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Some people are very particular about their drinks

Area chef Jason Santos posts a copy of the printed list of instructions for the very specific drinks the ten diners at one table at one of his restaurants wanted Friday night.

2. Jesse. Bombay Sapphire Martini. Bone Dry. Don't Shake. Don't Stir. No ice. Room temperature warm glass. Up. No garnish.

Via Drew Starr.

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Comments

If you're paying for it, why not get what you want? If you have a ten-top you're already a lot of work and the restaurant is probably already autograt-ing your table for 18% - these are not unusual drink orders, nor will they take an unusual amount of time. I think a decent bartender would prefer this to ambiguous verbal orders. Any attitude about this says more about the service industry than the customers - I think they were being helpful.

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2. Jesse. Bombay Sapphire Martini. Bone Dry. Don't Shake. Don't Stir. No ice. Room temperature warm glass. Up. No garnish.

Isn't that just gin in a glass? Sounds easy to make.

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I was going to ask the same thing - isn't "bone dry" and "no vermouth" just a glass of gin?

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Bone dry is the same as "extra dry," basically 3 ounces of gin (which is illegal to serve as just "gin only" for but permissible with this language). The other way to get around it is to ask "pass the bottle" which means the bartender takes out the bottle of vermouth to show it was requested, given the customer and then replaced.

Also, not applicable in this case but a real martini should never, ever be shaken since it bruises the vermouth.

People are used to getting this because of James Bond, but in "reality" Bond was just a lush. His martini of choice was Gordon's which is a well spirit. Nothing particularly classy about that!

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How exactly does this happen?

There are good reasons for the bartending tradition of not shaking drinks made mostly or entirely of spirits (no fruit juices, dairy products, or carbonated mixers), but it's not about the delicate skin of the ingredients involved: it's about appearance and texture. Bubbles and little bits of ice created by shaking cloud the drink; stirring produces a crystal clear one.

The literary James Bond drank a lot of different things, mostly bourbon, sake and Champagne. The Vesper, arguably the most famous cocktail associated with him (Fleming had Bond invent it in the first novel, Casino Royale), is a gin-and-vodka Martini made with Kina Lillet, a bitter aromatized aperitif wine that hasn't been on the market for 30 years.

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Lillet Blanc works just as well for a Vesper. IIRC the contemporary form is just the same.

I may be wrong on the bruising on the vermouth but that's the best memory I have of bartending school. There is definitely a difference in texture and appearance.

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Kina Lillet. The Blanc product is what Lillet started producing when it decided that Kina was too bitter for its target audience (notably Americans). A better currently-available substitute to re-create the original Bond Vesper might be Cocchi Americano, a white quinquina, an Italian aperitif wine which has that distinctive quinine bitterness to it.

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Up usually means shaken with ice then strained, but that's precluded by "Don't Shake. Don't Stir."

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For me personally, I go out to eat to relax and try new things. It's unxpected that people would put so much preperation and effort into a night out. It's a little persnickety, but to each their own.

Human behavior is funny.

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As one of the ten, Please allow me to explain that we go out to dine as a group every Friday evening. The majority of restaurants/bartenders enjoy the card. It has resulted in far fewer mistakes and drinks sent back and reduces confusion on the server and bartender's part.

Funny thing, the only pushback we have received was at this same restaurant (Back Bay Harry's) when it was under a former name.

With hundreds of restaurants in the area, the chess's attitude is duly noted.

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At first I was going to ridicule the heck out of you then I took a second and really considered this. If I were tending bar that night, I actually would have appreciated that. I would have found it funny and maybe a bit of a challenge.

AS LONG AS there was no attitude from the group. If I started getting things sent back or the group thought it was their signal to monopolize my time, then it may have been a problem.

BUT taking this purely at face value it's not as bad as originally thought. I may have sent back my own note once the drinks were delivered since the diners had made it clear that was how they wanted to communicate.

