The strawberry daiquiri and other loathsome drinks

by Scott Tyrer

 There’s a quote from a video on YouTube that I’ve been thinking about lately: “W****rs drink Strawberry Daiquiris”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY-gxtelhoc

I don’t believe for one minute that he actually thinks that everyone who orders a Strawberry Daiquiri is a wanker in themselves, more that they’re behaving LIKE one for thinking a Strawberry Daiquiri is worth ordering when there is the option of anything else available. 

Now, the dichotomy I’m dealing with is that while I know I shouldn’t, I do agree with him, however the professional side of me doesn’t. I should be able to understand the type of person who wants a Strawberry Daiquiri wants something fruity and bright, more akin to an accessory than a beverage or that it’s just what they like the taste of. 

The Living Room Group have a mix and match theory stating that as long as you have the ingredients in the building a guest can order whatever they want, which is great in theory, it puts common sense into words for those a little lacking. So if I agree with that then really I should have no objection to making this bastardisation of a great classic, if that’s what my guest wants and will make them happy.

Maybe in the south things are a little different with their bigger demographic of educated clientele, obviously there will be certain bars where these kinds of drinks are more apt. 

For me, making disco drinks just happens to be one of my guilty pleasures, there’s something fun and unpretentious about them, I mean, how can you keep a straight face when you’re making drinks with names of a sexual connotation? Or bright garish garnishes that make the girls giggle and the boys laugh and jeer? But then why does the Strawberry Daiquiri not have the same affect? So far the only explanation I can come up with is that the customer who orders the Strawberry Daiquiri does so without a giggle, they consider it to be a serious drinker’s drink unlike the raucous nature of the June Bug or the Sloe Comfortable Screw. Maybe it’s just me.

It is me, I know it is. Pride and arrogance makes it very hard for me to admit that, but the first step to a solution is admitting there is a problem.

I know I’m not alone with his problem; it seems to be shared amongst all bartenders that forget their guests and only consider the drink, we laugh and sneer at those drinks in favour of those that time has forgotten, a modern day resurrectionist of sorts. I think if some people had their way everyone would be drinking the Sazerac, Manhattan or Negroni, leaving the reclaimed classics for ourselves. 

I think I may have opened a can of worms here...

1 comment

Matt W. 29-12-2011

I'd like to start this comment by saying, I'm actually a Living Room bartender at the moment and the “mix and match” theory is a great idea, but it's only putting what(at least from my experience) every other bar out there does into a phrase that's easy to remember.
As far as the Strawberry Daiquiri goes (and every other disco drink out there) people order because they've heard the name, or had a pitcher of it in Weatherspoons.
I have many-a-time tried to sway these people to different(better) drinks. So far I have failed about 95% of the time. There seems to just be something about the Strawberry Daiquiri that everyone but bartenders like. Maybe one day I will find out, and I'll be sure to let you know!

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