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It was suggested to me to start a thread about bartending and serving drinks. This could cover a wide range of areas, from buying booze for a single big party, to having a well-stocked bar in your home.

I am willing to offer tips on all the needed implements, mixing techniques, the newest "fad" drinks, whatever anyone who might be interested in wants to know.

Planning a big party? I'll let you know what and how much to buy.

Just built a wet-bar in your basement? I'll help you stock it.

Want to know what that weird purple drink was you saw go by your table while you were out to dinner? I'll try and figure it out.

Don't know the difference between a rocks glass and a pony glass? I'm your gal.

For all our recovering alcoholics, I've got stuff for you, too.

Ask away, let's see if this takes off.....

Do you drink snakebite in the US?

pantsonfire321@aol.com wrote: Do you drink snakebite in the US?
US snakebite:

1 1/2 oz. Yukon Jack (usually chilled)

splash of lime juice



Is that the snakebite you refer to?

BabyRider wrote: US snakebite:

1 1/2 oz. Yukon Jack (usually chilled)

splash of lime juice



Is that the snakebite you refer to?


No here they drink a vile concoction of 1/2 pint of beer 1/2 pint of cider and a golop of blackcurrant ..yuk

What about a Black Russian - Vodka/Coffee flavoured Brandy/ice.

pantsonfire321@aol.com wrote: What about a Black Russian - Vodka/Coffee flavoured Brandy/ice.
Very close, but we use Kalhua, which is not a form of brandy but it is coffee flavored.

Clipper wrote: Hey BR....I recently watched a movie during which the folks were drinking shots of a green liquid.Any ideer what that stuff is?:D
That could have been Apple Pucker, or Midori (a melon flavored liquer). Most likely if they were doing it as a shot, it was Apple Pucker.

Clipper wrote: Thanks sweetie....I'm gonna try some of that!



A fav of the Missus is Frangelica with a snort of heavy cream on top....I think the drink is called "Angeltips" ( a NYPD retired cop in the USVI showed us that one)......geeze but it goes down smooth!!:D
Apple Pucker is very sour, so be warned. It's best on ice, if you're going to drink it straight, but goes really well in a clear pop, like 7-up.

Frangelico is a great apertif, and it should be served (if being drunk straight) in a snifter so your hand can warm it as you sip it. With cream in it though, I bet it is very yummy.

If it's the Midori you're referring to to try, that's another that really doesn't go well alone. A shot in a glass of pineapple juice is wonderful though!

Melon margaritas are very popular at my bar, also.

If you're going to try Midori, do NOT, whatever you do, go with the cheaper version of "Melon liqeuer". They are in separate universes. Midori is the only truly melon tasting melon liquor.

A long time ago I had a beautiful blue drink ~ I think it was called Blue Hawaii.

Do you know whats in that?

What's the difference between a black russian and a white russian?

Whats a mint julep?

*Cheers! Hic **

BabyRider wrote: That could have been Apple Pucker, or Midori (a melon flavored liquer). Most likely if they were doing it as a shot, it was Apple Pucker.


is absenth green as well?

Rapunzel wrote: A long time ago I had a beautiful blue drink ~ I think it was called Blue Hawaii.

Do you know whats in that?



What's the difference between a black russian and a white russian?



Whats a mint julep?



*Cheers! Hic **
A Blue Hawaiian:

Light rum, Pineapple juice, Blue Curacao, Cream of coconut, Pineapple Juice, with a cherry garnish. Usually blended with ice.



A white russian has cream in it, a black russian does not.



A mint Julep used to be made with fresh mint, when bars kept that sort of thing on hand. Now it's usually served as an ice cream drink, with creme de menthe, bourbon, and powdered sugar.

It can be made without ice cream, but using regular cream and of course blended.

A really nice addition to a mint julep with ice cream is some creme de cacao, it tastes like mint chocolate chip ice cream.

minks wrote: is absenth green as well?
Hard to come by here in the states, it looks like chilled Sambuca, very cloudy.

OK - this might be totally unfair but I'd be interested in your opinion

Running a club bar (by the members for the members, no professional or paid help). Opens Friday and Saturday night and Sunday lunch.

Attendance varies from half a dozen to sixty or seventy on a good night.

