He doesn’t say it’s on the house, but we both know that it is.
April 17, 2023 2:09 PM Subscribe
What I Think Will Happen if I Go to a Bar and Order a Whiskey Neat. Bonus: Scotch pronunciation guide from Brian Cox
Funny, all I think will happen when I order a whiskey neat is I'll get heart burn.
posted by dis_integration at 2:16 PM on April 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by dis_integration at 2:16 PM on April 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
I can state with some authority that the version of me drinking a neat whiskey is exactly the same dumbass as usual, only drunker.
posted by potrzebie at 2:59 PM on April 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by potrzebie at 2:59 PM on April 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
Clearly the author either has never had whiskey, or has had far far too much.
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:09 PM on April 17, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:09 PM on April 17, 2023 [8 favorites]
"One whiskey, neat," I tell the bartender, sliding onto a patched vinyl bar seat that smells of stale beer. We lock eyes in silent, instant communication; he pulls a bottle from the lowest shelf. From they way he turns quickly away, I can tell he knows that I won't tip very well.
A woman seats herself next to me and I offer to buy her a drink. She seems surprised, as if she didn't notice me sitting there. This happens to me often. I gesture elaborately to indicate that I am not a threat, slopping the whiskey all down the front of my pants. The aroma of cheap bourbon rises like a curtain between us, if curtains worked that way. The woman orders her drink and says she thinks she sees someone she knows over there.
The 3pm crowd wanders in, and I banter with the regulars, several of whom ask about my wet pants with the straightforward humor of the honest working man. "It does," I reply with easy bonhomie. "It does indeed look as though I've pissed myself." These are my people, and I am comfortable among them.
The evening draws onward, and I settle into the natural ebb and flow of the pub. It is as predictable and regular as the tides, and like the tides, each ebb leaves its spoor. It is late when the last of the Tuesday night vivants filter out the door. I recognize the woman from earlier and ask her if she found her friend, and if they had had a good conversation. She looks at me in confusion as if she doesn't understand what I am saying. This happens to me often. I stiff the bartender on the tip and walk into the night, braced for a new adventure.
posted by logicpunk at 3:40 PM on April 17, 2023 [96 favorites]
A woman seats herself next to me and I offer to buy her a drink. She seems surprised, as if she didn't notice me sitting there. This happens to me often. I gesture elaborately to indicate that I am not a threat, slopping the whiskey all down the front of my pants. The aroma of cheap bourbon rises like a curtain between us, if curtains worked that way. The woman orders her drink and says she thinks she sees someone she knows over there.
The 3pm crowd wanders in, and I banter with the regulars, several of whom ask about my wet pants with the straightforward humor of the honest working man. "It does," I reply with easy bonhomie. "It does indeed look as though I've pissed myself." These are my people, and I am comfortable among them.
The evening draws onward, and I settle into the natural ebb and flow of the pub. It is as predictable and regular as the tides, and like the tides, each ebb leaves its spoor. It is late when the last of the Tuesday night vivants filter out the door. I recognize the woman from earlier and ask her if she found her friend, and if they had had a good conversation. She looks at me in confusion as if she doesn't understand what I am saying. This happens to me often. I stiff the bartender on the tip and walk into the night, braced for a new adventure.
posted by logicpunk at 3:40 PM on April 17, 2023 [96 favorites]
You walk into a bar and order a whiskey neat. The barman points at the whiskey shelves. "Aye, which one love?". You blink. He rolls his eyes, pours you a Grouse and goes back to what he was doing.
posted by automatronic at 3:56 PM on April 17, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by automatronic at 3:56 PM on April 17, 2023 [10 favorites]
When a new bar/restaurant opened at the end of my street, my dinning buddy ordered a whisky on the rocks. The receipt came back as “whisky-$10-ice $1) after that I pledged to only drink it neat when I go again.
posted by CostcoCultist at 4:00 PM on April 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by CostcoCultist at 4:00 PM on April 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
Whiskey neat? More like (alcohol name) one ice cube. Thanks. Usually Tullamore Dew or Bulliet rye.
