What your drink says about you

scheherazade · Sep 29, 2008

You can tell a lot about a person by what they order to drink in a bar/club/restaurant. I know some of the basic stereotypes - wine is classy, whisky is rugged/masculine, sherry is slightly effeminate, tequila is for fun. Ordering beer shows you're "one of the guys/gals", but if it's a microbrew you might be a yuppie. Coffee, soda water, or a virgin cocktail in a setting where most others are drinking can mean that the person is a recovering alcoholic, young or relatively innocent, or just trying to save money.

What are some of the other assumptions you might make about a person based on what they drink? What about mixed drinks - not just the really elaborate cocktails, but also what kind of person orders a whisky sour or a vodka twist? Is someone who orders a dirty martini different than one who orders a vodka martini? Any stereotypes you're familiar with would be great, thanks! Do you know of any websites that describe this anthropology of imbibing?

zenwriter · Sep 29, 2008

Here are some sites:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4358859.stm
http://www.pointsincase.com/columns/david/1-28-07.htm
http://www.local10.com/entertainment/13648138/detail.html

vixey · Sep 29, 2008

I rarely order hard liquor at bars mostly because of the cost. When I'm out, I'll usually order the best red I can get by the glass (depends on the restaurant). In the summer, I may order chardonnay (I like oak, I know that's passe) or a pinot grigio.

Now, if I do choose to order liquor, in the winter-ish months, I'll order bourbon over ice (single barrel, like Knob Creek, is preferable). In the summer, my "big girl drink" (as my brother in law says) of choice is a gin martini, straight up with olives (Bombay Sapphire or Tanqueray 10). Don't know what this says about me, but I'm pretty specific about what I like.

Clair Dickson · Sep 29, 2008

And avoiding bars/clubs/ etc is a sign that a person is a hermit crab. Probably very quiet. Probably anti-social, at least to some degree. =)

mscelina · Sep 29, 2008

Oh god. Don't get an old bartender started on this one.

That being said, I order body shots at Applebees.

vixey · Sep 29, 2008

zenwriter said:
Here are some sites:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4358859.stm
http://www.pointsincase.com/columns/david/1-28-07.htm
http://www.local10.com/entertainment/13648138/detail.html

OK, I looked at your sites and I'm so never ordering red wine again. "Can't wait to buy a minivan!" Ugh!!! I couldn't wait to unload mine 3 years ago! And the bourbon makes me look seedy. Guess I'll stick with the martini.

Or - I can be who I am and not give a darn about what this says. I'll just drink what I like, thank you very much.

TerzaRima · Sep 29, 2008

MARGARITAS:

I’m whimsical, have a great sense of adventure, and don’t mind trying new things. Don’t delve too deeply into my past, though. There’s a good chance I was on Girls Gone Wild.

whistles, looks around nervously

C.bronco · Sep 29, 2008

Coors Light means that you like the low carbs, and that it isn't that heavy. When you switch to diet pepsi halfway throught the evening, it says that you know that you have to get up before 8:00 AM, or possibly seven.

P.S. Funny Llinks!

Haggis · Sep 29, 2008

When you do "shooters" you're there to get drunk.

When you drink "frou-frou drinks" you can't stand the taste of booze.

When you ask for a "whiskey and rye" (mentioned in American Pie), you're underage and your ass will get tossed out of the bar.

When you ask, "what kind of martinis do you have?" you don't have a clue.

When you order "Bud Light" you're cheap.

When you order an "old fashioned--muddle the fruit" you're either older than I am, or you've seen too many old movies.

When you order a martini "shaken, not stirred" step over to where I'm sitting so I can bitch-slap you.

Shall I go on?

C.bronco · Sep 29, 2008

.. and if you order jaeger, Watch Out! You're in for trouble.

If you order a lemon drop, get one for me.

If you order steamers, get an order for me. (They go well with beer). Then get me a chili dog.

GeorgeK · Sep 29, 2008

It also makes a difference if they order more than one of the same. If they are mixing it up and ordering a scattering of things they might just live in the Bible Belt and are finally in a wet zone where they can try different things. So it might mean an out-of-towner.

