How To Get a Drink at a Busy Bar

Some of you older guys might be wondering why I would post something like this. The answer is that the younger guys need to hear it. That, and there is far too much shit being directed at Goldman for me to choose from, so I'll default to my second favorite topic.

As a former bar owner and "sufferer" of hereditary alcoholism, there is little more frustrating to me than waiting at a crowded bar behind some dipshit playing "Stump the Barkeep" with orders like Pink Ladies, Grasshoppers, Appletinis, and other brainless concoctions. The only thing worse, I think, is the asshole ordering for a party of 8 who gets to the bar without knowing what everyone wants.

It is for these reasons that you're more likely to find me at a dive bar than at 1Oak. Whichever your preference, bar etiquette is not something to be ignored, especially when the place is slammed. With that in mind, the good folks over at Art of Manliness published this guide to getting a drink at a crowded bar. The advice is written by a bartender, and is correct across the board.

The best tip of the bunch is the first one. Tip, and tip big on the first round. Your bartender will be on the lookout for you whenever you get near the bar after that. Pick one drink and stick with it. That way, you just have to catch the bartender's eye and hold your drink up, and he'll have another one ready for you by the time you make it to the bar.

The only thing I would add to this guide is the advice to drink like a grown up. Experiment at home if you have to, but decide on a signature drink and stick with it. It doesn't have to be complicated. In fact, the less complicated the better. It can be beer or wine, or a single liquor (either by itself or with a single mixer). As soon as you start mixing liquors in one drink (or multiple mixers), you're tying the bartender up and making things miserable for everyone else. Long Island Iced Teas, Fuzzy Navels, Zombies, etc... just make you look like a jackoff.

For those curious, my drink is a rum on the rocks - preferably Mount Gay or Goslings. The advantage to hard liquor on the rocks (or neat) is that you receive a "rocks pour". This is something pretty much unknown outside of bartender circles, but when someone orders a single liquor on the rocks, the bartender will always pour you more liquor than would go into a mixed drink. Usually, they'll fill a tumbler for you, which is the equivalent of two drinks mixed.

It's undeniable that booze is a part of Wall Street culture, so you're better off learning how to do it right and taming your inner sorority girl sooner rather than later. Forget about the appletinis and man up. If you can't stand the taste of liquor stick with beer or wine. But for God's sake, don't make me wait behind you at the bar while you try to pull your head out of your ass.

That is all.

Andy note: "Blast from the past - Best of Eddie" - This one is originally from April 2010. If there's an old post from Eddie you'd like to see up again shoot me a message.

 

Never thought of the first tip trick, but have been using the same drink method since college. I like to mix it up tho, and sometimes add a head nod to the drink raise.

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ReadLine:
if you're paying cash hold your money/tip out for the bartender to see. Little known trick. People gravitate towards money they can see.
I'm guessing you were 21 when you wrote this. I see this all the time at college bars and those d bags never get drinks. If you are at a bar, it is pretty obvious you will have the money to order a drink. Don't insult the bartender by waving your $5 around. He already hates you.
My name is Nicky, but you can call me Dre.
 

Exact change (+tip of course). How I take the fast lane to getting a drink- hold up my empty beer bottle, with exact change for my next one + a dollar or two for tip, and then wait for the obnoxious little bitch next to me throw a shitfit while the bartender pops one on the bar for me while he is watering down her popular martini of the month that Carrie Bradshaw drank on a 10 year old episode of Sex and the City.

My million dollar idea for a bar in NYC: Have a beer express lane. Have a bottle or draft special on one particular type, and just have a bar back or other low wage staff member serve those up constantly all night. It must violate some laws though- the idea seems way too obvious for no one to have done this.

 
someotherguy:

My million dollar idea for a bar in NYC: Have a beer express lane. Have a bottle or draft special on one particular type, and just have a bar back or other low wage staff member serve those up constantly all night. It must violate some laws though- the idea seems way too obvious for no one to have done this.

Why not go one step further? Just have beer vending machines

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When I was in the nightlife industry, I realised that being well-known amongst your peers is the best way to get drinks, and you don't even have to walk up to the bar.

 
Go Native:
The advantage to hard liquor on the rocks (or neat) is that you receive a "rocks pour".

FYI, getting a drink "neat" means sans ice, not on the rocks.

Pretty sure he meant that it works with no ice hard liquor drinks as well.

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Edmundo Braverman:
Go Native:
The advantage to hard liquor on the rocks (or neat) is that you receive a "rocks pour".

FYI, getting a drink "neat" means sans ice, not on the rocks.

You don't say. Did you miss the part where I said I owned a bar???

Hah, yup that's my bad - no harm intended

 
MoneyKingdom:
The Best Advice...