Whiskey neat is something you'd read in a detective novel.
posted by Splunge at 4:20 PM on April 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
Whiskey neat is something you'd read in a detective novel.
posted by Splunge at 4:20 PM on April 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
I took that as the joke of the piece, Splunge.
posted by mmmbacon at 4:36 PM on April 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by mmmbacon at 4:36 PM on April 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
I do think this rather wins my internet for the day:
I return to my stool and take a sip of my drink. I love how bitter it tastes and I don’t grimace at all as it goes down. I notice that a woman has arrived with a crying baby. As soon as the baby locks eyes with me, he quiets down. The woman is relieved. She places a hand on my shoulder. “You’re tough, but your heart is wide open,” she says,
posted by philip-random at 4:41 PM on April 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
I return to my stool and take a sip of my drink. I love how bitter it tastes and I don’t grimace at all as it goes down. I notice that a woman has arrived with a crying baby. As soon as the baby locks eyes with me, he quiets down. The woman is relieved. She places a hand on my shoulder. “You’re tough, but your heart is wide open,” she says,
posted by philip-random at 4:41 PM on April 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
srsly tho, based on previous experience, when i order a whiskey drink, what i think will happen is that
1)i'll drink a vodka drink
2)i'll drink a lager drink
3)i'll drink a cider drink
depending on the vibes, i'll sing a song that reminds me of
4)the good times
5)the better times
posted by logicpunk at 4:44 PM on April 17, 2023 [74 favorites]
1)i'll drink a vodka drink
2)i'll drink a lager drink
3)i'll drink a cider drink
depending on the vibes, i'll sing a song that reminds me of
4)the good times
5)the better times
posted by logicpunk at 4:44 PM on April 17, 2023 [74 favorites]
As a woman who drinks whiskey, I always think of this song.
I don’t have any dogs or a fire, but thats more what I imagine.
posted by nat at 4:53 PM on April 17, 2023 [6 favorites]
I don’t have any dogs or a fire, but thats more what I imagine.
posted by nat at 4:53 PM on April 17, 2023 [6 favorites]
It's spring coming into summer, which means that soon it will be warm enough that my wife and I get to indulge in one of our favorite summer dining out games. I, a middle aged man with visible stubble and a deep voice, order a glass of rose. She orders an old fashioned.
Then we see if the server gives us the correct drinks.
posted by bl1nk at 5:09 PM on April 17, 2023 [26 favorites]
Then we see if the server gives us the correct drinks.
posted by bl1nk at 5:09 PM on April 17, 2023 [26 favorites]
I once ordered "[scotch whiskey name] neat, soda back" and received a proposal.
We've been happily married for ten years.
I coulda used those five crisp hundred dollar bills though.
posted by annaramma at 5:13 PM on April 17, 2023 [10 favorites]
We've been happily married for ten years.
I coulda used those five crisp hundred dollar bills though.
posted by annaramma at 5:13 PM on April 17, 2023 [10 favorites]
People drinking whiskey neat is such an overused trope on teevee shows and movies. My guess is it's for continuity — easier to keep the drink looking the same over many takes under hot lights. But nobody drinks straight warm whiskey at a typical bar!
posted by SoberHighland at 7:02 PM on April 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by SoberHighland at 7:02 PM on April 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
Eponysterical.
And I will happily sip neat whiskey. I don't think I am in a book....
posted by wenestvedt at 7:23 PM on April 17, 2023 [8 favorites]
And I will happily sip neat whiskey. I don't think I am in a book....
posted by wenestvedt at 7:23 PM on April 17, 2023 [8 favorites]
Unless I'm drinking a cocktail made with whisky, maybe even then, I always drink it neat. Do people not do that?
posted by Ashwagandha at 8:49 PM on April 17, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by Ashwagandha at 8:49 PM on April 17, 2023 [9 favorites]
logicpunk's first comment reads like a journal you'd find late in the game in Disco Elysium, in which the hero records his first night in town, before... you know.
posted by Ghidorah at 9:09 PM on April 17, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by Ghidorah at 9:09 PM on April 17, 2023 [6 favorites]
"Actually, I think we do," the bartender says, pulling a child's plastic lunchbox from the lost and found under the bar. From it he withdraws a silver Capri Sun. He sets it down in front of me. Well, more of a soft lob, as if to express that this would be a drink to go. I know instantly that it's on the house.
The package says it's expired, but that's the only way I drink it.
The plastic wrapper crinkles as I free the tiny yellow straw. I lock eyes with a woman on the other end of the bar. I deftly poke the straw at the Capri Sun, miss, try again, reverse the straw to use the pointy end, poke again, this time puncturing the pack and spilling a bit onto my fingers. I put the tiny straw up to my lips and sup.
The atmosphere is charged with erotic energies. The woman is frowning, but doesn't look away. She gets up and walks towards me with a slight stumble. She's sober enough to know she's making a mistake, but intoxicated enough to not care. It also helps that I'm the only other patron in the bar.