StephanieFox · Sep 29, 2008

I don't think this says anything about my personality

I usually order a real martini (a real martini is vodka or gin with some vermouth or not, shaken or stirred.) A dirty martini, with olive brine is still a martini, but it's close to the edge. There is no fruit juice, pop or other fancy liquors in a martini. Those are cocktails, and they may be good, but not martinis.

Sometime I order single malt scotch. Very very rarely, I'll order Irish whiskey.

I never drink beer because I can't stand the bubbles. (I don't drink pop, either.)

In the summer or with Mexican food, I get a Margarita.

If I am in the country of origin, I'll order the local drink.

If I'm having dinner, I'll have wine. If the bar has some good wine, sometimes I'll order wine without the food.

Plain liquor has a lot fewer calories than mixed drinks.

I will mix over the course of an evening. It never bothers me and I kind of think that it's all in the heads of the people who it does bother. (Sorry.)

Oh, yes, I AM fond of saki and it's identical cousin, sojiu. Hot, cold, room temp and any other way. But, saki – good saki and not the rot gut – is expensive and hard to find and so I drink one level above the rot gut.

I think I'll go have a drink now.

GeorgeK · Sep 29, 2008

StephanieFox said:
I think I'll go have a drink now.

Have one for me cause I live in a dry area. A neighboring town recently passed "moist laws" (no package liquor or bars, only in restaraunts with greater than 100 seating capacity), but you don't want inexperienced bartenders mixing drinks. I made the mistake of trying a margarita during happy hour. The "bartender" didn't know that there was a difference between salts. The glass was ringed with iodized salt. (shudder...gag...cough)

jennifer75 · Sep 29, 2008

I'm a beer drinker, haven't ya heard?????????????

Barbeques, I'll take a beer. Mexican restaurants, a margarita usually. Unless I'm in Mexico, then it's beer.

At home relaxing...usually a beer. Dark or Light. I'm presently sipping on a Sam Adams Black Lager, and LOVING it.

Bubbles? In beer? You're drinking the wrong beer.

To me, if a friend orders a Cosmo, it's because she wants to come off as a "drinker" but is afraid to try something real.

If someone tells me they don't like beer, I cringe.

I don't drink beer for an "image" I drink beer because I appreciate the flavor. AND ABSOLUTELYFRIGGINLOVEIT!

Lite beers can go to .... well....I don't drink'em. That's not a beer. I want full body, full flavor, and a nice color.

Shots? Why bother. If I go to a club, I'll get a rum and coke with lime, or to all you bartenders out there, a Cuba Libre......because that's just what I drink. But I'll chase it with a beer or three.

I enjoy sports, movies, talking, and just hanging out. If that's because of the beer, then so be it. And vice versa.

Now, back to my beer.

MaryMumsy · Sep 29, 2008

Jack Daniel's, rocks.

MM

jennifer75 · Sep 29, 2008

C.bronco said:
.. and if you order jaeger, Watch Out! You're in for trouble.

Oh man. Don't get me started on that...

I'll do it myself...

When I broke into drinking, my method was a jaeger shot, or two, and then a few Coronas. That had me spinnin on the dance floor alright.

No more. The thought alone makes me gag.

Jersey Chick · Sep 29, 2008

I drink red wine - merlot and pinot noir are my favorite - when I'm home and relaxing over dinner with Jersey Guy.

When I'm out to dinner - and I don't want wine, I'm a girly-drinker - Malibu bay breeze is my signature drink. But if there is no Malibu rum (the horror!the horror!) I'll drink margaritas

When I'm at a bar with Jersey Guy (a rare occurence nowadays), I lean towards basics - rum and Coke, gin and tonic.

For shots - I like lemon drops (told ya I was girly) and Red Death - but I don't do many shots anymore since I prefer not having a hangover over having a hangover these days. I have to be able to get out of bed the next day and be a good role model for the young'uns and all that.

