Bartenders Whip Up Fringe Cocktails

I guess I'm tired of "challenging" cocktails. I'm tired of people making cocktail lists for the entertainment of other bartenders and enthusiasts while ignoring the average paying customer that walks in the door. As someone who likes bitters, amari, vermouths/fortified wines and sherry, I can honestly say that I've tried your challenging cocktails and they suck. Just because you have access to obscure liqueurs, hundreds of bitters and weird flavors doesn't mean you should use them all in the same drink. What these people are doing is completely different from what 99.99% of all chefs do. Chefs also have polarizing ingredients, but they don't jam as many as they can into one dish. They strive for balance and rely on subtlety and nuance. A chef would never serve something he thought only 10% of his customers might like.

So here's a challenge, have one of your envelope pushing cocktails after your shift. After wincing with every sip, ask yourself "Did that taste good and would I order a second one?" Was it delicious or was it an all-out assault on your palate that mercifully ended after your last drink. Unfortunately, I've been having way too many of the latter lately and it's making me rethink my preference for ordering cocktails.

As long as they still make me a Manhattan, they can do whatever they want with everything else.

I would like a more evidence-based approach to this topic. If we could have specific examples of uninsurable mayhem, romantic serendipity and/or arrest records associated with specific cocktails, then please post the recipes and the contact information of a good lawyer. Everything else is just fizzled entries at Scrabble. Merci bien.

I'm tired of bartenders with curly mustaches wearing vests and armbands.

I'm tired of drinks with morbid names. Corpse Reviver, Widow's Kiss, Death In the Afternoon... What perfect drinks for a great night out!

I'm tired of the constant history lessons on whiskey in New York. I get it, water wasn't potable back in the day.

Can I just get a drink? Enough already with the fancy cocktails.

These kinds of cocktails introduce me to things I may not have thought of and expand my palate. More importantly perhaps I take away an idea from a certain flavor in the cocktail or an ingredient. I find these cocktails to be about discovery.

Drink ain't food and
food ain't drink.
Y'all got a Rubrik-Problem!

Great article. It reminds me of The Saphire Hotel, where the bartenders' specials are changed on a regulate basis. We always let the bartender choose what to mix and we've never been disappointed. As an aside, I walk around singing Tomorrow Never Knows a lot more than I Want To Hold Your Hand.

I enjoy cocktails that push the envelope. I love surprises. It's also depends so much on my mood. Sometimes I want to drink something comfortable and familiar. Sometimes I want to experience a taste sensation unlike any other I've had. It's so similar to dining in restaurants. Occasionally you just want a burger or mac & cheese. Tried and true classics. Another night you might be in the mood for a creative, molecular, tasting menu. It's the same with drinking habits. You can find all kinds of cocktails, classics to bartender's choice experiments, on the new app TrophyCocktail.

During my younger years when my stomach could tolerate it, I used to fancy a bizarre concoction called a Wall Street Wizard, which consisted of a half ounce each of vodka, gin, light rum, Midori, and Blue Curaçao. Its stirred with ice and served straight up in a cocktail glass, and it's absolute murder on the palate.

Modern day alchemy.

Some of us actually like to push our palates, though. Sometimes I will make a drink that my buddy can't stand, and I love it. A Planter's Punch is great, but sometimes I actually want something more edgy. Not because I want to be edgy, but because I want to be challenged.

Cynical as I am about trendoids, hipsters, and people who are uncomfortable unless they see themselves as "edgy", I would bet most of this stuff, especially the drinks that have some success, are unpalatable.

I'll have another Planter's Punch, please.

This tequila mix drink is full of calories and is very bad for you. Strictly for those who don't care to see tomorrow.

Mr. Simonson deserves a prize for this very entertaining summary of weird cocktail mixtures. If there is anything to be surprised, it is that no one has yet claimed to use "bat oil" or "holy water" in a cocktail.