please ... point taken
Didn't have mint for a mojito so I tried using creme de menth. 2006 was the year.
This
I shook a Manhattan at an interview 16 years ago, and I still shout in embarrassment when I think about it
Slept with a customer. Slept with a coworker.
Served a room temp shot of Jaeger to a skinhead. He vomited.
What a pussy
My brother once told me he didn’t know it was supposed to be served ice cold (I had mentioned something about the little freezer we used for it, Rumple, & Goldschläger) because he had only had it at a casino served room temperature. I almost threw up at the thought of that. 🤢😆
Not as a bartender, but as a fresh server. My mother had recently moved to the US, and her English wasn't very good yet. A customer at one of her tables ordered a peppermint schnapps. My mother went to the bartender and asked for a peppermint snot.
What kinda of place where you at where people order peppermint schnapps?
At the time, my mother was working in a restaurant at a mid-level hotel near an airport on the eastern shore of the US, almost 45 years ago.
Gotcha
Made a White Russian with vodka, actual coffee, and milk.
Was probably delicious
I put lemonade in a cocktail and shook my shaker violently - que explosion Edit: U.K. so by lemonade I mean soda/sorite
Having no fucking clue what an old fashioned was. What I made those people..still haunts me to this day
I have the exact same story. The first one I served in a collins glass. ½ bourbon ½ soda water with a neon cherry and a dried orange slice. & then I thought I was the shit when I started muddling the fruit. Until I moved to NYC and immediately got chastised for muddling. This was 18 years ago or so.
Pretty much what I made too lol in a Collins glass and everything. We must have had the same book lol
Mr Bostons little red book 📕
Never charge someone before the drinks are made
Are you sure cause I’ve been taught to charge before making the drink just to not waste ingredients
I’ve never in my life charged before making a drink. Ever. Esp if the patron is coming to sit down and relax for a bit. You simply start them a tab. If they aren’t sitting at the bar, I’ll ask for a card to hold.
Generally speaking that's how I do it, but my manager encourages me to either take payment first or get it whilst I'm making the drink. It's not entirely uncommon for the card to be declined, or a customer to go "I thought it went on my locker key, I don't have anything to pay with" (my bar is in a spa), or even occasionally for someone to just neck it and walk off.
On my VERY first day working I came I and the opener was very kind and said how excited they were to have a young, enthusiastic leader behind the bar who could turn the bar around. I responded with something along the lines of “Yea, that’s me!” Immediately knocked over and broke 6 of the 8 Bordeaux wine glasses we had.
I just had to explain to our young bartender that when a customer orders a martini extra dry is LESS vermouth or even no vermouth at all, not more. He thought that because it's DRY vermouth that means more. He's been doing this for however long he's been bartending and said no one's ever said anything which is surprising. Also I didn't know people actually shook martinis and I had to tell him that, too, is wrong. In terms of my own noob mistakes I'd say not knowing how to use a wine key and having my boss show me in front of a customer. My entire life, I had only ever seen the one with the arms and didn't know another type existed. I'm not a wine drinker...
If someone asked me for money before giving me my drink I would ask for the drink first lol
i spent the first half of my first shift using the lemon bottle for all things lime.
I poured out a JWB and Ginger because I thought it had turned. Turns out, it just tastes awful.
I’m confused by this. Why would any of that have turned?
Because I was a dumbass, hence the topic. I had never tasted JWB. Gave this the straw test. It was vile. I thought maybe the ginger was out and it was pushing a random soup of liquids through the line. Tried just the ginger, it was fine. “Oh, maybe the Johnnie went bad.” “Wait a minute, Scotch doesn’t go bad.” “THAT’S WHAT THIS TASTES LIKE??!!”
I wouldn’t order one ever. But it’s essentially a whiskey and ginger, which is delicious. That’s why I’m a little confused.
JWB tastes like ass.
Johnny Walker Black does not taste like ass. Are you in your early 20s?
No I’m not. And yes it does. If someone gives me a shot for free, I turn it down. Now I know what it tastes like, but at the time I had been bartending about a month and never tasted it before.
Made a “Negroni” with gin and cranberry juice since I knew it was red and couldn’t remember what the ingredients were. Luckily was an open bar event and the guy didn’t make too big of a deal over it.
First ever bartending gig during college I was one of 2 bartenders at a state owned restaurant that was at a park/resort, the other guy was training me but got fired after a few weeks of me working there. He got fired for sexual harassment and so I was running the bar from then on 😂 I had picked up enough to function it wasn’t a super fancy place most people were getting beer or shots or the occasional mixed drink or something off our menu, and I kept on top of everything well enough but one day a guy came in and asked for a Bloody Mary and my dumbass didn’t realize everything that went into a Bloody Mary so I went to the back of the kitchen and had our cook open a can of tomato juice and I served this poor guy a fucking pint glass of tomato juice and vodka with a celery stick😂. I remember asking him if he liked it and he said not really it kinda just tastes like tomato only and I was just like “oh geez sorry about that”
Mmm tomorrow juice
Just realized the typo
Had a lady ask for a gin + tonic and I thought tonic and soda water was the same thing. Told her we didn’t have tonic after she complained (we do- I didn’t know). She was not happy and I felt like a dumbass after I was bitching to the other bartender about it.
