How to Know if You're in The Right Bar

[MK]

I am fortunate to be able to travel the world and experience some the greatest cities on the planet. Therefore I do have a list of amazing restaurants, hotels and of course bars. I love revisiting fabulous epicenters of mixology where wizards conjure up cocktails on a high level but often I find myself in uncharted (by me) territory and have to recon the area for an appropriate watering hole. I used to make an assessment based on ordering a drink and see how it rates. In more recent times I have developed a sure fire test that will reveal in a matter of seconds if I'm in the right place without wasting time and money.

1) First I make visual inspection. Which bourbons, scotch and rye do they have. If they have rye at all , it is a good sign.

2) Then I ask the bartender which sweet vermouth are they using. If I get the deer-stuck-is-the-headlights look and they ask what is sweet vermouth or they're not sure where it is, then escape immediately before something terrible happens. If they walk over and pull out a bottle Cinzano, I say thank you and walk away. Gallo is poor too but I rarely see it. The least acceptable answer is Martini and Rossi. Dolin shows effort. Noilly Prat is good. If they extract a bottle of Carpano Antica Formula from the refrigerator, you've struck gold. Have a seat and prepare for a proper drink.

The amazing thing is that Rossi is just one dollar more than Cinzano! For a mere buck more it would vastly improve their drinks. It's a shame a bar will invest is decent stock of scotch and bourbon and mix it with bargain basement vermouth. That's like buying a Ferrari and putting cheap little tires from Walmart on it. A lot of it depends on their clientele. If their customer doesn't know quality then the bar is just offering the lowest common denominator.

Although they're are fabulous hotel bartenders at The Savoy in London or at The Roosevelt in Hollywood, I find the majority to be sub par. They receive very little training if any. Rum and coke, margaritas and bloody mary is about the extent of their ability.

Sweet vermouth doesn't make a bartender great but it will separate the mixologist from the mechanics.

Enjoy!

 

[Nathan Flowers]

I was at Canlis in Seattle back in January and had a Manhattan made with Cocchi Vermouth. It was superb, as was the Sidecar I had later.

 

[Guttersnipe]

2) Then I ask the bartender which sweet vermouth are they using. If I get the deer-stuck-is-the-headlights look and they ask what is sweet vermouth or they're not sure where it is, then escape immediately before something terrible happens. If they walk over and pull out a bottle Cinzano, I say thank you and walk away. Gallo is poor too but I rarely see it. The least acceptable answer is Martini and Rossi. Dolin shows effort. Noilly Prat is good. If they extract a bottle of Carpano Antica Formula from the refrigerator, you've struck gold. Have a seat and prepare for a proper drink.

I definitely agree that checking out the vermouth a bar uses as its basic mixer can tell you a lot about the overall quality of the joint. I would amend the vermouth check list to include Punt e Mes, which happens to be my personal favorite. The same company that produces makes Carpano Antica Formula also makes Punt e Mes, which is sometimes regarded Carpano's "little brother."

 

[Matt Crunk]

If there is pre-programmed electronic disco emanating from a DJ booth and a lot of very tall girls who look a little too much like men, you are either in the wrong bar, or the right one, depending on what you're looking for.

 

[Tomasso]

a bar will invest is decent stock of scotch and bourbon and mix it with bargain basement vermouth.

You see this more times than not in even the top notch watering holes and it's both puzzling and irritating to me. I have chastised the proprietors of dozens of bars for this misstep and gone so far as to bring my own Noilly Prat (the minimum that should be used for a Manhattan) to certain places that didn't get the message.

 

[kiwilrdg]

If the bartender puts ice in a single malt I am really in the wrong place.

I have also been in a bar that is a tribute to an owl. The waitress would not tell me which beers they had. She insisted that they had all types of beers. After my 5th attempt to order various beers and being met with confused looks I finally decided a Coke was better than any of the beers they were likely to have.

Vermouth is an indication that a bar is really good. Serving the drinks properly is an indication whether the bar is at at all tolerable. Even if there is nothing good to drink the staff should be able to steer you to some type of substitute.