She sits on the stool next to me and looks at me with disapproval as I finish the drink. "Capri Suns aren't very big and finish quickly," she says, "Are you my son?"
The question throws me, as we're about the same age. Then I realize she was asking if I were her sun. Her Capri Sun.
"Yeah," I blurt out. Then I collect myself and say more slowly, "Yes, I canpri your Sun."
The pun goes unnoticed by her, which is a shame because I thought it was a pretty good one to just come up with like that. She takes my hand and leads me to the single occupancy gender neutral bathroom and we make love for what seems like hours but was really probably five minutes of sloppy making out and a bit of second base.
"You're a champ," she says, "but I've got somewhere to be." It's a lie, but I let it pass. She uses the toilet while I wash the not-sexy-kind of sticky juice off my fingers. She leaves the bathroom, and I never see her again.
I still have the empty pack. I never threw it away, even after it attracted ants.
posted by AlSweigart at 9:28 PM on April 17, 2023 [11 favorites]
The package says it's expired, but that's the only way I drink it.
The plastic wrapper crinkles as I free the tiny yellow straw. I lock eyes with a woman on the other end of the bar. I deftly poke the straw at the Capri Sun, miss, try again, reverse the straw to use the pointy end, poke again, this time puncturing the pack and spilling a bit onto my fingers. I put the tiny straw up to my lips and sup.
The atmosphere is charged with erotic energies. The woman is frowning, but doesn't look away. She gets up and walks towards me with a slight stumble. She's sober enough to know she's making a mistake, but intoxicated enough to not care. It also helps that I'm the only other patron in the bar.
She sits on the stool next to me and looks at me with disapproval as I finish the drink. "Capri Suns aren't very big and finish quickly," she says, "Are you my son?"
The question throws me, as we're about the same age. Then I realize she was asking if I were her sun. Her Capri Sun.
"Yeah," I blurt out. Then I collect myself and say more slowly, "Yes, I canpri your Sun."
The pun goes unnoticed by her, which is a shame because I thought it was a pretty good one to just come up with like that. She takes my hand and leads me to the single occupancy gender neutral bathroom and we make love for what seems like hours but was really probably five minutes of sloppy making out and a bit of second base.
"You're a champ," she says, "but I've got somewhere to be." It's a lie, but I let it pass. She uses the toilet while I wash the not-sexy-kind of sticky juice off my fingers. She leaves the bathroom, and I never see her again.
I still have the empty pack. I never threw it away, even after it attracted ants.
posted by AlSweigart at 9:28 PM on April 17, 2023 [11 favorites]
But nobody drinks straight warm whiskey at a typical bar!
posted by SoberHighland
Anyone? Oh come onnnnn!
I have had plenty of whisky, scotch or other liquor neat. Shoot, I prefer vodka and if you have anything 100-110 proof that'd be swell. Sure, room temp straight up in a rocks glass, with a side of ice water for hydration. I actually do like the taste and burn and sipping on it. I've worked in bars and it just makes everything easier for everyone involved.
What really worries me when I see someone order a whole glass of straight Fernet. That's just self abuse and a cry for help.
posted by loquacious at 9:37 PM on April 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by SoberHighland
Anyone? Oh come onnnnn!
I have had plenty of whisky, scotch or other liquor neat. Shoot, I prefer vodka and if you have anything 100-110 proof that'd be swell. Sure, room temp straight up in a rocks glass, with a side of ice water for hydration. I actually do like the taste and burn and sipping on it. I've worked in bars and it just makes everything easier for everyone involved.
What really worries me when I see someone order a whole glass of straight Fernet. That's just self abuse and a cry for help.
posted by loquacious at 9:37 PM on April 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
I wash the not-sexy-kind of sticky juice off my fingers
heyyy don't kinkshame
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:52 PM on April 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
heyyy don't kinkshame
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:52 PM on April 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
I prefer my whiskey room temp and neat. That way, you can taste it.
And where I do my whiskey drinking, if you don't specify ice, they ask, because neat is a common thing. Some pubs offer a little jug of water that you can dilute the whiskey to your taste.
posted by Homemade Interossiter at 12:50 AM on April 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
And where I do my whiskey drinking, if you don't specify ice, they ask, because neat is a common thing. Some pubs offer a little jug of water that you can dilute the whiskey to your taste.
posted by Homemade Interossiter at 12:50 AM on April 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
When I used to go out more regularly, like for trivia night or hanging out with friends before boring adult life and a pandemic set in, I was totally a "[specific brand of non-well whiskey], neat, water back." No one cared, though. I didn't feel special or fancy or like I was in a 1930's hard-boiled detective novel (although that would have been awesome). I just liked whiskey the best out of all the liquor I'd tried.