The server, host, chef and parking attendant all could have sent the table their own notes then maybe everyone in their lives could begin communicating that way. Maybe using a phone or a laptop. We could then refer to it as something else. Perhaps we could call it texting. That way people all over the world could save paper and trees and just "text" to each other and never have to actually speak again. Over millenia through evolution humanity would no longer have any use for their vocal chords and maybe even the mouth would eventually become just a small food hole.

You know what? At third glance..

Naah, notes are stupid.

http://cappyinboston.blogspot.com/

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The majority of restaurants/bartenders enjoy the card.

No, they don't. They just laugh at you behind your backs. This is just the first time you found out

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I've seen lots of people order some truly terrible drinks -- think anything made with Pinnacle vodkas, for instance, which have flavors designed to appeal to five-year-olds -- but I can't imagine who enjoys a glass of plain, warm gin.

Grey Goose and soda is also dreadful: the unsauced, overcooked pasta of the highball world. "Give me a highly diluted, carbonated ethanol, please, and make it with a spirit that only rubes believe is worth the premium." Blech.

If this list is for real, the people behind it have terrible taste in cocktails. That's their right, of course, but it's kind of comical to see someone laboring so hard at specificity in pursuit of such cruddy drinks.

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If you are so specific about your drinks, why not mix them the way you want at home and be more adventurous when out and about? Try something new or different? Let someone else do it a different way. You might like it.

For example, the recipe book that came with the Aviation Gin I flew back with had a nifty drink called "Bees Knees", which I made several times at home. I saw it on the menu when dining out last week, and they brought me pretty much the same thing, but they had done it one better: they added a dash of bitters and a dash of triplesec/cointreau. Small changes, but most excellent. If I handed them the recipe, I'd have never found out that bitters make it balanced and better.

Some bartenders like going back to basics in a world of variations. I went to a place on the Navy Pier in Chicago with my aunt. She wanted an appletini, and they had that and a menu full of other high sweetness variations on the classics. Things were slow, so I just asked the waitress for "just a basic martini", which I had to somewhat describe to her. The old guy behind the bar needed no such instructions. He proceeded to craft one of the most kick-ass martinis that I've ever had, and then came around later to chat. He appreciated the opportunity to practice his craft.

Bartenders are not pharmacists (although there is some overlap). While some do go a bit overboard with the pretentions to artistry, some will relish the opportunity to show you something they have learned or a variation that you might like.

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I own and manage a high-volume bar in a tourist town and whilst it's more of a college crowd, we are in a small town with limited choices for nightouts so we also get customers who are very picky about their drinks. As a bartender and a bar owner who has met and managed different kinds of bartenders, I honestly do not see what the big deal is. As commented by someone here earlier.. "Any attitude about this says more about the service industry than the customers - I think they were being helpful".

I'd like to think that I am a good bartender. I have good memory and deliver good customer service (which by the way, I think is what makes a good bartender; product knowledge is important but it's how you serve the customers the matters more).

If people are paying to get the drink they want, then I better make it the way they want. I make drinks, and you pay what I tell you to pay. As long as people are not doing anything against the rules (like being downright rude or acting inappropriately), if customers pay the price and I make the drinks right - there should be no problem.

If I got this note, I wouldn't have a problem and probably would have appreciated it. Clearly, they are picky about their drinks and clearly, they are aware of it. I would rather have this list given to me instead of writing it down myself or memorizing each order. There will always be picky drinkers and that's fine, we all have some things we are picky about, for some it's food, some are picky about their clothes, some with their furniture and if you work in this industry, that's something you have to accept. What's annoying is when people order something they are picky about but not saying it clearly before ordering. I can totally relate how annoying it is to have that moment of "oh, you don't want lime in it? well you said mojito - not mojito without a lime"..

Sorry - I can see why I may sound like an A-hole here - it might be a different case since I'm used to working in a high-volume bar. But if any bartender finds this note annoying, then what's the best way for them to order it? Seriously, no big deal! If you're one of these customers, please do not feel bad. Unless of course, you asked for a discount or a freebie or something, but if you pay the price and the bar did not refuse to serve you, you have all the rights to get your drink the way you want it.