Many of the members drink spirits and we get used to their tastes but what beers would you keep? A barrel of lager might hang around for a month in a slack period or we could get through three barrels of bitter in a weekend.

A little off topic BR, but just curious, about the "Mission Statement" you were writing up for you waitresses in your bar. Did you ever post it, & I missed it? :-2

Great thread BR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I remember midori was one of the ingredients in a marvellous coctail called I think, a Japanese Slipper!! I thought absinthe was now illegal pretty much everywhere. The wormwood or whatever in the original is a hallucinogene. (But pernod is still available - isn't that similar but without the druggie part??)

Attached files

Bryn Mawr wrote: OK - this might be totally unfair but I'd be interested in your opinion



Running a club bar (by the members for the members, no professional or paid help). Opens Friday and Saturday night and Sunday lunch.



Attendance varies from half a dozen to sixty or seventy on a good night.



Many of the members drink spirits and we get used to their tastes but what beers would you keep? A barrel of lager might hang around for a month in a slack period or we could get through three barrels of bitter in a weekend.
Seems to me that bottled beer would be a better way for you to go as opposed to barrels. Having not one single clue what types of beers are available and popular in London, I'm afraid I may not be much help with this one.

Do the members prefer draught beer? What type is it? Some types of beers keep for long periods better than others.

Geeze, ordering for a place like that has got to be a nightmare!!

ArnoldLayne wrote: Some years ago, while in Africa, I would often have a non-alcaholic drink they called Malawi Shandy. While you maynot know it as that, maybe I can remember some ingrediants , if not all of them



Lemon/Lime Soda water

Ginger Ale

Bitters of some sort. Very refreshing





Then again my memory might have failed me and I've got it all arse about face



I also tried Amarula Cream, made from the Marula fruit (If there are any left after the elephants have scoffed them). It is beautiful.



We also have a nasty green stuff called Creme de Menthe, Ugh!! Although I have participated in drunken games, with this stuff as the "depth charge"



Finally can you recommend the best Tequilla ?
The drinks you are talking about from Africa, I have not heard of. Bitters in a non-alcoholic drink? How odd. I'll do some research on that and see what I can come up with for you, Arnold.

Creme de Menthe is used mainly in Grasshoppers, and drizzled over the whiped cream in an Irish coffee, but that one is more for decoration than taste. Creme de Menthe alone is an abomination. :yh_sick

There are several tequilas that I like to use. The very best being Tres Generacions. (Comes in a dark brown short, squat bottle) The second best, made by the same company, is Hornitos.

A true, hard-core right-from-Mexico tequila can be spotted by the worm at the bottom of the bottle. Not necessarily the best-tasting, but it is potent. And the person to get the last shot from the bottle is supposed to down the worm too. But they won't be drinking much more after that, I guarantee!

AussiePam wrote: Great thread BR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I remember midori was one of the ingredients in a marvellous coctail called I think, a Japanese Slipper!! I thought absinthe was now illegal pretty much everywhere. The wormwood or whatever in the original is a hallucinogene. (But pernod is still available - isn't that similar but without the druggie part??)
While it's hard to compare absinthe to anything, yes, pernod has a similar flavor, and no hallucinations, as long as you moderate! :yh_rotfl

BabyRider wrote: Seems to me that bottled beer would be a better way for you to go as opposed to barrels. Having not one single clue what types of beers are available and popular in London, I'm afraid I may not be much help with this one.

Do the members prefer draught beer? What type is it? Some types of beers keep for long periods better than others.

Geeze, ordering for a place like that has got to be a nightmare!!


It's interesting certainly

We stock draft lager and a nitro-keg bitter (which I avoid like the plague) on the grounds that they'll keep and, as you suggest, bottled ale for those who don't like gas.

Real ale (my poison of preference) will only stay good for 3 or 4 days and even the normal keg gets iffy after a couple of weeks.

Still, it puts about £10,000 a year into club funds and helps the social life go a bundle so it's well worth it.

AussiePam wrote: Great thread BR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I remember midori was one of the ingredients in a marvellous coctail called I think, a Japanese Slipper!! I thought absinthe was now illegal pretty much everywhere. The wormwood or whatever in the original is a hallucinogene. (But pernod is still available - isn't that similar but without the druggie part??)


