We Asked 10 Bartenders For The Strangest Drink Requests They Ever Made

There is an adage that if you want to know the truth about a town, don't ask the mayor, ask the bartender. So, when we wanted to learn about strange and uncanny happenings in the cocktail world, we asked 11 bartenders about the most unusual orders they have received. Their answers revealed a modern cocktail culture that has shunned rigid rules and embraced a spirit of creativity. Strange is not a word these bartenders fear — they welcome unique orders. "When it happens, I love it," Cynthia Mazzini Noble, lead bartender at Kapow Noodle Bar, told us. "It's a chance to learn something and shows the guest is genuinely passionate about cocktails."

Today, pre-Prohibition vintage cocktails share the menu with new inventions, and customers are exposed to a more diverse array of options than ever before. They discover a cocktail they like in one bar and carry that knowledge with them to new locations, where bartenders work with them to recreate something similar. Customers are also emboldened to swing for the fences, and while some of their bizarre orders were whiffs, others were home runs that found a place on the bar menu.

If there is a lesson to take away from these bartenders, it is to not fear the unknown, and to trust the bartender to lead you in an interesting direction. "We're not just pouring drinks — we're creating experiences," Noble said. Some of the orders they told us about sound strange, but they might inspire your new favorite cocktail.

Several bartenders mentioned riffs on the martini among the uncommon drinks they've been asked to make. That's not surprising. In its simplest form, a classic martini is just gin and a splash of dry vermouth. But this simple, two-ingredient cocktail has spawned an endless number of variations. Renowned cocktail enthusiast Ernest Hemingway had specific directions for mixing a martini, while Winston Churchill's ideal martini contained no vermouth. However, their preferences barely register as tweaks compared to the unusual requests the bartenders we spoke with have heard.

"While I was living and bartending in San Diego, someone ordered a martini with mezcal and oyster brine," Katherine Ramont, a bartender at Jack Rabbit at Okana in Oklahoma City, told us. "I did straw taste [...] safe to say, not for me!" While a mezcal oystertini will overpower some palates, another bartender was complimentary about a similar variation. Hector Borges, director of food and beverage at MacArthur Place, mentioned that a guest ordered a dirty gin martini with a splash of mezcal. "It sounded unusual," he said. "But surprisingly, it worked. It gave the martini a smoky edge that was really interesting."

A cocktail doesn't need to be new to be unusual. While some classic cocktails have gone mainstream, others remain hidden in the bartender's bible. Stefano Romero, bar manager at Mayami, mentioned an order for a relatively obscure classic named the bijou. "It's a martini-style drink made with gin and green Chartreuse," he explained. "I've only been asked for it once."

A surefire way to make a drink stand out is to redefine the ingredients. Rashad Joy is lead mixologist at Montauk, and he makes unusual creations that incorporate real food items into the libation. "I've turned bread pudding into a syrup for an espresso martini, [and] made a whipped cream topping for an old fashioned from grilled corn," he told us. He credits this culinary approach to cocktails to his restaurant background that blurred the lines between customer and chef. "Different chefs would come through and spend time at the bar," he said. "I'd interact with them, walk them through my cocktail process, and in return learn from their approaches."

Cynthia Mazzini Noble also discovered a unique way to incorporate food items into a creative cocktail. "Someone introduced me to an orgeat made from avocado pits," she told us. "We decided to take that idea and expand on it, adding toasted rice to the orgeat and creating something really unique. It wound up in our signature cocktail called 'What's New Pussycat' — tiki-infused Toki whiskey, Leblon cachaça, pineapple, avocado pit and toasted rice orgeat, and banana bitters." Instead of the pits, Stefano Romero uses the flesh from the avocado in one of his signature creations, a refreshing tequila based cocktail. 

Bartenders often have an extensive library of recipes filed in their memories, and are able to quickly recall the necessary components. But some customers like to prove it's not as easy as they make it look by confusing the ingredients in their own drink. For whatever reason, Tito's vodka is particularly troublesome for customers to order, and they order it a lot. 

Tito's is the dominant vodka at American bars with sales that dwarf the competition, and make the brand name nearly synonymous with the spirit. Perhaps that explains the unusual orders bartenders have been hearing. "The biggest thing I've seen in the last bit is the 'vooodka aaand Tito's' orders," Julian Goglia, who has honed his craft at establishments such as The Pinewood Room, The Mercury, and Rumi's Kitchen, told us. "You always know they're having a wild night."

