> Kurt, great to see a bartender focussing on service rather than mechanical
> skills for a change. Creating drinks to taste is, to my mind, the greatest
> skill of bartending and it includes offering the right beer/ wine etc. Alot of
> bartender are indeed reactive and only make to request.
Most cocktails can be split into 5 categories, according to when they are best
consumed, they are:
1. Heart starters/ Morning - drinks such as the Bloody Mary provide the
consumer with a bit of 'pep' as well as 'hair of the dog'
2. Long Drinks/ Afternoon - refreshing drinks with no cream, usually build
over ice although sometimes blended (eg. Zombie, Mai Tai). Cocktails such as
Margaritas also can fit into this category.
3. Pre-dinner - strong drinks that are designed to stimulate the palate such
as the Martini/ Manhattan
4. After-dinner - creamy drinks that almost replace desert (eg. Mudslide,
Bananarama...)
5. Celebratory - usually shot cocktails, although flaming or novelty drinks
are also common
Hope this gives you some insight into the 'right' cocktails for the occasion.
Wishing you many a big tip - Jason
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I am a regular bartender hoping to become a very good one. Making nice
> cocktails is no problem, but I would like to advice customers more
> pro-actively. Could any bartender out there help me how to get more feeling
> for "which type of customer in which kind of mood might want which type of
> cocktail"?.
>
> koert (also called kurt by my grungy friends)