I brought a couple of bottles of Absinthe back from Prague a couple of years ago - long gone now

There's at least one pub in the East End that claims to sell it.

Bryn Mawr wrote: I brought a couple of bottles of Absinthe back from Prague a couple of years ago - long gone now

There's at least one pub in the East End that claims to sell it.


Pity yours is all gone. I was just about to pack my bags!! I did hear that it is still made in the Netherlands or Belgium. Grin. It's on my list. The Old Absinthe House in New Orleans (don't know if it's still in one piece) no longer carries the brew. I checked.

AussiePam wrote: I did hear that it is still made in the Netherlands or Belgium. Grin. It's on my list. The Old Absinthe House in New Orleans (don't know if it's still in one piece) no longer carries the brew. I checked.
If anyone happens to get their hands on some, I'd pay top dollar for it!! Bullet has never tried it and it's on his "Things to do before I die" list.

You're on BR!!! If I ever manage, I'll bring it over in person - and we can have a little party!!!'

No I can't reinvent myself as sultry. Sorry Sheryl. I think I'll hafta revert to my normal persona!!

mrsK wrote: Off topic BR,

I have just had 3 glasses of Queen Adelaide Cabernet Merlot.

It is a wine from South Australia,very smooth .

I would love to have another but have school tomorrow & also have to work at the club tomorrow night.

Do you get many Australian wines over there????
Not off topic at all, MrsK. It's a thread about booze!! :yh_bigsmi

Australian wine is just now becoming more popular here in the States, with a couple making a run at being preferred WAY over our own Californian or the other imports.

As we get more Aussie wines, they gain in popularity. We (my bar) has just recently begun stocking an Australian Chardonnay!

When I still drank, I tried a few and found them totally wonderful!!

I've seen quite a bit of Jacob's Creek wine on liquor store shelves and wine lists there.

BabyRider wrote: If anyone happens to get their hands on some, I'd pay top dollar for it!! Bullet has never tried it and it's on his "Things to do before I die" list.Here's a site that sells it but its $209 per bottle!



http://www.absinth.com/

abbey wrote: Here's a site that sells it but its $209 per bottle!



http://www.absinth.com/
We gotta keep this hidden from Bullet, Abbey. If he sees that, he'll be spending the money we have set aside for our DJ on booze!!!

Good heavens, Abbey, BR - that's in upstate New York !!!! And looks like it's legal ???? Why don't I order us a few crates - for Bothwell's Bar?? - we can charge it all to the ForumGarden goldcard (which someone must have dropped and I'm going to hand in - soon). Bullet can have a bottle - wedding pressie.

BabyRider wrote: A Blue Hawaiian:

Light rum, Pineapple juice, Blue Curacao, Cream of coconut, Pineapple Juice, with a cherry garnish. Usually blended with ice.



A white russian has cream in it, a black russian does not.



A mint Julep used to be made with fresh mint, when bars kept that sort of thing on hand. Now it's usually served as an ice cream drink, with creme de menthe, bourbon, and powdered sugar.

It can be made without ice cream, but using regular cream and of course blended.

A really nice addition to a mint julep with ice cream is some creme de cacao, it tastes like mint chocolate chip ice cream.


mmmmmmmmmmm that Blue Hawaiian sounds as delicious now as I remember it!

I need to find a cocktail bar and try it out again.

Is Blue Curacao alcoholic or is it just a colouring?

Whats in the black and white russians?

I was told black russian had coke in it and white russian had lemonade.

That doesn't sound right to me. Is that right?

I've heard of mint juleps (on American TV shows! hehehe) but never seen one.

I SO need to try one out now!!

Rapunzel wrote: mmmmmmmmmmm that Blue Hawaiian sounds as delicious now as I remember it!

I need to find a cocktail bar and try it out again.

Is Blue Curacao alcoholic or is it just a colouring?



Whats in the black and white russians?

I was told black russian had coke in it and white russian had lemonade.

That doesn't sound right to me. Is that right?



I've heard of mint juleps (on American TV shows! hehehe) but never seen one.

I SO need to try one out now!!
Blue curacao is alcoholic and orange flavored.

A black russian is Kalhua and vodka, a white russian is Kalhua, vodka and cream.

Where you got the coke and lemonade thing, I have no idea. Kalhua and lemonade would NOT be a good combination. YUCK!!