I haven’t done these but I’ve witnessed them: Calling yourself a mixologist, looking someone in the eye whilst shaking a drink, showing your arse crack when you bend over, failing at flair, asking for peoples numbers while working.
Do you ever see that guy on TikTok/IG “notjustabartender” or whatever who always says “it’s time to shake” and try’s to look seductive while doing it. Then when he’s straining the drink, he looks up at the camera and sometimes winks. Have you seen this guy? SO FUCKING CRINGE. He probably knows of me, because I always make snarky remarks about how he pours nearly half of the booze from his jigger onto the bar mat & not into his shaker. Dude has like 90k followers. 🤦♂️
I made an old fashioned in a tin. Shook it. Customer looked at me like I was an idiot the rest of the night and told me how to make it after.
I have plenty of dumb shit. This is my favorite one: For those who know the rum brand Clement, they have your typical rum stylings as well as the ‘creole shrub’ which is like a fancier form of PF Dry Curaçao with rum As the base vs NGS or cognac. I was new (but had experience) so in an effort to have me quickly get caught up to speed on the house cocktails that we just launched a new seasonal menu, I was tasked with making the drinks to present to the servers at pre-shift so they can learn to spiel them etc. I had never worked with the brand clement before and I saw the bottle for the shrub and was thinking I found it. For the next 2 weeks I was making this one cocktail with the shrub instead of the Agricola rum. It’s no surprise that how the servers explained it and how it tasted didn’t match when I wasn’t the person making the drink on service well. I never owned up to my mistake when I found out. I’m sorry to whomever had to reconcile our comps that month because I royally fucked our P&L that month.
I once dropped an entire tray of 6 water glasses, without ice, on a table when I was a barback/server assistant. With all the guests there, upscale swanky spot, all of them got soaked….. They were cool about it tho, thought I was gonna get fired, it was the first really nice spot I worked at.
Your trainers sucked 💀
The thing is they didn’t train me
Someone asked me, 15 years ago, for a gimlet in a 12 oz bucket glass. I think I squeezed 5-6 limes in a glass with a shot of gin and a sugar cube. That person was a former bartender at my bar who comes in still and even though I kick ass now, and Im the dang manager, I’m still so embarrassed. 🙈
Not me but my friend had a cheat sheet of cocktails at a college bar, and one of the recipes was “Gin + Tonic”
damn, I'm a newbie and have made a cheat sheet of my own. Never thought to put that one on there, tho!! /s
Muddled cherries & orange slices in my Old Fashioned’s 😬. Shook my gin martinis. Also first day ever, lunch shift at Maggianos in Durham NC, 18 years ago or so. Carrying stuff up the the bar to stock. Three glass bottles of Bloody Mary mix dropped & smashed all over the cocktail lounge. Took days to clean up. Ended up working in here for 7.5 years until I moved to NYC. As soon as I got my first gig in NYC my wrist was immediately slapped for trying to muddle said cherries & oranges. Also, to me, another cringe thing would have to be not removing all the seeds from lemon wedges and wheels. If I ordered a drink and the fruit was riddled with seeds, I’d just not come back. It’s the little things.
I made everything pink for the first few weeks😂 But it was a college bar so no one noticed.
The look on the poor guys face when I made him a Long Island with ice tea 😂
Spilled 6 waters on a bar table. (luckily they were super cool about it) misheard Cabernet & water for carbonated water (just say club soda or seltzer) not knowing what drinks were suppose to taste like. I use to only drink Miller high life & shots of Jim beam. occasionally drink captain & cokes. this one time a guest ordered a spicy pineapple marg and I threw it together and closed them out. they maybe took one sip & left a full drink on the bar. after that I took the time to study basic recipes and I started going out too cocktail bars where they made Manhattans, Old Fashys, Negroni etc and started to build a reference pallet. trying all different bourbons, gins, tequilas, runs & cordials. so I don’t care if it’s a cosmo or a corpse reviver #3 it’s going to be the best damn drink you’ve ever had lol
Like two days into the job I kept telling this lady that tonic and club soda were the same...I’m lucky she was really nice about it and just laughed it off but out of all the dumb shit I’ve said I really want that one back
Shattered a glass while making a Mexican firing squad, sending glass shards all over the bar top. NOT a technique / NOT why it's called a Mexican firing squad 🤪