An Argument Lost At The Cocktail Club
The Cocktail Club on north King Street in Charleston offers an atmospheric place to sip craft cocktails, accompanied occasionally by live music. I had settled in with my drink at the bar when I overheard the young lady next to me ordering drinks:
Woman: “Hi there. I need something for a girl and something for a guy [indicating the fellow next to her].”
The bartender, to his credit, delved further into their taste in cocktails, made some recommendations and got mixing. I felt fascinated — especially after attending a conference dedicated to women and Cognac — to hear her order drinks this way, as if gender had something to do with palate.
Me: “I couldn’t help but hear you order your cocktails, and I wanted to ask — why did you order them that way? I mean, do you think women have different palates than men?”
Woman: “Oh, that’s interesting — I don’t really know why I did that, actually. I’m actually a bartender myself, and I like all sorts of things.”
Me: “Right, absolutely. I mean, what if I’m a guy in the mood for something sweet and spicy, and I see this cocktail on the menu here with cinnamon, chili peppers, chocolate vodka and so forth. I probably won’t order it because it’s called ‘For Her Pleasure.’ But why is it called that? Because it’s a dessert drink?”
Woman: “Yeah, I don’t know. But it’s funny, because I actually ended up with a pretty strong martini, and my boyfriend’s is on the sweeter side. So I’m not sure me ordering the way I did made much of a difference after all. What are you drinking?”
Me: “Ahem. This is a ‘Valiant Soldier.'”
Woman: [Raises eyebrows.]
Oops. And with that, this valiant soldier was forced into retreat!
Ha! What are the chances that you’d be sipping on that drink at the exact time you’d have a conversation about gender identity and beverages? Although, knowing you, maybe that’s the kind of conversation that comes up often… 😉
I do actually think about gender and drinking preferences more than the average person, especially in the wake of the conference about women and Cognac, but I’m not usually drinking a Valiant Soldier at the same time!
Haha, very interesting! I think that the sweeter drinks with brighter colours often kind of scare men into thinking that if they order that, they’ll look a bit girly?
Hi Callum – Thanks! I think you’re absolutely right. Those bright colors do scare men into thinking that they’ll look girly. Of course, what they really should be scared of in those drinks are the artificial flavors, artificial colors and unbalanced sweetness!