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Bartenders are revealing the drinks they secretly hate making the most
Does your favourite drink make it onto this dreaded list? While you might think they might all be something time-intensive, some pretty surprising choices make this rundown, as bartenders are revealing the drinks they secretly hate making.
It’s been a rough year for hospitality venues all over the world, with forced closures and social distancing measures putting a squeeze on the profit margins of bars, pubs and restaurants. With that being said, it’s a great time to give your bartender a generous tip as hospitality slowly reopens and we all get back to enjoying our favourite food and drink spots.
That goes double if you’re ordering a drink that they secretly hate making… Here are some of the most popular choices from a popular Reddit thread on the subject.
1. Know your audience
“I work at a dive bar and it drives me bonkers when someone comes in and asks for a fancy martini. We’re CLEARLY not that kind of joint. I have one cosmo glass (not even a martini glass) and I probably have to wash it because it’s dusty af, then try to cobble together whatever you asked for with my limited ingredients when you won’t be happy with the end result anyway because it “doesn’t taste like the one you got at the speakeasy down the road.”” – u/lyrynn
2. The age old problem
“I’m a bartender in Ireland and people ordering Guinness can be really annoying. Some want the head (the foam on top of beer) on it large. Other want it micro thin. Some people want it topped immediately, some want you to wait, and few demand you wait up to five minutes. Older drinkers demand the old standard glass while new drinkers like the new ones with the harp design.” u/ILikeUkulele
3. Patience is a virtue
“I worked in a bar for about a year when I was 19, and the only drink that was specifically an indicator of a pain the arse customer was a turbo shandy. Aside from that it was more how they’d order the drink as opposed to what they’d order, the two greatest examples being, 1) ordering a Guinness at the end of a round. And 2) when the bars busy and they are constantly trying to get served faster by shouting for your attention”miss, miss, miss, barmaid, miss,” etc, the when you finally get to them and ask what they want they say “hold on” and then call over to there mates at the table to find out what to order.” u/rhiavolting92
4. The Pain in the *ss
“There’s a drink that’s literally called the Pain in the Ass. It’s half frozen Pina Colada and half frozen Rum Runner. Making that drink requires you to make two different frozen drinks, at half recipe portions, and then pouring both into the glass simultaneously.” u/delete_this_post
5. The inevitable…
“Mojitos. I will never in all my days forgive the person who ordered twenty mojitos ten minutes before the end of a really busy night. My wrist aches just thinking about it.” u/TriceraTipTops
6. Layers within layers
“Layered drinks are hell to make. It’s a catch-22. If you mess it up, the customer complains. If you make it right, you can make one for everyone else, because of course everyone wants one too.
The one I hated most was a three-layered shot where you lit it on fire at the end. I’m terrible with lighters, so that took forever.” u/Loves_Poetry
7. The cross-contamination conundrum
“I used to work in a well-known UK bar chain that specialises in flavoured shots (I’m sure you can guess what it is), and we did peanut butter martinis. I hated making them with a passion, purely because we had to wash the equipment (strainer, jigger, Boston tin) separately to avoid allergic reactions etc.
Used to constantly tell the customer we had no peanut butter hoping they wouldn’t notice the massive jar of it behind us.
Now they use peanut-less peanut butter.” u/Mane95thMin
8. The ‘surprise me’ guy
“Surprise me”
“Your BEST drink (and I’d better love it)” u/ajeansco0
9. When you know you’re in for a long night
“A double vodka and Red Bull. This is not a drink that is hard to make, but it is designed to get you shitfaced. So when it’s the first drink someone orders I know I’m in for a rough night with them.” u/MunkeyFish
10. The critic
“Martinis. Everyone wants them this ever so slightly diffrent way. It’s ruined if it’s not perfect. Judge every glass on a 1 to 10 scale and tell you.” u/Thatswhatsoandsosaid
Does your favourite drink make the list? Would you add anything else into Room 101 for bartending? Let us know.
We previously revealed the stereotypes that your bartender gives you based on your drinks order. You can read the full story yourself here.