Avoid Asking A Bartender About The Best Drink At The Bar. Here's Why

Visiting a new bar can be an exciting experience as it gives you the opportunity to find your next favorite drink, especially if you go somewhere with a lot of unique cocktails. Unfortunately, unless you have an insanely high alcohol tolerance, it's pretty much impossible to try every special on the menu in one trip. You may be tempted to ask the bartender, "what drinks are good?" but you should avoid this question since it has some rather rude implications.

Think about it: When you ask the bartender if anything is good, it's not hard for them to infer that you think most of what they serve isn't worth ordering. The bartender is also the person making everything, so asking what cocktails are above par may be seen as a slight to their mixology skills since it's their job to mix drinks to the best of their ability. And if there's anyone you don't want to insult, it's the person serving you drinks. There's nothing wrong with trying to ensure you are going to get a great product, but asking "what's the best drink?" is one bar faux pas you'll definitely want to steer away from.

Instead of asking your bartender for a ranking of all the cocktails they whip up, try asking less judgemental questions. Go with something like "what's your favorite drink?" or "what's the most popular drink?" Even "what drink is the bar known for?" is a much more positive way to get the information you're after without potentially insulting your mixologist.

If you are truly concerned that some of the bar's beverages won't be up to snuff, it may be a good idea to do some research before you go out by looking up online reviews of specific drinks. Or, if you're already at the bar, you can ask your fellow patrons what drinks they like. After all, a customer is much more likely to give you an accurate recommendation than an employee who is being paid to push certain drink specials. If you plan on ordering beer or wine rather than a mixed drink, it might also be possible to get a sample.

It's perfectly reasonable to want the best drink on the menu, but there are ways to ask that won't make you the bartender's least favorite customer. The answer to what's "good" is subjective anyway, so you're better off asking more explorative questions and embracing the risk of trying something new.