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" The first step to ordering a drink is to have a drink. Which is Your Official Drink. Your go-to. Your standby. Everyone should have one. The simpler the better. And not beer. Beer should not be Your Official Drink. Because it&amp;#039;s everyone&amp;#039;s. And not a margarita. Or a mint julep. Or a Bloody Mary. Your Official Drink should not be closely associated with a foreign country or a horse race or breakfast. And its name should not be amusing to college students.  Your drink should be easy to order. If you think there is a chance the bartender will not know how to make your drink, do not order it.  (Here&amp;#039;s a handy guide to determining the capabilities of your bartender: If the bartender is wearing a name tag, order beer or straight liquor or a cocktail that everyone knows how to make. If the bartender is wearing an apron, order whatever you want. Only capable bartenders wear aprons these days. If the bartender is not wearing a name tag or an apron, look into his eyes. Order what you think he would order.)  Maybe Your Official Drink is not the appropriate drink for this place. Maybe your drink is a whiskey sour, and you&amp;#039;re at a place that doesn&amp;#039;t seem sympathetic to a whiskey sour. Maybe you have to change the play. Fine. The key to ordering in a new place is to take your cues from your surroundings. Order only what you can see. Scan the back bar and taps as you walk in. If you don&amp;#039;t see what you want, then maybe order something else. This is not about the bartender; the bartender is paid to stand there and wait. This is about you. Look what you&amp;#039;re doing to yourself. Standing at a bar should never involve rumination. It&amp;#039;s you who shouldn&amp;#039;t wait. So order what you see.  (An exception: If you&amp;#039;re at a high-end cocktail bar and you are handed a cocktail menu, order off of it.)  And one last thing: a man doesn&amp;#039;t ask about drink specials. A drink special isn&amp;#039;t special at all. It&amp;#039;s the opposite of special, really.  Also, no yelling. This is the triumphant return of an ongoing series of instructions, or at least suggestions, regarding how to comport yourself while drinking. We call it How We Drink. Have a topic? E-mail us. And on a slightly related note, this. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/food-drink/drinks/how-to/a8608/how-to-order-a-drink-at-a-bar/>