At face value, that's an order for a well vodka mixed with Tito's vodka, and unlikely what the customer wanted. However, it's not the only way customers have found to order a vodka with vodka. Cynthia Mazzini Noble received a similarly head-scratching order for a Tito's martini with Grey Goose (another brand of vodka). "I still don't know what they meant," she said. "I'm not sure they did either. But we made it work!" PSA: The bartender will make it work, but it's easier on them when people remember that Tito's is a type of vodka, not a word for vodka.

Certain cocktails have an uncanny association with a specific vessel. Some might even question if it's still a Moscow mule if it's not served in a copper mug, and even most non-drinkers can easily identify the martini's namesake glass. But the bartenders we spoke with were not rigid about tradition when it came to drinkware. Hector Borges told us it made him laugh when a customer asked for their espresso martini in a rocks glass because they "didn't trust the stemware," but he happily served it that way. "I always try to accommodate," he said. "Cocktails are personal, and those little details matter."

Susan Markuson, cellar bar manager at Black Walnut Inn, often sees guests eschew traditional glassware. "Martinis in rocks glasses are popular when guests want to walk around and enjoy the property, or go visit the animals," she said. She wasn't the only bartender who noted a customer preference for the sturdier rocks glass (which is one of the arguments for why a martini should be served on the rocks). "Honestly, I respect it," Cynthia Mazzini Noble said. "If someone wants their martini in a rocks glass because they don't like stems, why would I argue?"

The requests aren't limited to martinis, either. "I remember a guest once requesting a glass of red wine served in a rocks glass with ice," Stefano Romero told us. "It was definitely an unusual request, but I was happy to accommodate."

Garnishes contribute subtle flavors to a cocktail while also providing a visual aesthetic. Like glassware, many cocktails include a garnish that is essential to its identity. It's unusual if there is not a cherry in a Manhattan, olives in a dirty martini, or a twist of lemon in a French 75. However, if there is anything these bartenders taught us, it is that there is always an exception to the rule, and guests will find unique ways to tweak a cocktail to their tastes. "Someone ordered a guajillo-chili rimmed Negroni recently, which was a new one for me!" said Ricky Ramirez, owner of the Milwaukee bar The Mothership.

Of all the cocktails available, perhaps the one that attracts the most garnishes is the Bloody Mary — a stalwart of the brunch menu. "A Bloody Mary can get pretty wild," said Carlie Hoke, a bartender and writer. "I've seen pickles, bacon, peppers, deviled eggs, and whole donuts put on top of a Bloody Mary. Some bars will practically put a whole breakfast on the things."

Luke Kingsley, beverage director at Double Knot, said that people get "extremely specific" with their martini garnishes, and he has seen countless requests. Katherine Ramont, meanwhile, said a customer requested a salted rim for their filthy martini, but surmised they could have just ordered a box of salt at that point.

When James Bond leaned on the bar and ordered a vodka martini, shaken not stirred, it was a strange order, and not just because shaking a martini was taboo. Vodka was an obscure spirit at the time but, partially due to the endorsement of the suave super-spy, it skyrocketed in popularity during the 1960s and was an ideal base for colorful, fruity party drinks like the Harvey Wallbanger. Today, there are a lot of obscure bottles gathering dust behind bars, so we asked the bartenders what unique bottles they have in stock.

Two bartenders mentioned Japanese spirits fermented with koji mold, which adds a subtle umami flavor. Luke Kingsley said his bar stocks a variety of shochu, which is well known in Japan and is an interesting substitute in classic cocktails like a Negroni. "The most unique spirit we have is probably Takamine Whisky," Ricky Ramirez said. The whisky is similar to shochu but distinguished by barrel aging. "It's matured mostly in virgin oak," he explained, "which gives it some delicate fruit notes, like a faint passionfruit note."

There was also a variety of interesting liqueurs the bartenders highlighted. Susan Markuson said her bar stocks Ver, an herbal liqueur from Oregon that guests are excited to substitute for Chartreuse in classic cocktails like a Last Word or a Naked and Famous. Katherine Ramont said the most interesting liqueur her bar carries is Chambord, because customers don't order it often, but "once they taste the delicious raspberry flavored liqueur they are hooked!"

As we've seen in some of the preceding examples, guests are happily placing unique orders for themselves, but that doesn't mean an oyster brine martini or vodka and vodka are destined for universal appreciation. However, sometimes a guest orders something eccentric that ends up appealing to other patrons. "That's the beauty of this job," Cynthia Mazzini Noble told us. "Sometimes the wildest ideas work, and you just have to be open to experimentation."