The water back wasn't only for hydration, but also so that I could personally oversee the drops of water into my glass. (I don't prefer drinking whiskey totally neat -- it usually needs a dash of water to open it up and make it a smoother and more enjoyable drinking experience.) If I was spending $$$ on a nicer brand that I would sip and coddle for the night, instead of happy-hour well-whiskey buried in ginger ale or diet coke to mask the cheap taste, then I wanted to make sure it was exactly how I wanted it.
I'm now more of a cocktail girl just because I'm no longer aware of which whiskey brands/years/etc I like, and I now go out so rarely where drinks are a focus beyond craft beer that I just want to make it easy for everyone.
But at home I still drink it "neat" with a dash of water. A few years ago my friends gave me some fancy glasses and molds to make those giant spherical ice cubes, which was fun a few times, until I got lazy and it's just easier to add a wee bit of water and move on with my life. Plus I simply prefer the way room temp whiskey tastes compared to cold whiskey.
posted by paisley sheep at 1:20 AM on April 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
The water back wasn't only for hydration, but also so that I could personally oversee the drops of water into my glass. (I don't prefer drinking whiskey totally neat -- it usually needs a dash of water to open it up and make it a smoother and more enjoyable drinking experience.) If I was spending $$$ on a nicer brand that I would sip and coddle for the night, instead of happy-hour well-whiskey buried in ginger ale or diet coke to mask the cheap taste, then I wanted to make sure it was exactly how I wanted it.
I'm now more of a cocktail girl just because I'm no longer aware of which whiskey brands/years/etc I like, and I now go out so rarely where drinks are a focus beyond craft beer that I just want to make it easy for everyone.
But at home I still drink it "neat" with a dash of water. A few years ago my friends gave me some fancy glasses and molds to make those giant spherical ice cubes, which was fun a few times, until I got lazy and it's just easier to add a wee bit of water and move on with my life. Plus I simply prefer the way room temp whiskey tastes compared to cold whiskey.
posted by paisley sheep at 1:20 AM on April 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
Oy, I should not have said "nobody drinks whiskey warm and straight" but rather... it's really rare to see anyone drink whiskey this way at a typical bar.
At the very least, it's uncommon. I've been to many, many bars. Yet in TV and movies it happens all the time.
posted by SoberHighland at 4:44 AM on April 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
At the very least, it's uncommon. I've been to many, many bars. Yet in TV and movies it happens all the time.
posted by SoberHighland at 4:44 AM on April 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
Sphere would have just ordered it “straight, no chaser.”
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 5:38 AM on April 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 5:38 AM on April 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Last night I was watching a movie and the main character went into a bar and ordered a "whiskey and water, neat." Based on this, I don't think it was a very good movie.
posted by goatdog at 6:43 AM on April 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by goatdog at 6:43 AM on April 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
I slid onto the barstool. "Whiskey, neat." The bartender poured out a measure of Dimple Pinch and slid it over to me. I raised the glass to my lips, paused for a moment to look at myself in the mirror behind the bar to reflect on how much I looked like Walter White, then began to drink before slamming the glass down on the bar and hissing, "Damnit, I've been sober over eleven years and I just blew it!" Then I woke up. Hi, I'm Halloween Jack and I'm an alcoholic, and I have a dream like that two, maybe three times a year.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:02 AM on April 18, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:02 AM on April 18, 2023 [8 favorites]
It's wild to think of ordering a neat whiskey as the Sophisticated High Maintenance choice. As the whiskey drinker among Beer Folk I will often order it neat because I just don't wanna seem fussy. But admittedly if it's summer, cheaper bourbons on the rocks will carry the day.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 7:10 AM on April 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 7:10 AM on April 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
I prefer my whiskey room temp and neat. That way, you can taste it.
This is something that's always puzzled me a bit, as someone who almost never drinks brown liquor. Chilling something tamps down its flavor. Whiskey is supposed to have a desirable flavor. You may lightly chill a white, but you don't plop ice cubes into wine unless it's very cheap and/or you're very hot. Why do you ice whiskey?
posted by praemunire at 7:45 AM on April 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
This is something that's always puzzled me a bit, as someone who almost never drinks brown liquor. Chilling something tamps down its flavor. Whiskey is supposed to have a desirable flavor. You may lightly chill a white, but you don't plop ice cubes into wine unless it's very cheap and/or you're very hot. Why do you ice whiskey?
posted by praemunire at 7:45 AM on April 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
> Why do you ice whiskey?
