Creative Bartending.....

There are times when people come into the bar, (not just where I work, but any bar) and order a drink that we’ve never heard of. For instance they may have been on vacation in another state….had a drink they liked….remembered the name…and thought they could get it anywhere. Bartenders are always coming up with new drinks. I made one up for the singer, (we always try and match the color of her drink to the color of her dress, stupid, but fun) she was wearing blue one night, so I mixed up a concoction that had Blue Curacao, so we jokingly called it an “Ink Martini.” If you try an order this somewhere else, no one on earth is going to know what you’re talking about!

Someone ordered a “Flirtini” last night. I only know of one other place that serves a Flirtini, and I couldn’t remember the recipe for it. I remembered what color it was, and that it was fruity tasting, and that’s about it. So I made it up. All was good, she enjoyed it.

So this morning I googled Flirtini. Every site I checked had a different recipe. So it didn’t really make any difference that I made it up, since there seems to be no standard recipe. If you look at this from a logical point of view, every restaurant has a different recipe for spaghetti sauce, or anything else on the menu, so it shouldn’t matter if the drink recipes vary a little, as long as you enjoy it.

I never could remember the recipe for a Mai Tai or a Planters Punch, or a Rum Runner, and again, if you look them up, you will get many variations, so for a few decades now, I’ve just been making them up.

If you can tell me what’s in a particular drink, and you don’t have to give me quantities, I can make it. If you give me a flavor you want, like cherry or apple or chocolate, I can make you a drink, and it’ll taste really good. Bartending is not an exact science, the only thing you have to do, is mix up something the customer will enjoy.