Consider the following scenario: You've invited a woman over to your pad and she's just arrived, looking great. Does she want a drink? Of course--whatever you're having. As you break into your liquor cabinet and get to work on a couple of martinis, all you can think about is the curve in the small of her back. You're sold. But for her, it's more complicated. Her inner dialogue has already begun: I'm going to sleep with this guy. No, you're not. Why? You don't know him. Who are you? I'm me. Then you sleep with him. Not until I find out who he is. Will my friends like him? Any brains?
Just then, you put a drink in front of her, she looks at it, and something clicks. Already you've answered some of her questions--for better or worse. She hasn't even sipped it, and she's made some serious decisions about you. Think of it this way: A well-made drink is the smoothest introduction on earth. It's not just about peeling away inhibitions, although that part's great too. The moment you grab a cocktail shaker in the age of the celebrity chef--bartender, there's far more at stake. Like the clothes on your back or your apartment, for that matter, the drink you serve a woman says everything about you--your creativity, your attention to detail and your appreciation for beauty.
Two rules to keep in mind when mixing: First, perfect your repertoire. Bartending is a display of showmanship, and you should be as confident with a shaker as Sinatra was with a mike. There are some pillars in the canon you need to have down: the dry martini, the manhattan, the old-fashioned and the daiquiri (the original pour, not the Day-Glo variation). You should also have a couple of standbys that fulfill the makeme-something-I've-never-had request. Think exotic--a little sweet, perhaps, but not too complicated. You don't want her to fall asleep while you're weaving a swizzle stick out of pimientos. A good example: the blue moon, a cousin of the martini that's a perfect shade of Caribbean sapphire--three parts gin, one part blue curaçao, shaken with ice and strained into a cocktail glass with a twist of lemon.
The second rule? Keep your bar properly stocked; that means unique liquors and fine accoutrements. The drink you make--even if it's a scotch served neat--should complement the woman you serve it to. When she polishes it off, she'll know she's in good hands.
There's a lot at stake the moment you grab a cocktail shaker. When making a drink for a woman, you demonstrate your creativity and your appreciation for beauty.
Where and how to buy on page 140.