 

[MK]

I definitely agree that checking out the vermouth a bar uses as its basic mixer can tell you a lot about the overall quality of the joint. I would amend the vermouth check list to include Punt e Mes, which happens to be my personal favorite. The same company that produces makes Carpano Antica Formula also makes Punt e Mes, which is sometimes regarded Carpano's "little brother."

Punt e Mes is almost a horse of a different color since it is categorically a sweet vermouth... but I find it a bit tart. Having said that, it is an ingredient in two of my favorite cocktails:Tequila Bijou and Red Hook.

 

[hatguy1]

Its whiskey offerings are more than just Jameson Irish Whiskey and Jack Daniels American whiskey. More premium brands of both categories and I know I've found a home.

 

[hatguy1]

If the bartender puts ice in a single malt I am really in the wrong place.

That was the hardest thing for me to get used to in Ireland was they almost always tried to serve me Irish whiskey on the rocks. Had to specifically (and sometimes emphatically) state that I wanted it NO Ice.

 

[1961MJS]

...
Vermouth is an indication that a bar is really good. Serving the drinks properly is an indication whether the bar is at at all tolerable. Even if there is nothing good to drink the staff should be able to steer you to some type of substitute.

This part really doesn't help me out. In the course of trying Martini's and Manhattans, I determined that I really don't like either Dry or Sweet Vermouth (of Vodka). I tried both sweet and dry Martini and Rossi, so I didn't go all out cheap.

I like single malts, ryes, and most bourbon. I like a nice dark beer and IPA's. My only downfall in the high class list is that I DO always smell the box to see if the wine is fresh.

Later

 

[Touchofevil]

How to Know You're in the Right Bar:

The bartender(s) (dishwasher as well) know me by my first and last name as well as my alias and already have my drink poured and dinner ordered.

 

[jamespowers]

How to Know You're in the Right Bar:

The bartender(s) (dishwasher as well) know me by my first and last name as well as my alias and already have my drink poured and dinner ordered.

Oooh Nice!
[video=youtube_share;-Fulz4ytZ54]http://youtu.be/-Fulz4ytZ54[/video]

 

[Touchofevil]

Oooh Nice!
[video=youtube_share;-Fulz4ytZ54]http://youtu.be/-Fulz4ytZ54[/video]

And my name is not Norm.

iPad=no idea what youtube video equals

 

[kiwilrdg]

The times that I know that I am in the right bar is when a piper asks if I will play a set with him and he hands me his flask before I start the first roll-off.

 

[Touchofevil]

The times that I know that I am in the right bar is when a piper asks if I will play a set with him and he hands me his flask before I start the first roll-off.

Definitely sounds like the beginnings of a good time.

 

[Gregg Axley]

How to Know You're in the Right Bar:

The bartender(s) (dishwasher as well) know me by my first and last name as well as my alias and already have my drink poured and dinner ordered.

Lucy and coffee?

This isn't a bar, but my wife and I used to frequent a Perkins restaurant 10yrs ago. We went so much, that certain waitresses would just bring our drinks out and shortly after our food without us saying a word.

 

[Touchofevil]

Lucy and coffee?

This isn't a bar, but my wife and I used to frequent a Perkins restaurant 10yrs ago. We went so much, that certain waitresses would just bring our drinks out and shortly after our food without us saying a word.

Nope, but close, Dos Equis!
My Lady and I have the very same thing happen to us at quite a few restaurants. I don't know if its because we are so memorable or predictable.

 

[jamespowers]

Nope, but close, Dos Equis!
My Lady and I have the very same thing happen to us at quite a few restaurants. I don't know if its because we are so memorable or predictable.

Stay thirsty my friend.

 

[jamespowers]

And my name is not Norm.

iPad=no idea what youtube video equals

Que I Love This Bar.

 

[Touchofevil]

Que I Love This Bar.

That works for me. I have seen him in concert once upon a time. Had a student who said he worked for him and that he was a nice guy; the kind I would have gotten along with. Might have, who knows?