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Much like many of you, I enjoy drinking the occasional adult beverage. From beer to wine to liquor, there’s almost no drink I won’t gleefully partake in (Except fireball. Fuck Fireball). To be honest, my opinion of which drinks I enjoy is mainly linked to habit and price. I like Coors Light, I’ve been drinking it for over a decade, and it’s always cheap. That’s my fallback. My bottom bitch, if you will. However, when I was working behind the bar, it fascinated me what people would order, and it still does. According to Reddit, here are some of the most “underrated drinks more people should try,” with my thoughts on them.
Palomas. Tequila, grapefruit juice, soda, and lime juice.
This is just a fancy tequila sprite, but I fuck with it. It sounds refreshing, and I’m always a fan of the shit show tequila creates. It’s easy to make and easy to drink. A+
Whiskey Smash. In a cocktail shaker, muddle a couple lemon wedges in simple syrup. Add a few mint leaves and an ounce and a half to two ounces of whiskey. Shake and strain over fresh ice. It’s a super refreshing summer drink.
This is a Mint Julep with a cooler name, and I’m all in on that. The only thing lacking from a Mint Julep is that the name conjures up images of an elderly plantation owner relaxing on a wraparound porch instead of a blackout degenerate desperately screaming at a tiny TV of a horserace in the middle of the afternoon. This drink amends that.
Sazerac (it’s a classic cocktail) – start a lowball glass with an absinthe rinse, and in a separate cocktail mixing glass stir rye whiskey, Peychaud bitters and a dash of simple syrup on ice. Strain back into the absinthe rinse glass and garnish with an orange peel. Go listen to some smooth jazz and sip!
Fuck you. You’re going to make me use two glasses and peel an orange for a drink that you’re ordering solely because the name makes you sound classy and mysterious. I could make this drink without the absinthe and 90% of the people who order it wouldn’t be able to tell.
Vodka soda. I’m serious. Decent vodka, very very cold ice, very very sparkling water, a wedge of lime, done.
I don’t know if this counts as underrated because it’s the most popular cocktail in America, but sure, this is a drink. Is it a good drink? Not really. Is it easy to make? Yes, although if you ask me for “very, very cold ice,” I’m going to laugh at you. It’s cheap, low-carb, and will get you drunk. The adult’s Bud Light, if you will.
Home bartender here. In the winter, nothing beats a hot buttered rum: Hot water (tea making temp), 6ish oz, Shot of dark rum, Pat of butter, Fresh grated nutmeg (fresh is a must), Cinnamon, Dash of allspice. Quick stir to melt the butter, Enjoy
I…don’t know how I feel about this as a drink. I’m not a big fan of hot drinks unless I’m literally standing outside in the snow, so this seems like a stretch. If I ordered this at a bar I would be sweating through my shirt before I was halfway done.
As a bartender, there’s no way I’m making this drink. If you think I’m stepping foot in the kitchen and asking our psychopathic chef if I can borrow his fucking spice rack while he heats up a single pat of butter for me just so some asshole can drink a cup of warm natural laxative, you’re out of your mind. If you want tea, order tea from your server and stay away from my bar.
Shots of Malört
Ah, a fellow connoisseur of the finer things in life. My infatuation with this vile liquor is well documented in my writing. I love drinking it, I love ordering it for others, and I loved serving it. The bar I worked at offered a $5 PBR tallboy and shot of Malort deal on Friday nights, and it was my favorite thing to serve. One time some asshole told me to “surprise him,” and then left the bar after drinking this fine Chicago liqueur.
Horse Jizz. 50% Milk. 50% Beer
Love the name, hate the drink. I love beer. I love milk. I don’t ever want to mix the two of them. The only beer I can think of that would possible work in this is New Holland’s Dragon’s Milk, and even then it sounds like you’re just begging to throw up. Hard pass. I would gladly serve this to someone, however. Love a good science experiment.
Gin and ginger ale. god damn delicious.
Fun fact, I ordered this for my girlfriend last weekend when she asked me to get her a Ginger Ale for her stomach because she was struggling through a hangover at the bar. It did not fool her for a second, and I was forced to drink a very heavily poured Gin & Ginger. Pretty tasty.
