Have you ever ordered a drink confident that you knew what you were doing, only to be horribly embarrassed by what you actually received?
Most of the time, if you order just a beer or a shot, you’re not likely to face any issues (unless you accidentally order Malört). However, if you try to get fancy with it—say, order an “extra dirty, extra dry gin martini” without fully understanding what any of those words mean—you might end up with a drink that will leave you wishing you just ordered the lager.
Naturally, there’s no shame in not knowing what to do at a bar. Bartenders understand that not everyone knows the lingo. If you just describe what you want, they’ll be able to make you the drink you’re after. That said, if you try to drop a whole bunch of vocabulary, one bartender says you might end up causing more confusion than if you had just explained it.
Does This Customer Really Know What He Wants?
In a video with over 1.6 million views, TikToker Taylor Lewis (@taylorlynnlewis_) says she’s “begging” customers to follow one simple piece of advice.
“Know what you’re ordering when you go to a bar—and if you don’t know the fancy way to say something, just order it the normal way, and I promise you will make it right the first time,” she states.
This advice is relevant, she says, owing to a recent experience at her job. According to Lewis, she was bartending when a man approached the bar and ordered a “Belvedere, up.”
“So I said, ‘OK,’ and I got out the martini glass,” Lewis recalls.
The man quickly interrupted, saying he’d like it in a rocks glass. Lewis obliged, grabbed a shaker, and began shaking up the man’s vodka with ice. After a short time, she poured it into the glass.
“And I said, ‘OK, there you go,’” she says. “He goes, ‘Oh, can I get some ice with that?’”
“I said, ‘Yeah! That’s not ‘up,’ but totally,’” Lewis continues. After adding ice—and thus turning the drink into a “Belvedere on the rocks”—she slid it back to the patron.
“And he goes—like I’m the idiot—‘and some soda?’” Lewis recounts.
“So then I gave him his Belvedere soda, which he should have just ordered from the beginning, and he goes, ‘Thanks’—like I’m the idiot,” she shares.
How To Order A Drink
According to Lewis, this person seemed to believe they knew how to properly order their drink using bar lingo, when they really didn’t. As a result, everyone’s time was wasted.
“What you wanted was a Belvedere and soda. Just order that. We could have been done in 10 seconds. I could have made that drink,” Lewis summarizes. “But instead, you stood there and watched me shake while I’ve got a line down to the end of the bar.”
“Please, just learn,” Lewis concludes. “Don’t try and sound smarter. Just order the drink that you want.”
In order to help you follow Lewis’ advice, here’s where the man in question went wrong. What he wanted, as Lewis says, was a “Belvedere and soda.” Generally speaking, this will come on the rocks (with ice) by default—though if you’re concerned that it won’t, you can always specify your ice preference.
Instead, the man ordered a Belvedere “up.” According to The Spruce Eats, ordering a drink “up” means the alcohol is shaken or stirred with ice, then strained into a glass without ice. Typically, this sort of drink is served in a cocktail glass.
Sometimes, customers get “up,” “straight up,” and “neat” confused. While “straight up” is supposed to refer to drinks served in the “up” fashion, it has come to represent both “up” and “neat,” where the drink is served unchilled in a glass.
Rather than get bogged down by this confusing language, it’s best to simply be specific about what you want—even if it means avoiding the fancy lingo.
Commenters Have Complaints
In the comments section, users shared their own gripes from time spent at the bar.
“My favorite is a ‘vodka & titos,’” reads one highly-favorited comment.
“I ordered a dirty martini and the bartender gave me a vodka martini and I apologized and told her I actually wanted a GIN martini,” offered another. “She gave me a lot of attitude and yes, maybe I should have specified but also a martini is gin. Vodka is the variation that should be requested.”
“Vodka cran with lime has never done me wrong,” declared a third. “Love the name being the ingredients.”
“If I order wrong, I just drink it and accept my mistake,” admitted a further TikToker.
@taylorlynnlewis_ and while we’re at it, if one more person asks me for a cuba libre im going to scream #fypシ゚viral #theatre #bartender #serviceindustry #theatrebartender
BroBible reached out to Lewis via website contact form and Instagram direct message.