I'm an adult. What sort of cocktail should I drink?

MD2020

You don't drink cocktails with your boss.

Pick one of the three and go learn about it. Doing all three at once is too much to remember. Wine and cocktail enthusiasts are are sometimes (unfairly) maligned as a little more snobby than beer enthusiasts, at least in the midwest.

At dinner with the boss? I'd probably order water...

You don't have a preference, so there's no reason not to order what your boss orders. If you like it, you'll have a bond.

When not with the boss, drink something that tastes good to you and doesn't give you a headache or a sugar crash.

Bloodies are good, healthy drinks for times when you're not trying to impress anyone.

Oh come on, be nice. Remember what your mommy told you- if you don't have anything nice to say, keep your trap shut.

Order an Old Fashioned.

It sounds good ordering it and it isn't a bad drink.

Mixologism wrote:

As a younger person I drank to get drunk and did not care whether it was beer, shots or some novelty mixed drink. Now that I'm older and drink socially I'd like to know what I should be drinking. Wine? Craft beer? Cocktails?

What would you order of you were at dinner with your boss?

I wouldn't worry about what you should be drinking, or trying to impress anyone. Unless your boss is a bartender I think it's pretty rare to run into anyone who knows/cares enough about their booze to have any broad knowledge beyond their specific drink of choice (e.g. a wine person or a bourbon guy). It's always nice to expand your horizons though!

My cocktail of choice is usually a Last Word (if a decently stocked bar) or Negroni (trendy but a classic drink for a reason). I like a Vieux Carre if I'm looking for a whiskey drink, or a Widow's Kiss sometimes. If a really well stocked place I'll try anything with Cynar in it, with a Bitter Giuseppe being one of my all time favorites and lower in alcohol.

If at a bar that doesn't really do cocktails (you can usually tell as the bottles behind the bar are all vodka, schnapps or tequila) then I'd just get a beer or a G&T (ideally requesting at least a mid-shelf gin such as Tanquerey or Bombay, as they'll likely use seltzer water instead of tonic).

You should really focus on what you should not be ordering. As much as it pains me to admit, we have certain, unfair gender expectations in our society and that is even apparent in our drink of choice. Women can drink anything they want, but guys are judged if they do not conform. It sucks.

If you're a guy, don't order anything like a Sea breeze - really, I'd shy away from mix drinks that aren't whiskey & coke or rum & coke altogether. Also, nothing with the word Spritzer in it, Moscato, Zinfandel, and any beer that costs less than $1 per bottle when purchased as a 12-pack. There are others I'm sure, but if you start there you should be pretty good.

Find out what type of drink absolutely repulses you. Drink this.

I was at some nice bar in DC for a small bachelor party.

I ordered some drink off of their drink menu and it turned out that it was blue.

The guys made fun of it but ordered me another so they could keep laughing at me drinking my blue drinks. I played along and laughed with them (and got drunk off of them).

So don't order anything with curacao or melon liqueur.

Don't order a cosmopolitan or appletini.

No pina colada or strawberry daiquiri.

No flavored or frozen margaritas.

Bourbon and ginger is pretty safe.

Memphian wrote:

Zinfandel

No need to avoid Zin. I only know a little about wine, but I picture a robust red wine when I hear Zinfandel.

As an aside, even though white zinfandel is probably garbage, there is nothing wimpy about a nice refreshing dry rosé when ordered on a patio on a warm evening in late spring.

But yeah, if the boss is taking you out for a steak dinner, a good strong Zin would be just the ticket.

Don't order anything that sounds questionable when you say the name, like Sex On The Beach or Slippery NIpple. Don't order anything frozen or blended or that has a color that's in the rainbow. Any shade of brown or clear is good; and to be absolutely safe you can always go with a simple gin and tonic, bourbon and ginger (my favorite), or scotch and water, but call the liquor. Don't get the well brand. I'd avoid drinks off the menu for the reason that you may get something crazy and weird. Be safe and conservative. And to be ultra safe, stop at one drink.

Besides bourbon and ginger I also like a Makers Mark Old Fashioned with muddled fruit.

German beer or local microbrewery beer....most of the rest is Fake Beer! JUNK!

Bring Back the 880 wrote:

Memphian wrote:

Zinfandel

No need to avoid Zin. I only know a little about wine, but I picture a robust red wine when I hear Zinfandel.

As an aside, even though white zinfandel is probably garbage, there is nothing wimpy about a nice refreshing dry rosé when ordered on a patio on a warm evening in late spring.

But yeah, if the boss is taking you out for a steak dinner, a good strong Zin would be just the ticket.

I second the choice of a robust red Zin. Look for one from Amador County in CA. They have some excellent old vine Zins. If you're looking for a stand alone glass of wine pre-dinner I really like Reisling. It's a trifle sweet but delicious by itself. It doesn't have enough body to stand up to strong tasting food; don't have it with a meal. You can always tell your boss that you are starting to explore red Zins and you like what you've tasted so far. Ask him if he has a favorite.

Shot of Jack, straight up.

Balvenie and water or Glenlivet and water; basically, any single malt scotch.

Other than the negroni 90% of bartenders are going to have no clue what you are talking about.

If you really don't know, you can't go wrong with a gin and tonic or bourban and ginger.

The old fashioned isn't a bad suggestion but a surprising number of bartenders screw them up.

As others have said, zinfandel is far from a sissy wine.

I started with a Manhattan, I only ordered this the first time because of the simpsons episode where Bart is a bartender for the mob. 10 years later It was the only cocktail name I knew of at the time (besides a midori sour and I knew better to not order that). Another 10 years later I still drink them when I am in the mood for a cocktail because I do actually like them and appreciate the higher quality liquor.

A fvcking Riesling? Are you a grandmother? "A trifle sweet?" Do you say that about Jolt as well? Damn, remember Jolt? That was some crazy sh-t.

"Double the sugar! Double the caffeine!"

And NEVER try to talk wine with someone unless you know wtf you're talking about. Otherwise, you might end up sounding like "love vino" or the guy who implied that Zinfindel was girly.

Here's the deal:

OP, do a little research and pick a drink. Make it a drink that has fewer than 3 ingredients, preferably nothing sweet. Make it a drink that uses vodka, gin, bourbon or scotch. Know your brand and order it. No thinking during the order. It is okay to see a wine list or a beer list prior to placing an order. Never, and I mean fvcking NEVER, ask to see a cocktail list at a bar. If it's a "mixologist" place, it's okay to look at the list after you've ordered your drink, but know wtf you're ordering.