I give everyone a “Snickers” shot when they ask for a surprise (or offer to buy me a shot bc its my fave).
10ml Kahlua, 10ml Frangelico, 10ml Baileys with salt shaken over the top make it taste much like a Snickers bar and is great for those who don’t do well with the taste and burn of alcohol
This is not an alcoholic drink. This is chocolate milk and has no purpose being served at the bar. The bar is for grownups. If you’d like a candy bar in a cup, order from a server and have them put it in a sippy cup for your high chair.
Mojito – what’s underrated is making it the right way. Crushed ice, Cuban rum, properly muddled mint (not broken up, just pressed). It’s remarkably refreshing and light.
Delicious, refreshing, and airy. The perfect drink to request at a beach cabana. Oh what’s that? I didn’t work in a beach cabana? I worked in a sports bar in Wicker Park, in a Midwest city in a landlocked state? You’re asking me to muddle you some fucking mints while it’s 38 degrees outside? Fuck you. One change I forgot to add to my list is that anyone ordering a Mojito farther than 15 miles from the coast should be unceremoniously kicked out of the bar. Don’t be that person..
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Nick Arcadia
The opposite of a life coach. Email or DM me if you want some bad advice: nickarcadiapgp@gmail.com
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I have a personal rule for mint juleps, mojitos, basically anything that requires effort to make: only if it’s featured on the cocktail menu. If it’s not, or if there is no cocktail menu, and you order one of these, you’re a douche.
Anything that requires a muddle
Yep! Mojitos are my favorite, but I will only order then if A) I’m at a resort, or B) they’re on the menu. Any other situation when your out an about makes you a bitch. That’s why I have a mint plant growing in my backyard.
Sidewalk Slammer: Any flavor Four Loko poured into a 40oz malt liquor or beer(preferably Bud Ice). Can replace loko with twisted tea.
Most certainly cannot replace loko with twisted tea. This is a sidewalk slammer, not a curb sitter.
While not as black out inducing the Brass Monkey is similar. Malt liquor (drank down to the label) filled back up with OJ.
I guess I meant to say that you can replace it with twisted tea but then it isn’t a slammer, just a drink that gets you a solid buzz
*must first drink half of the 40
You left out the part where you slam the 40 on the sidewalk when you’re done.
Doesn’t work quite as well with plastic 40s though.
“Shatterproof”
Incorrect, you slam your head into the ground and wake up covered in puke the next day.
LOL @ horse jizz
I bartended for a while in grad school and beyond. The #1 caveat to all these drinks (and my biggest pet peeve) – Read. The. Room. I had a guy order a Sazerac while I was working at a neighborhood pub and I laughed in his face. Shockingly, he was also wearing a fedora.
I discovered palomas for the first time this summer. SO GOOD. Kind of margarita-esque without all the shitty sour mix. Do recommend.
Sub in mezcal for tequila if you want to balance out the sweetness
Mexican Mule – 2 part tequila, 1 part lime juice, top glass with ginger beer & touch of agave syrup. Enjoy
Kentucky mule – same but with bourbon and no agave. Tasty af.
Add slices jalapeños when you shake it and thank me later
Mormon mule- use ginger ale instead of ginger beer due to the liquor laws on mixing alcohols.
Ginger beer is non-alcoholic though…
So my buddy and I have a running bet. We get to mix any three ingredients into a shot and if you can’t get it down in one go you pay the other’s tab for the night. So far neither of us have ever actually won (we’re degens) but horse jizz and 151 oughta get me a victory.
Too hungover to read this
Gin and soda with lime has been my go-to this summer. Also can’t beat a quality Old-Fashioned.
I get weird looks when I order a gin and ginger, until said person tries it and joins the bandwagon.
Gin and ginger should definitely fall in the don’t-knock-it-til-you-try-it category. Sick of the unnecessary hate.
Came here to say this.
Still stand behind the stance boulvardier is the best high end drink on the planet. Too stiff to chug, mellows out as the ice melts, and bang for your buck since every ingredient besides orange peel has booze in it. And you get to sound like a smug French asshole when ordering it. (Pro-tip, request it on ice with a dash of orange bitters)