I am actually surprised to read some negative comments on this (and similar articles about the same photo). It actually gives me an idea of doing something similar and whenever I interview potential bartenders, I'll ask them, what would you honestly feel if a customer hands you this note?

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after you used the word, "whilst",

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Hi Jim! It was great to meet you all tonight! I hope you don't mind me butting in on the conversation, but my curiosity got the best of me, and I had to Google it!

Again, all you're doing it making it easier for restaurant staff to get you what you want. I can't wrap my head around all of the negativity around here!!

Cheers,

Barry

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And regarding the "I wish I had that kinda time on my hands" comment, the chef certainly has enough time to upload a picture, add a watermark, and write a caption, though.

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Yeah, I mean, if I'm paying, I should expect the staff to wipe my butt for me too. I paid for them, and not they're my servants.

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As "#3 Alan" on the list let me explain. Our group has been going out on Friday for over 20 years and the purpose of the list is two-fold. First, the first person there pulls out the list and orders for all. Second, while waiters love it since they don't have to write it down, bartenders can't seem to read or don't care. 9 times out of 10 they mess it up. What part of very dry, bone dry or no vermouth can't they get? Hat's off to Jason's crew at Back Bay Harry.....they were spot on!

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How long have you all been going out together?

Who are the tops and who are the bottoms?

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You've been doing this for twenty years; the bartenders mess it up every time, but you keep doing it this way because...why?

Btw I also have a few standard drinks that I order at bars but really--everyone orders the exact same drink every time? For twenty years?

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Seriously: gin + vermouth = martini

Gin + nothing = gin

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Can you please tell Jesse to just order a gin neat? Also, none of you people are ordering martinis, a martini has vermouth, it is a simple fact. So the reason your bartenders are messing up your vermouth is because y'all use two different terms that mean the same exact thing. Bone dry = no vermouth. No vermouth = not a martini.

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Seriously! As a restaurant manager, my job is to get people what they want. They are making it easier for me to get them what they want. Everyone wins here!

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Shot of Old T , Gansett chaser. The only thing you put in whiskey is more whiskey .

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I like whiskey without embellishment some of the time, too, but a well-made, well-balanced whiskey cocktail can be a thing of absolute beauty. You just have to be sitting in front of the right bartender.

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Or maybe listening to Curt Gowdy and Ned Martin, Hi ,Neighbor , Have A Gansett !

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I thought you were an Old Fashioned guy!

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Swirls , come on , they would laugh me out of the joint ......

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Interesting.

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....via the Drew Star link. BTW, found your reply almost as entertaining as the list itself.

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I've been bartending for a decade and most waste comes from miscommunication. I'd rather have this than have the server memo in the drinks incorrectly, . However, my boss would have my head if I served ten cocktails when only one person was sitting at a table. Although it's not always followed, MA law only allows two drinks to be served to one customer at a time. Both the bartender and the establishment can be held liable for violating that regulation.

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Geeze, Jeese,
just make it a Bombay Satire Martini and be done with all the commentary

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From "#3 - Alan" on the list

While I provided an earlier comment, I have watched and read in amusement the posts over the weekend.....very entertaining to say the least.

Just wanted to add some closing comments on this. Every waiter/waitress we have given the list to has loved it since they do not have to write it down. Unfortunately we seem to have ego-maniac bartenders out there who insist on doing it there way and not the way we prefer. I guess they are too focused on impressing the 20-something females in a bar with their Broadway-inspired show of dancing around behind a bar with a cocktail shaker for 5 minutes. We are more mature and just prefer a cocktail the way we want and did not pay for a show.

To be fair to "#2 - Jesse" he just prefers a shot of gin in a glass. Is this any different from a shot of bourbon or whiskey? If he asks for a shot of gin he gets a shot of gin, if he asks for it as a martini without all the other parts, he gets 2-3 shots of gin...saves time on reordering.

