Bartenders Hate When You Say This While Ordering A Drink

When posting up at the bar, offending the person behind the counter is definitely not the smartest move. This individual is in charge of making your drinks, after all (and if you're lucky, engaging with you in some witty banter). Our sister site Chowhound spoke with a few experts on the subject of bar etiquette, and very high on the list of egregious interactions was asking for your drink to be made "stronger."

According to etiquette consultant Lisa Mirza Grotts, "Bartenders know how to make a proper drink — this is insulting." Asking for a drink to be stronger than it's intended to be could also throw off its carefully considered balance while simultaneously suggesting that the professional behind the bar isn't going to make the beverage to your liking. Grotts added that, "If you want it stronger, order a double and pay accordingly." Just vaguely asking for your drink to be made more potent is essentially asking for more alcohol on the house, and that's not cool.

Not every cocktail is meant to be consumed as a double or, if you're having a really good or bad day, maybe even a triple. However, there are some exceptions. Well drinks – the basic combination of a bar's entry-level spirit plus simple mixers and garnishes — make sense to order this way (these are also sometimes called rail drinks). These are your basic rum and cokes, vodka sodas, gin and tonics, etc. It's perfectly acceptable to order these as doubles and pay accordingly.

When it comes to more complicated cocktails, though, asking for it to be made stronger is a real rookie move. Multi-ingredient cocktails are designed thoughtfully, with balanced taste as the ultimate goal. All of the ingredients in a cocktail are meant to harmonize, which means that asking for more of the dominant spirit will throw off the equation. Classic ratios in cocktails exist for a reason, like the 2:1:1 margarita, for example. Although over-pouring spirits is one of the mistakes everyone makes when mixing cocktails, when you're mixing your own drinks at home, technically you can make them as strong as you like — though you still may not want to, for the sake of balance and taste.