Some bartenders scare me.

[Lucius]

Just depends where you go. I get annoyed when I order a manhattan and the bartender asks me if I want it on the rocks. Better than just serving it that way, I guess, but still...

[BlackBard]

An earlier poster noted that many/most customers are not knowledgeable about how to make a cocktail properly, so it is understandable that the bartender might often ask the customer how he or she wants the drink prepared. This might not reflect ignorance on the part of the bartender, but a desire to give the customer what he or she wants.

Still, it is disconcerting to be asked if you want your martini "up" or "over" as I was in a bar in San Francisco many years ago. I would like to think that the professionals know how to do their job and will do it well. But, all we have to do is read the threads about dreadful barber shaves to realize that "professional" does not always mean "proficient."

[Go West Young Man]

Someone should make laminated instructions that you can hand to the bartender as you walk in.

[Tekka]

You have some legitimate complaints, but I have to point something out. A Martini is made with Gin and Vermouth, not Vodka.

[Jawaburger]

I have enjoyed martinis in the past, but it seems to me that they are a great way for a bar to charge double for a shot of booze.

[BlackBard]

I have enjoyed martinis in the past, but it seems to me that they are a great way for a bar to charge double for a shot of booze.

Well, let's see now. The bartender (mixologist?) has to measure the proper portions of gin and vermouth into a mixing glass which he/she had to fill with ice. After stirring for the appropriate amount of time, this mixture is strained into a chilled cocktail glass, olives are added and the finished product is served to the customer. YMMV, however.

[xraygun]

We had a party at the ranch last year and had to hire some outside help. The bartender was so clueless she made me a martini with sweet vermouth.
At least that guy asked.

[COHunter]

You have some legitimate complaints, but I have to point something out. A Martini is made with Gin and Vermouth, not Vodka.

+1 The martini has been totally hijacked. I think the only definition anymore is the glass it's served in.. Shame.

[chris.hale]

Come to Britain and you'll be lucky to find a bar man that knows how to make anything more complicated than a G&T! We are not a cocktail nation.

Gareth

I used to work in a pub where anything with more than two ingredients was frowned upon, and if the customer was male ice counted as an ingredient. Try ordering a cocktail without adding "for the wife" and you might as well have been wearing a dress. The beer was good though.

[du52]

One time at a brew pub a bartender was sampling a keg they just tapped and sneezed it all over some people I was with. This bartender scared me.

[Vickers]

Vodka?

[Legion]

I used to work in a pub where anything with more than two ingredients was frowned upon, and if the customer was male ice counted as an ingredient. Try ordering a cocktail without adding "for the wife" and you might as well have been wearing a dress. The beer was good though.

Haha. Sounds like Australia.

[fccexpert]

Nobody scares me, but many annoy.

[GarageBoy]

Pick a random cocktail geek-centric bar in NYC and I assure you, you will have a good time. Never experienced tab padding, drinks that were off spec, etc.
OTOH, I've never actually seen a Martini served in a Martini glass (cocktails coups are king)

[nannahill]

Luckily I was in a Queensland country bar, so 99% of people ordered beer or Bundy and coke.

Fixed.

[ironfisted]

A good bartender should be able to make a Screaming Viking.
I prefer my cucumber bruised slightly.

Don't you mean a Laughing Swede?

[conroygc]

I had to stop going to bars in Utah, they don't have the ingredients for any of the drinks I order. Seriously, why would a high end bar not have Campari, St Germain, even vermouth some places? Usually just order the local flavor of whiskey (high west distillery) when I do go out.

[CptBlueBear]

Not really germane to the OP as it was in a suburban pub where you can have no reasonable expectation that the bar staff can do more than pour an acceptable beer, and on a week night so even that is a crap shoot. A mate decided he wanted a cocktail rather than a beer but we were collectively at a loss to come up with anything that he didn't deem "girlie". Finally someone says "get a martini" so he asks the girl serving to make one. She has no clue, but fortunately Tom Lehrer came to the rescue:

Hearts full of youth
Hearts full of truth
Six parts gin
To one part vermouth

I had to steer her to the dry vermouth and the good gin, but with a little coaching we had two reasonably priced martinis in front of us. They were completely awful, but at least I got the enjoyment of watching the cause of all this drink two ounces of near neat gin before falling gracelessly off a bar stool.

You have some legitimate complaints, but I have to point something out. A Martini is made with Gin and Vermouth, not Vodka.

Indeed! I don't hold with the vodkatini nonsense. It'll all end in tears, I tell you.

[the_edski]

Apparently, you can order a Manhattan "up", where it is served without ice in a martini glass. Saw it once. Perhaps the bartenders at your places have some experience with that?

Just depends where you go. I get annoyed when I order a manhattan and the bartender asks me if I want it on the rocks. Better than just serving it that way, I guess, but still...

[Penguinetti]

Honestly, I would prefer my bartender know what it is I am asking for, but it doesn't really bother me if they need to ask me what's in it. It's like my dad used to say, "If you don't know what's in it, then you shouldn't be ordering it."



On a completely unrelated note, can someone tell me what 'YMMV' means? I'm not all that knowledgeable in internet slang.

EDIT: Nevermind. I just found the abbreviations page. I'll check there. Thank you, though.