Have you ever had a night out at a lounge or bar, looking to get great-tasting and relaxing drinks, and gotten the exact opposite? This experience can ruin your night and leave you feeling even worse than you did before going into the bar.
Most of the time, the general aesthetics of the bar do not give away the fact that the drinks will be subpar, and many people are trying to figure out how to tell if some places are worth spending their money on. If this is you, keep reading!
Bad Experiences
Having a night out with drinks that are supposed to taste great and help you relax always sounds good. However, it can be easily ruined when the expectations do not meet the reality. People end up with bad experiences that can cause them to regret stepping out and even ruin their fun.
Therefore, people prefer to go to bars only after people have recommended them first. For those going to an untested place, how do you know if a bar or lounge will serve good drinks?
Red Flags To Look Out For
The answer is quite simple. Some major red flags can help you know if a bar or lounge serves good, proper, and hygienic drinks. What’s more, some of these red flags can help you determine the quality of these drinks without you having to try them yourself.
If you are testing out a new place, looking out for these red flags is essential, as they can help you save money that would have gone to waste on terrible drinks. Here are 10 of them.
Bartenders Puts Their Hands on or Near the Glass Rim
One of the first rules taught when bartending is never to touch the glass rim of a cup. Therefore, if you see a bartender touching the rim or the upper two-thirds of a customer’s glass, this is a sign for you to get out of that place as fast as you can.
It is very unsanitary for a bartender to touch a customer’s glass with their hands, and it will transfer dirt to the rim. It also shows that the bartender is not a trained professional.
ALSO READ: Couple’s Clever Money-Saving Trick for Drinks While Dining Out Gets Praised
Places With Dirty Bathrooms
Health inspectors always consider dirty bathrooms a huge red flag for any establishment. This is because keeping the bathroom neat and usable shows a good level of commitment to quality and customer satisfaction. If the bathroom that customers can see is not tidy, there is a very high chance that the kitchen they cannot see is not clean.
This is a clear red flag, and for your health and safety, you should avoid establishments with dirty bathrooms.
Warm, Lukewarm, or Flat Beers
People who love beer will argue that nothing is worse than expecting a nice cold beer with a slight head of foam and getting lukewarm or room-temperature beer instead. Well-trained bartenders know that beer should never be warm and always stay between 50 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit to maximize taste and customer satisfaction.
Therefore, getting subpar or warm-tasting beer is a red flag about an establishment, showing that their staff is not up to proper standards.
Not Using an Ice Scoop or Tongs
It is bad practice for a bartender to use their hands to scoop ice, but If your bartender is seen using a instead of tongs or ice scoops, leave immediately! This is even worse than using your hands as it is hazardous for you and many others.
When they scoop with glass, they are transfering dirt into the ice and water that other drinkers will use. Worse, the glass could chip off and injure a customer.
Bartenders Leaving Bar Tools All Over the Place
If you are at a bar where the tender keeps leaving all their tools all over the counter or tables and not in their appropriate places, there is a high chance of contamination. This is a huge red flag.
This is because the tools pick up dirt from the counter, and this dirt and microorganisms are transferred to your drinks when they prepare them. It also shows that they do not care about proper hygiene.
The Rule Of Vermouth
According to a Reddit user, “Bars that treat their vermouth without respect will generally have no idea how to mix drinks.” Experts and experienced bartenders will argue that this is true. An opened bottle of Vermouth will oxidize and lose its taste quickly if left unrefrigerated.
So, if you walk into an establishment and see that the staff keeps Vermouth on the shelf instead of in their fridge, the staff is undertrained, and you don’t want to be there.
Bartenders Using Low-Quality Alcohol For Mixed Drinks
Some bars use very low-quality alcohol to mix their drinks, and this is very bad. It is a clear red flag because the establishment clearly does not prioritize the quality of its drinks at all.
Even when mixed, cheap and low-quality alcohol is easy to spot, giving customers a bad taste. It is unrealistic to expect bars to use only expensive, top-shelf liquor for their mixed drinks, but customers deserve decent-tasting alcohol in their drinks.
ALSO READ: Celebrations End As Fast Food Chains Move To Cut Work Hours After Hike in Wages
Premade Mixes
Do not even take a seat if you walk into a bar or lounge and see the bartender using premade mixes. This indicates that the bar does not value quality and will not give you the great-tasting drinks you want.
It is a huge red flag because premade mixes do not taste as good as freshly mixed ones. They usually taste stale and sour, and nobody wants drinks like that.
Bar Grates Smelling Like Old Fruit
This tip is not a common one. According to a bartender who has worked in several high-profile bars in Los Angeles, you can know how hygienic a bar is by its smell. If there is an old or slightly sour fruit smell from the bar grates, the bar is not being cleaned properly or regularly.
There is also a chance that there is a pool of spilled liquid under the grates, breeding unhealthy bacteria that can contaminate your drinks.
Spoiled or Slimy Garnishes Are Warning Signs
Most cocktails are served with garnishes that can be clear indicators of the bar staff’s competency and the establishment’s hygiene as a whole. This is a big red flag if the lime or lemon wedge served with your drink looks slimy or spoiled.
It could mean that the staff was undertrained and did not properly store the garnishes over time. It could also ruin the taste of your drinks, as spoilt fruit always has an extra sourness to it.
You Might Also Like:
McDonald’s Reintroduces Limited-Time Pie Flavor
Celebrations End As Fast Food Chains Move To Cut Work Hours After Hike in Wages
How Athletic Brewing Is Leading the Non-Alcoholic Beer Boom With a $50 Million Investment
McDonald’s Surprisingly Brings Back an Old-Time Favorite of Their Customers
10 Easy Income Ideas for Retirees To Make Extra $1500 Monthly