on ordering cocktails at a bar or restaurant

[MrWookie]

For me, the complicated drinks I like, few bartenders know. They know more of the so-called girly exotic drinks. Consequently, when I'm out at a bar, I order mostly beer (good beer), but sometimes a Manhattan, a Martini, a gin gimlet, a gin and tonic, or something neat. After I tried ordering a sidecar and got a funny look, I don't trust most bartenders to know how to make cocktails that aren't pink sugarbombs. I'll mix all kinds of weird [censored] for myself, but I wouldn't trouble most bartenders with it. Right now, I'm polishing off a concoction of 2 parts brandy, 2 parts Cointreau, and 1 part Pernod on the rocks. Pretty good, but weird, since Pernod is an acquired taste. I only feel like drinking it very occasionally.