As "#3 - Alan" I love a good martini and will make it very very dry at home with just a drop of vermouth. As mentioned in earlier post, 9 times out of 10 it will come with excessive vermouth. What part of very, very dry can't they get? Can they read, sorry, go back to the Broadway show part. I went from very, very dry....to bone dry....to no vermouth since they never seemed to get it right. I went from shaken to stirred and not left on the ice too long since after the Broadway show part their was enough ice in the glass to sink the Titanic!

We do go out as a group on Friday to relax and enjoy friends, dinner and cocktails. We just ask them to mix it according to what we ask for. It is not rocket science, it is mixing a cocktail.

We have had bartenders who have literally yelled at us because the drinks were wrong and it was as a result of our list. Really? He said if it was spoken verbally to him he would have got it right! Really? That guy needs to go work at Dunkin' Donuts or something.

As for the person who mentioned the "terrible" choice of drinks including the warm gin, the Grey Goose and soda, that is all a matter of opinion. Personally, I think a Cosmo is a fru-fru drink since it is for people that want booze, without the taste of booze, covered up with a fruity flavor. Not for me, but to each his own.

We have been doing this over 20 years and have changed our drinks over the years and, accordingly, the list has changed. Everyone's taste has changed over the years.

Finally, if bartenders would take the time to read the list and make my martini very very dry with just a hint of vermouth I would put it back on the list, but I am very tired of it coming drenched in vermouth. If you are really laughing at us behind our backs when you read that list, you need to get out of the service industry. If you see our list next time and laugh at us and don't make our drinks to specific requests on a written piece of paper, we will return them to be made again. I don't think your boss would like you "wasting" all that booze, and profit for the restaurant and I would have no issue talking to the manager about your attitude and lack of service.

OK, I lied, now a final comment.....to "Alexxxxx"....thank you for some reason in this whole discussion. You are not the A-hole here, others are and they forget this is a service industry.........and please tell us what bar you work in as we WANT to come there!

Cheers from #3

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do you all leave notes for others in the "service industry"? Wait staff? Folks who clean your hotel rooms? Guy washing your car? Person emptying your trash barrel at work?

I am also curious to see how you all would react to others giving you notes on how to do a part of your individual jobs to their satisfaction. I am going to take a stab that you probably would not like it very much.

Honestly, If you are having this much trouble (20 years, really?), getting drinks done the way you want, I am going to venture forth and assume that your group has very high, even unreachable/unreasonable standards.

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We don't have high unreachable standards.......just make a martini the way we want it without the flash and make it correctly

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... but if you've been doing this for 20 years, it seems to me like you could have found a bar where the bartender knows you, and knows how you like your drinks, rather than trusting your palates to some flashy joint where the bartender picks up chicks by dancing around for five minutes while mixing a drink. What am I missing?

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The point here is that we go out to DIFFERENT restaurants every Friday and that means DIFFERENT bartenders. Plus the main point was to order drinks for the group in advance of everyone showing up. Get to the point here.....please make our drinks the way we want them and cut the attitude

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Alan, as a former bartender and current restaurant manager, thank you for making our jobs easier!

One thing you need to keep in mind is to not take any of this smacktalk personally. Every bartender I've ever met is an egomaniac! Ha ha.

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There are very few restaurants / bars where I'll order a mixed drink since all too often the results aren't so great and/or the cocktail menu is mostly sickly sweet sugary drinks. It's easier just to stick with wine and whiskey (neat), so you know exactly what you're going to get. Personally, I would never hand a detailed list of how to mix my drink to a bartender. If they're a professional, then they'll know how to do it without my instruction.

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the problem is they don't know how to mix correctly even when you tell them. I have repeatedly over the years sat at a bar, asked for a very very dry martini and watched them put a huge amount of vermouth in it....that is the point, they don't listen so we went to a list

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