When I was a young man I tended bar part-time in Los Angeles. Usually the customers wanted beer or rum and coke or the cocktails that were in vogue at the time (i.e., Tequila Sunrise, Singapore Sling, Grasshoppers; this was the 1970s, by the way).
One day a guy came in with his date and she ordered a Grasshopper (very popular with the ladies back then) and he ordered — are you sitting down? — Chivas and tomato juice, tall, no ice. I was tempted to throw him out of the bar.
I got one just as bad. I was at a bar in Texas a long time ago and this cowboy looking guy came up and ordered Johnnie Walker Red and Diet Coke. The whole bar went silent. I moved to the other end.
Question: Would you have bounced the patron if he had
ordered the well Scotch with tomato juice?
I’m not sure why I ask that question except that I may
have a subconscious belief that sipping alcohol is just
that. If the alcohol product is supposed to be of such
high quality that it is ‘stand alone’ then mixing it
with anything except a little ice or dash of water is
an insult to the gods of alcohol. For example the
ever popular Jack Daniels and Coke is wrong, wrong
and wrong. If you like the flavor of whiskey and
cola then order cheap or well whiskey. Don’t
insult the high quality product.
Then I ask myself if I am really that much of a booze
snob and my answer to myself is no I am not. Combine
anything that floats your boat. The Daniels people
hail their central product as a ‘sipping whiskey’
at the same time they offer various cocktail recipes
featuring their product including ‘Jack Daniels and
cola. The folks who bring you ‘Old No.7’ love the
‘sipping’ quality reputation of the product but they
also love the profits realized because most consumers
don’t sip, instead they prefer cocktails. The more
diverse, the more profitable. As a fan of capitalism
I love the idea of appealing to diverse audiences.