I'll put ice in whatever I want, if i want to! (except orange juice, nobody should ever put ice in orange juice). Some bourbons have a heavy alcohol nose and burn going down. Maybe you enjoy that, maybe you want it to be a bit smoother.
posted by dis_integration at 8:03 AM on April 18, 2023
I'll put ice in whatever I want, if i want to! (except orange juice, nobody should ever put ice in orange juice). Some bourbons have a heavy alcohol nose and burn going down. Maybe you enjoy that, maybe you want it to be a bit smoother.
posted by dis_integration at 8:03 AM on April 18, 2023
<scottish_accent weight="heavy">This is a very American thread.</scottish_accent>
posted by cstross at 8:05 AM on April 18, 2023 [16 favorites]
posted by cstross at 8:05 AM on April 18, 2023 [16 favorites]
Why do you ice whiskey?
The same reason a room temperature martini is not very nice: the cold cuts the ethanoly burn and allows other flavours to come forward. Ice, like water, changes the profile but not as much as things like adding sugar, bitters or mixers.
The best way to drink anything is to drink it the way you like it. Life's too short. (Though I really do recommend trying the same whisky several different ways to see how it changes...)
posted by slimepuppy at 8:07 AM on April 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
The same reason a room temperature martini is not very nice: the cold cuts the ethanoly burn and allows other flavours to come forward. Ice, like water, changes the profile but not as much as things like adding sugar, bitters or mixers.
The best way to drink anything is to drink it the way you like it. Life's too short. (Though I really do recommend trying the same whisky several different ways to see how it changes...)
posted by slimepuppy at 8:07 AM on April 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
Just last week I visited a couple of distilleries on the west coast of Scotland. At one the tour guide recommended tasting your single malt as it was, then with a small drop of water, then with slightly more, because each little dilution released different notes. At the second, they said ‘if you knew how much trouble we go to to get the water out of that, you wouldn’t be putting it back in’.
posted by Phanx at 8:11 AM on April 18, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by Phanx at 8:11 AM on April 18, 2023 [7 favorites]
I ordered a single-malt neat in a London restaurant.
No one batted an eye and nothing happened beyond being served.
Which was fine by me.
posted by tommasz at 8:13 AM on April 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
No one batted an eye and nothing happened beyond being served.
Which was fine by me.
posted by tommasz at 8:13 AM on April 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
Yet tequila neat can still generate a smirk from a bartender no matter how expensive it has become as celebrities moonlight in hustling products on social media.
posted by waving at 9:12 AM on April 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by waving at 9:12 AM on April 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
> pours you a Grouse
jfc man that was uncalled for
posted by doop at 9:48 AM on April 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
jfc man that was uncalled for
posted by doop at 9:48 AM on April 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
I used to order a beer and shot of Jack's and then wake up waiting for holiday court to get in session. 500 bucks would've really taken the sting out.
posted by Chitownfats at 10:19 AM on April 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Chitownfats at 10:19 AM on April 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
some buddies get together we do a whiskey night and everyone brings something (hopefully new) to try
I found this abomination, never again
like leaving ditchwater in an ashtray overnight
posted by elkevelvet at 10:22 AM on April 18, 2023
I found this abomination, never again
like leaving ditchwater in an ashtray overnight
posted by elkevelvet at 10:22 AM on April 18, 2023
> pours you a Grouse
jfc man that was uncalled for
Nothing wrong with a grouse.
posted by grouse at 11:19 AM on April 18, 2023 [11 favorites]
jfc man that was uncalled for
Nothing wrong with a grouse.
posted by grouse at 11:19 AM on April 18, 2023 [11 favorites]
I'll put ice in whatever I want, if i want to!
The best way to drink anything is to drink it the way you like it. Life's too short.
Honestly, I really do not care what any individual puts in their glass. You can drink it 50:50 with tabasco sauce with my blessing! I'm sorry if I've stumbled into some longstanding forum holy war. I was just asking why people simultaneously extol the way a drink tastes to me and do something to it that reduces their ability to taste it, something I've always wondered about.
posted by praemunire at 11:27 AM on April 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
The best way to drink anything is to drink it the way you like it. Life's too short.
