A Cocktail Catastrophe!

Weeks ago Jen said that we ought to have people over to “salons” on the first Friday of each month. The idea was that we would share delicious cocktails, catch up, and then walk down to Art Murmur. In theory, this should work.

Our first “salon” last month was too successful. We had a huge number of attendees, and my drinks were a hit. But I spent the whole thing frantically making drinks for people! I hardly had time to chat with anyone. Also, we didn’t leave and go to Art Murmur, because everybody was having a good time  and getting free drinks at our apartment.

In preparation for the second salon, we assumed that it would go exactly as the first had. I thought it would be smart to make whole pitchers of three cocktails. That way I could just mix them the one time and could relax. (The three cocktails: the Income Tax, the Manhattan, and the Whiskey Sour).

But this time, fewer people wanted cocktails. Most of the guests were fine with beer or wine. One guy drank nothing but water! One day later, we still have three pitchers of drinks in the fridge. D’oh! This is clearly the most ill-fated instance of backward-looking planning since the Maginot Line.

The experience made me think: what is it that people like about bartenders? It is not merely the drink that results from his or her skill and labor, it is the attention. People like the spectacle of the drink’s preparation, just for them, and they like that as far as the bartender is concerned, their own preferences have absolute sovereignty. Appearance is often in contradiction to what is actually going on, and thus the pitcher of Manhattans — which objectively should have the same value as an equal quantity of Manhattans prepared individually — is treasured less than the specially prepared drinks. Go figure!