on ordering cocktails at a bar or restaurant

[J.Brown]

a good friend of mine was just featured in an ad for bombay sapphire in this months GQ as one of like 16 innovative bartenders (congats to Cody Robertson, looking good man) and after checking it out i got to thinking.....

i couldn't order any of these elaborate beverages with a straight face if i had to. not that they would be tasty or refreshing or get you drunk or any of the other reasons that you have a cocktail, but jeez.

a side note is that i am a pretty simple consumer of alcoholic drinks. give me a gin martini up, a glass of pinot noir, a damn bottled beer, anything simple like that and i am more than satisified.

it is no fun to order something you have to explain how to make to the bartender. you look like a douche imho and i guarantee the server thinks you are one.

i am never ordering something with a "big" name.
ex. lemon tarragon tart or fire on ice. seriously.

alot of fancy, hip, new cocktails have 8 ingredients some of which many bars never carry.
(i am not refering to stuff on a menu, they are obviously within the limits, but still a bit much sometimes)

i could go on and on, but i want to ask these questions:

what is the most elaborate drink you can feel comfortable ordering?

does anyone have something they always order that they have to explain how to make everytime?

do you ever make your own multi ingedient, muddled, strained, mixed, set on fire cocktails at home?

i want to hear about edf's cocktail choices.

the simpler the better! [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] cheers. J.