Honestly, I really do not care what any individual puts in their glass. You can drink it 50:50 with tabasco sauce with my blessing! I'm sorry if I've stumbled into some longstanding forum holy war. I was just asking why people simultaneously extol the way a drink tastes to me and do something to it that reduces their ability to taste it, something I've always wondered about.
posted by praemunire at 11:27 AM on April 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
The way I imagine it:
Me: I'll have a whiskey neat
Bartender: sure thing, Humphrey Bogart [eye roll]
The other way I imagine it:
Me: I'll have a whiskey neat
Bartender: you mean with no ice, right? I have to ask because people say that thinking it sounds cool and then complain when there's no ice in it.
I usually just say "no ice". (and I do usually drink it that way if I'm only planning to have one. Can't keep it up all night)
posted by ctmf at 1:52 AM on April 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
Me: I'll have a whiskey neat
Bartender: sure thing, Humphrey Bogart [eye roll]
The other way I imagine it:
Me: I'll have a whiskey neat
Bartender: you mean with no ice, right? I have to ask because people say that thinking it sounds cool and then complain when there's no ice in it.
I usually just say "no ice". (and I do usually drink it that way if I'm only planning to have one. Can't keep it up all night)
posted by ctmf at 1:52 AM on April 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
There's a dividing line between bars where ordering "whiskey, neat" will get you a drink served in a shot glass, versus those where it will show up in a rocks glass (sans ice), and then again between those bars and the hipstery ones where it will arrive in some sort of snifter.
I think what makes it a weird order in real life is that if you care enough about the flavor of whiskey to want to drink it neat (as opposed to "shot of whiskey"), you'd likely specify the brand.
Also, pretentious whiskey drinkers in the US, at least in the middle part of the US, in my experience tend to order "bourbon and branch" (or "[whatever] and branch"), or the slightly-less-pretentious "[liquor], water back", which has the advantage of not requiring the bartender to tell you a pack of lies about the source of their (inevitably tap or commercially bottled) water.
posted by Kadin2048 at 8:22 AM on April 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
I think what makes it a weird order in real life is that if you care enough about the flavor of whiskey to want to drink it neat (as opposed to "shot of whiskey"), you'd likely specify the brand.
Also, pretentious whiskey drinkers in the US, at least in the middle part of the US, in my experience tend to order "bourbon and branch" (or "[whatever] and branch"), or the slightly-less-pretentious "[liquor], water back", which has the advantage of not requiring the bartender to tell you a pack of lies about the source of their (inevitably tap or commercially bottled) water.
posted by Kadin2048 at 8:22 AM on April 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
I was just asking why people simultaneously extol the way a drink tastes to me and do something to it that reduces their ability to taste it, something I've always wondered about.
People do the same with soda and coffee. Some people just like chilled drinks, including me.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:02 AM on April 19, 2023
People do the same with soda and coffee. Some people just like chilled drinks, including me.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:02 AM on April 19, 2023
I drink iced diet Pepsi all day long, but no one ever talks about the complex and delightful flavors of diet Pepsi.
posted by praemunire at 9:53 AM on April 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by praemunire at 9:53 AM on April 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
I usually just say "no ice".
I opt for a "a shot of" something I can see on the shelf. "And a glass of water."
Because that's the way my dad (who'd travelled some in Scotland) used to do it.
"You don't ever want to put ice in a single malt. But a little water's fine. If you want ice or some soda, then go for a blend."
posted by philip-random at 10:06 AM on April 19, 2023
I opt for a "a shot of" something I can see on the shelf. "And a glass of water."
Because that's the way my dad (who'd travelled some in Scotland) used to do it.
"You don't ever want to put ice in a single malt. But a little water's fine. If you want ice or some soda, then go for a blend."
posted by philip-random at 10:06 AM on April 19, 2023
I drink iced diet Pepsi all day long, but no one ever talks about the complex and delightful flavors of diet Pepsi.
You might initially think that, but I'm sure you recall the "Mexican Coke" discussions.
posted by The_Vegetables at 1:34 PM on April 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
You might initially think that, but I'm sure you recall the "Mexican Coke" discussions.
posted by The_Vegetables at 1:34 PM on April 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
« Older Living in Adoption's Emotional Aftermath | whose data, our data! whose science, our science! Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
I would love some kind of lofi loop with those soundbites over distant piano with jazz-drumming brushes.
posted by wenestvedt at 2:14 PM on April 17, 2023 [7 favorites]