Message 13184 of 39188 in General Discussion

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I am a bit pained that the era of my formative drinking year has become 
nostalgic but I can add that I began bartending in 1981. I worked in Des 
Moines, Iowa, not known as a trendy city, but remember selling a lot of bad 
wine, B&J and Seagram's Wine Coolers, and being amused by the different beer 
crazes. The early eighties in the midwest saw the end of the Coors craze, a 
brief Moosehead / Molson phase, followed by a deluge of Mexican beers, 
primarily Dos Equis and Corona.
But in terms of "fad" distinctively 80s drinks, they seem to be so dull by 
today's standards. Vodka began to dominate with the demise of the Manhattan 
crowd and to suggest something as banal as a Seabreeze, Madras, or Baybreeze 
won't help your party suggestions. I do remember selling a lot of Long 
Islands, but that again isn't terribly distinct or fun.
Maybe if this thread continues it will my jog my memory....
As a nostalgia trip, however, the early eighties were a blast. Happy hours 
and double drinks were the norm and we would frequently serve 8 - 10 oz 
glasses of wine and "super-sized" Long Islands, Zombies, and the like. If you 
could make it to the bathroom and back to the bar without pissing anyone off, 
in the 1980s, you could keep on drinkin'. DUIs were only for people who 
really, really pissed off the cops.