This may sound like an oxymoron, but there's a hidden financial contortion in the bar equation. Bars drinks are almost always expensive, but not always, and sometimes bartenders serve a dual purpose that can end up saving literally $100s of dollars. Just ask any bartender if they've ever had a client that wanted to talk to them about their lives.
For starters, at a minimum bartenders are paid to serve their clients and do their best to make them feel good. For special clients they may even buy you a drink. According to Everyday Health bartenders are one of seven “everyday therapists” that can help stave off depression. For $5-$10 a drink that's the cost of a co-pay at a cognitive therapist's office.
Forbes magazine also has something to say about bartender therapists. Specifically, the bartenders that are good at therapy aren't so good at mixology. Truth be told, mixology is the easy, or at least the fun part. Approximately 99 percent of the time either the client or a bar book will have a drink recipe, out of this world shooters being the exception. However, that reasoning precludes the point that the technical experts aren't so inclined to be the people experts.
In reality how much therapy a bartender gives depends on the bartender, how new they are to the business, their training, how busy they are, the clientele and how well you tip. Moreover, when finding the ideal bartender the most obvious places aren't necessarily the best. Small out of the way service bars during off hours are a good bet. These bartenders tend to have less diverse mixology requests, and have more time to please their clients. Quiet bars also afford greater depth of conversation.
Some bars actually serve cheaper drinks too. According to the good folks at Chowhound, they're not always easy to find, and aren't likely to have chandeliers. When visiting obscure, culturally homogenous rural bars consider avoiding the bottom shelf (or back corner) tequila especially if it's from a dusty bottle. Rail drinks, house wines and domestic draft are usually the more affordable choices. For high alcohol content, long-island ice teas (a combination of five ½ oz servings of white liquors) with sour-mix and coke are a good choice if cocktails have a flat rate price.
For starters, at a minimum bartenders are paid to serve their clients and do their best to make them feel good. For special clients they may even buy you a drink. According to Everyday Health bartenders are one of seven “everyday therapists” that can help stave off depression. For $5-$10 a drink that's the cost of a co-pay at a cognitive therapist's office.
Forbes magazine also has something to say about bartender therapists. Specifically, the bartenders that are good at therapy aren't so good at mixology. Truth be told, mixology is the easy, or at least the fun part. Approximately 99 percent of the time either the client or a bar book will have a drink recipe, out of this world shooters being the exception. However, that reasoning precludes the point that the technical experts aren't so inclined to be the people experts.
In reality how much therapy a bartender gives depends on the bartender, how new they are to the business, their training, how busy they are, the clientele and how well you tip. Moreover, when finding the ideal bartender the most obvious places aren't necessarily the best. Small out of the way service bars during off hours are a good bet. These bartenders tend to have less diverse mixology requests, and have more time to please their clients. Quiet bars also afford greater depth of conversation.
Some bars actually serve cheaper drinks too. According to the good folks at Chowhound, they're not always easy to find, and aren't likely to have chandeliers. When visiting obscure, culturally homogenous rural bars consider avoiding the bottom shelf (or back corner) tequila especially if it's from a dusty bottle. Rail drinks, house wines and domestic draft are usually the more affordable choices. For high alcohol content, long-island ice teas (a combination of five ½ oz servings of white liquors) with sour-mix and coke are a good choice if cocktails have a flat rate price.
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