One example is Brancamenta. "It's the mint version of Fernet-Branca, and it's polarizing as hell,"  said Noble. She was skeptical when a guest asked for the strong-flavored liqueur to be added to an espresso martini, but found the mint-coffee-chocolate combination to be "shockingly good." The unique drink went on to become a special that the bar ran during the holidays. Hector Borges had a similar experience when a customer asked for a local herbal and citrus craft amaro mixed with pineapple juice and sparkling wine. "Something I would've never thought of," he said. "And, surprisingly, it turned out delicious."

Other times, a guest's order inspires a different idea for the bartender, such as when a customer asked Katherine Ramont to add olive oil to their Bloody Mary as a digestive aid. She noticed the way the oil pooled at the top of the cocktail and created a cool effect. "So maybe a year later, I made my take on a French 75," she said. "[The] garnish was six drops of olive oil!"

There was a time when the only nonalcoholic options were soda with lime or a sugary Shirley Temple piled with maraschino cherries. Those days are gone, and today's zero-proof options are often among the most intriguing sections of the menu. Freed from convention, you can find bartenders flexing their creative muscles with mocktails. One of the intriguing trends is that many of these drinks are more than alcohol alternatives; they are crafted as nutritional supplements that benefit the body. It's a golden age for teetotalers in cocktail culture. 

"Non-alcoholic drinks deserve the same level of attention and creativity," Cynthia Mazzini Noble told us. One of the owners at her bar is an herbalist and was heavily involved in creating a non-alcoholic menu of "chak-tails," with ingredients aligning to specific chakras in the body. "My favorite is Sacral," she said. "Which is, floral orange bitters, coconut milk, cream, aquafaba, ylang-ylang, and a piece of White Rabbit candy."

Rashad Joy is also proud of the non-alcoholic options on his menu, particularly the naturally fermented sodas. "I've always been fascinated by the alchemy and chemistry behind cooking, and fermentation is where I really nerd out," he said. "What excites me most is how fermentation not only transforms flavor but also impacts the body. Incorporating those techniques into non-alcoholic cocktails has been one of the most unique and valuable additions to my repertoire."

The cocktails we've examined so far are definitely strange, but overwhelmingly palatable. That's about to change. "There's this absolutely vile order that I refuse to make," Carlie Hoke said. "It's akin to drinking garbage juice." The abhorrent concoction is called a Mat Shot, and it's just the accumulation of liquids that pool in the bar mat throughout the shift. "It smells gross, is sticky, and the thought of it alone makes me gag," she said. "I've never served it, but I have been asked a few times."

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, this author was a bartender. He worked in a popular entertainment district where throngs of college students and tourists wandered blocks of shot bars. At that time, very few of the bartenders could even name a pre-Prohibition era cocktail, but all of them could whip up a Flaming Dr. Pepper, Surfer on Acid, or Red Snapper. One of the strangest orders in this oddball era was a Cement Mixer. It was a shot of Baileys and one of lime juice. When they met in the mouth, the cream would curdle and transform into a wet, sticky mess that inspired the name. It was typically ordered as a prank on an unfortunate frenemy, and I refused to serve it. But one customer adamantly demanded I mix one for him. That was the only time I served it, and only on the condition he would clean up after himself.

The king of gonzo Hunter S Thompson famously said, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." The bartenders we spoke with proved this point. They expertly navigate a complex cocktail culture filled with strange and unusual drink orders. To thrive in this environment, they have to be equally knowledgeable and inquisitive. They are required to know the rules of yesteryear, but they are also expected to shrug off following those same rules. But the unusual things a bartender sees and hears extend far beyond a drink order. We wanted to know about some of the other odd requests bartenders receive.

"A guest recently asked to take home some of the glass rocks from the fire pits," Susan Markuson said. Hector Borges said he's had customers ask him to babysit their dog, but what really took the cake was when one a asked if he would compose a break-up text for them. You know, since bartenders give good advice. "It comes with the territory," he said. "People feel comfortable opening up to you."

Next time you are at the bar, raise a toast to the hero of the happy hour. Ask a bartender to surprise you and let them lead you to a new cocktail, or let your freak flag fly with an order that floors them. But a final word of advice: Keep it to the cocktail, and maybe bring a friend to help with that break-up text.