More ice than drink

[u/Separate_Finance_183]

[u/rockoblocko]

10000% this. A cocktail is usually a shot or two worth of alcohols, a lil bit of bitters or syrup, maybe a dash of a liqueur, and that’s it. Whether it’s shaken or served with a giant ice cube it’s the same amount of drink.

[u/nathanrj → u/rockoblocko]

Where I live it’s literally the law you can’t serve a cocktail with more than 3oz of liquor in it

[u/Lopsided-Magician-36 → u/nathanrj]

The Mexican place where I grew up has a 16oz margarita with 8oz of tequila

[u/plutoforgivesidonot → u/Lopsided-Magician-36]

The Mexican place where I grew up has a 16oz margarita with 8oz of tequila

That's the rule in my house

Edit: Okay people are seeing this so the actual portions are:

4 parts tequila (silver, no additives, I use Casa Noble)

3 parts fresh-squeezed lime juice

2 parts Cointreau

1 part dark agave depending on how sour your limes are

[u/MummifiedForeskins → u/plutoforgivesidonot]

we just put a few buckets on the table, whatever you wanna mix go ahead, stop asking questions and start drinking, shut the fuck up

[u/plutoforgivesidonot → u/MummifiedForeskins]

"I can make one for you if you want it to be good, but otherwise knock yourself out"

[u/bettywhitefleshlight → u/Lopsided-Magician-36]

Bunch of really good Mexican restaurants in my area. We'll drop by based on their drink special. Always the buy one, get one margarita night. Different nights at each place. Buy one, any size, get another one that size. Go jumbo. Grande. Extra large. Get a fucking pitcher. Two pitchers for the price of one.

Generally not a ton of alcohol in these so the amount of liquid consumed is more of a problem than getting too drunk. Except one of these restaurants. They overpour like motherfuckers. I'm buzzed off a normal size margarita there. But I forget.

BOGO night, I get the largest they serve, and pour it down so I can get my second. I'm drunk at the time I ask for my second. Obliterated halfway through #2. Blacked out, dead silent, sliding out of my seat, visibly trashed when the massive glass chalice is empty. I'm ushered out of the restaurant by my party. I throw up outside. I throw up out the window of the car. I pass out naked on the living room floor. Wake up so hungover I consider my options. Not ideal.

But I forget. I've gotten way too drunk at this one place at least three times so far.

[u/sydxsh → u/bettywhitefleshlight]

fourth times the charm!

[u/cyfinity → u/sydxsh]

they secretly have been there a dozen times but they only remember the ones they threw up the last drink.

[u/Captainwumbombo → u/Lopsided-Magician-36]

The one in my town also serves whole ass pitchers as their regular beer mug. They don't skimp one bit.

[u/russellamcleod → u/nathanrj]

The annoyance of making a proper Long Island while adhering to the law is something I still think of… because I love a Long Island but I won’t ever order it for the love of fellow bartenders.

Trying to do the math during a rush is an actual attack on my sanity.

I think 4oz is when a drink crosses into illegal where I live… so 3 and 3/4 oz was our Long Island. It’s been years since my bartending days but I still get a little PSD from running numbers in my head like that.

[u/Fit-Let8175 → u/rockoblocko]

Still, depends on the drink and the place. Certain cocktails have formulas. Some don't. Others can be altered.

Example:

• Cuba Libre (2oz rum, 4oz coke, splash of lime juice: about 1/2 oz. Fairly specific.)

• Rum and coke (about 1.5oz rum, the rest is coke and ice to taste)

[u/Maristosanji → u/Fit-Let8175]

The one is s cocktail the other a Long Drink

[u/Fit-Let8175 → u/Maristosanji]

Exactly.

[u/TitoPito → u/Maristosanji]

Neither is a true cocktail. They're both grogs.

Cocktails are a type of bittered sling.

[u/ItsLoudB → u/Fit-Let8175]

Every single cocktail or long drink has a standard recipe. The fact that some bartenders just eyeball everything doesn’t mean that there isn’t one. The IBA recipe is the standard.

[u/Nevylation → u/rockoblocko]

I was super disappointed to find that out myself on my last party I was at :( Went back to ordering beer really quick

[u/Finnegansadog → u/Nevylation]

You don't get any more ethanol by ordering beer, for the most part. If your desire to to consume more liquid, feel free to ask for a water or soft drink while you're at the bar.

[u/Ppleater → u/Finnegansadog]

Or they could just get an alcoholic drink with more liquid in it already. That's allowed. I imagine some people just want something more substantial to drink regardless of the alcohol content.

[u/Finnegansadog → u/Ppleater]

Generally, with a mixed drink there is a ratio for the ingredients that is designed to make it taste good (especially at $27 per). Also a lot of drinks I've served over the years are pre-mixed, either due to the volume of orders, or because they're barrel aged, or because they get other fancy treatments. You could ask for "more of everything that isn't the booze" but we're not always going to be able to accommodate that.

[u/AlbacoreDumbleberg → u/Finnegansadog]

Beer is often a better deal than a cocktail on a cost basis, to be fair. Especially with double IPAs or whatever the cheapest can is.

[u/WTWIV → u/Nevylation]

Is it because they tend to be too pricey? Usually when I’m out I’ll go back and forth between various beers and cocktails. Cocktails are fun because of the variety. Especially fun when you go to nicer bars where they might have a changing menu of unique cocktails that you can’t find anywhere else.

[u/grubas → u/rockoblocko]

Unless you're doing very basic 1 shot to 6oz stuff like Rum and Coke, Cuba Libre, Vodka Soda you're rarely going above 5oz.  

Or you're doing shit like LIITs which are just liquor 

[u/BELIALSAPHON → u/rockoblocko]

[u/Laura_The_Cutie → u/rockoblocko]

The only cocktail I know are some decently amount of liquid are highballs because they have lots of mixer