This is what I do when I go out, I give the bartender my AMEX and $20, and as I am telling him/her my drink order(s), I say "take care of me, and i'll take care of you". I have literally had nights where my tab is $50 bucks for 15+drinks in a trendy nyc bar. Amazing.

i call bullshit. you know, unless you consider mj armstrongs a "trendy nyc bar." pegu, D&C, mlkhny, angel's share, rose, etc. are all 15 bucks a drink. and who the fuck drops their amex for a fifty dollar tab?? makes you look like a wet bag of douche.

 
MoneyKingdom:
The Best Advice...

This is what I do when I go out, I give the bartender my AMEX and $20, and as I am telling him/her my drink order(s), I say "take care of me, and i'll take care of you". I have literally had nights where my tab is $50 bucks for 15+drinks in a trendy nyc bar. Amazing.

So he keeps the $20 tip upfront, and then only charges you for 5 drinks on your card while actually pouring you 15 drinks? Yea right...

 
Banker88:
MoneyKingdom:
The Best Advice...

This is what I do when I go out, I give the bartender my AMEX and $20, and as I am telling him/her my drink order(s), I say "take care of me, and i'll take care of you". I have literally had nights where my tab is $50 bucks for 15+drinks in a trendy nyc bar. Amazing.

So he keeps the $20 tip upfront, and then only charges you for 5 drinks on your card while actually pouring you 15 drinks? Yea right...

This absolutely works, he just didn't finish the explanation. It is implied to the bartender that a reasonable portion of the $150 he saved you is coming back to him. He's not going to hook you up for $20 when he would make more on a 20% tip. It's symbiotic, you save a bunch, he gets tipped extra.

Also, this works much better if you've tipped the guy pretty big before and he remembers you. You're probably going to get fucked over pretty often if you try this on a bartender you don't know at all.

 

this is funny. my family owns some bars/restaurants,,,, The tip idea is the best. You can always shout to the bartender what you want your drink to be next.

-- "Those who say don't know, and those who know don't say."
 
Best Response

You folks are making this way too complicated. The solution is to NOT go to busy bars in the first place. It makes for better conversations, better service, and sometimes lower cost if you're mildly thrifty like me and think $7 is a lot of money to spend on a beer, NYC or not. An Irish bar or dive bar is perfect for this kind of thing, and you're almost guaranteed to find several within a few blocks of wherever you're working if you're in Manhattan.

The tipping advice is generally all right; somewhere around 20% or $1/drink at the cheaper places for good service is a good number. If I find myself leaving less, I usually try and get the group I'm with to migrate to a different bar, but that's generally not a problem if you're a regular at the less crowded places.

Still, the best thing you can do for better service is to be nice and treat the bartender with respect. Actually, basic common sense indicates that you should treat anyone who is handling something that you intend to ingest with a GREAT DEAL of respect.

This absolutely works, he just didn't finish the explanation. It is implied to the bartender that a reasonable portion of the $150 he saved you is coming back to him. He's not going to hook you up for $20 when he would make more on a 20% tip. It's symbiotic, you save a bunch, he gets tipped extra.
Not sure if this is something you want to advertise. Some people may argue that there is correlation between bribing the wait staff and increasing the agency costs in finance.
 
IlliniProgrammer:
It makes for better conversations, better service, and sometimes lower cost if you're mildly thrifty like me and think $7 is a lot of money to spend on a beer, NYC or not.

The going rate for a pint of beer at night (non-happy hour) here in Paris is 9€, or $12 USD. I just can't bring myself to do it. I recently found a place across town that has happy hour until 10 with 1.50€ drinks, but I have to take two trains to get there!

Life in the big city, I guess. At least in Miami you get to see half-naked Euro-trash chicks parading around while you're getting raped by the bartender.

 
Edmundo Braverman:
Andy note: The advantage to hard liquor on the rocks (or neat) is that you receive a "rocks pour". This is something pretty much unknown outside of bartender circles, but when someone orders a single liquor on the rocks, the bartender will always pour you more liquor than would go into a mixed drink. Usually, they'll fill a tumbler for you, which is the equivalent of two drinks mixed.

If I am understanding this correctly, it makes more sense to buy liquor neat than buy a shot? It seems you are being served the same thing but there is more value in buying the liquor neat unless the prices are vastly different.

 

In New York I find tipping to be most important and its not something that happens over any one night period. I go to many of the same spots many times and if you have a reputation for treating the staff well you will often end up with surprisingly small bills. They hook you up when you hook them up. This goes for high-end places (altho of course not bottle-service-type clubs) even more then your low-end Irish drinker because regulars are less common.

 
<span class=keyword_link><a href=/company/goldman-sachs><abbr title=Goldman Sachs&#10;>GS</abbr></a></span>:
Just the tip?

heh.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." - IlliniProgrammer
 

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