I do make Cosmos at home on occasion and the only martini I've ever had was a chocolate one. Two of those, and nine months later, I had a baby boy. I don't drink martinis of any sort now

And in all actuality, I'm not much of a drinker - these are just my choices for those rare occasions....

Barb D · Sep 29, 2008

scheherazade said:
Coffee, soda water, or a virgin cocktail in a setting where most others are drinking can mean that the person is a recovering alcoholic, young or relatively innocent, or just trying to save money.

Clair Dickson said:
And avoiding bars/clubs/ etc is a sign that a person is a hermit crab. Probably very quiet. Probably anti-social, at least to some degree. =)

I'm 47, don't go to bars or clubs, and am hardly a recluse. I don't drink because I don't like the taste and don't see a point in acquiring it. (Just give me a Diet Coke, thanks.) Sorry to burst some stereotypes!

Homewrecker · Sep 29, 2008

I like sweet tasting drinks. Try to stay away from beer 'cause of the carbs. Tequila's just trouble. G&Ts to fight the summer heat. And rum neat. I used to drink it mixed but a fellow I know suggested that it was the root of my hangover headaches. And he appears to be right.

What does all this say about me? I'm a very thirsty girl.

Cheers!

Drink to-day, and drown all sorrow,
You shall perhaps not do it tomorrow.
Best, while you have it, use your breath:
There is no drinking after death.
Wine works the heart up, wakes up the wit;
There is no cure ‘gainst age but it.
It helps the headache, cough, and tisic,
And is for all disease physic.
Then let us swill, boys, for our health;
Who drinks well, loves the commonwealth
And he that will to bed go sober,
Falls with the leaf still in October.
–John Fletcher

StephanieFox · Sep 29, 2008

Vixey's link to local10 where the bartender talks about who orders what – he's at Miami and that's a kid's bar in South Minneapolis. It's for 20somes, so young that the idea of Miami (from Miami Vice the TV show) is an old fashioned kick for them, something exotic from their very young childhood. I don't think this is a very good example.

The 20somes with money go elsewhere – exotic places like Azia.

I am not 20something nor do I have money. (Sigh) But, I do know what I like and I don't care what the bartender thinks.

Nakhlasmoke · Sep 29, 2008

I have to stop drinking beer (OMG THE HORROR) so now it's back to bloody marys or vodka and lime.

Or...uh...don't tell anyone this, Southern Comfort with a dash of lime is also a fave.

eta: i have no idea what this means. Maybe some wizened bartender will know.

Elonna · Sep 29, 2008

Tuaca and red bull for me. It's supposed to be a Tuaca bomb but I drink it on ice like a cocktail...good stuff, very potent though.

Deccydiva · Sep 30, 2008

I don't drink alcohol nor to I go to bars - in fact the last pub I went into was nearly four years ago. I am not a recovering alcoholic, or a hermit. I have a medical condition which means I am extremely intolerant to alcohol - a fairly small amount could be lethal. Around here, soft drinks are almost the same price as alcoholic drinks. I am on Welfare so I have to watch every penny and I have nobody to go out with as I don't know anyone in the area well enough - and have no family. I can't go on my own without being regarded as being "on the pull" or "available" therefore eligible to be hassled.
I don't miss it at all.

Phoebe H · Sep 30, 2008

If I'm out, I drink vodka-cranberry -- *not* a Cosmopolitan.

If I'm at home, I will mix a Coke with a Mike's Hard Lime. (Don't laugh -- it actually works well.)

Either way, if I have more than one, I'll be on my lips.

Priene · Sep 30, 2008

Definition of a shandy drinker.

What your drink says about you

Human

C'est la vie!

A dark core to every cloud

Teh doommobile, drivin' rite by you

C'est la vie!

Absinthe O'Malice

I have plans...

Evil, undead Chihuahua

I have plans...

ever seeking

Maybull the Bulldog

ever seeking

SupahStah!

the original blond bombshell

SupahStah!

Up all night to get Loki

Intranational Mystery Woman

Maybull the Bulldog

yes

I'm a dork

Back from the dead

Out to lunch