Comments on: Strange Brew

Question: Strange Brew

alcoth — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:06:41 -0800

What is the name of this bizarre alcoholic drink mixture? Also, can you think of any other really vile mixes? Description provided inside.

I heard about this a while back but can't for the life of me remember what it's called. Google also has not been forthcoming with the answer this time... The idea is: Drinks have been passing through the bartender's hands all night and his drink tray is full of the "spoils of war", small amounts of dozens of different types of liquor that have spilled over the lips of various glasses. When this mystery drink is ordered by name, said bartender lifts the tray and pours it into a glass (the color is different every time!). Does anyone know the name of this nasty concoction? (Strange Request: Links to pictures score bonus points!)

Also, what other bizarre mixes can one offer unsuspecting drinking buddies? Cement Mixer doesn't count (gag!)

By: LN

LN — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:12:03 -0800

I once attended a party where the host had made a sort of mulled alcohol mixture that went something like this:

1 bag of apples, cut up
1 bag of oranges, cut up
1 bottle of red wine
1 bottle of white wine
1 bottle of red vermouth
1 bottle of white vermouth

The whole lot was put in a pot and allowed to macerate with about 2 cups of sugar overnight. The following day, it was placed on the stove and brought to a simmer.

Then, as guests arrived, any and all alcohol they brought with them was added to the pot.

I had a teacup full of the mixture before any guests' alcohol was added, and I wound up sitting in a wingback chair, holding my head, and wishing the world would stop spinning. I can't imagine what this foul brew was like at the end of the night.

By: soundofsuburbia

soundofsuburbia — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:14:09 -0800

Also, what other bizarre mixes can one offer unsuspecting drinking buddies?

Are you looking for drinkable stuff or vile concoctions? If its the latter; equal parts Bourbon and orange juice. Flat out terrible.

By: 7segment

7segment — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:15:47 -0800

It's just called a mat shot

By: hilaritas

hilaritas — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:16:05 -0800

The drink you describe is known as a Gray Snail.

By: dunkadunc

dunkadunc — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:17:28 -0800

My friend who works as a bartender calls this a "mat shot".

By: rhizome

rhizome — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:18:09 -0800

yes, mat shot.

By: unixrat

unixrat — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:18:48 -0800

Urban Dictionary calls "The Barmat Drink" a New Jersey Turnpike.

Also, LN - if you simmered booze wouldn't it all boil off?

By: jquinby

jquinby — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:19:24 -0800

I have a recipe book that lists something called "Buffalo Sweat", which is:

1 oz. Bourbon
several dashes of tabasco

...pluswhatever the bartender can wring out of the bar rag.

The same section lists "The Windex":

3/4 oz. vodka
3/4 oz. Blue Curaçao

Both of these sound pretty vile to me, and I like oddball stuff like Campari and absinthe.

By: DarlingBri

DarlingBri — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:22:53 -0800

Similar drink: Second Shelf.

A shot of everything on the 2nd shelf, from left to right, until the pint glass is filled.

By: dios

dios — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:23:53 -0800

I am unaware whether there is an accepted label for this. I've heard it referred to different names, such as "Matt Shot" or "Coughlin" (which I was told was a reference to the movie the Cocktail and all the booze they spilled in it). One place I heard it called a "Shift Shot," as at the end of the shift anyone was offered $5.00 off their tab to drink whatever spillage could be collected. One variation I have seen is something called "Gutter Punch" which was basically like the spill on the bar in the little well that was scooped up and put into a shot glass.

As for other bizarre mixtures, I have a friend from Natchitoches, LA who used to drink some shot that had gasoline or diesel in it. He said it was a local deal.

I have no idea why anyone drinks this shit.

By: Skot

Skot — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:25:29 -0800

"The Windex":

Some asshole bought me one of these on my 21st birthday. I can still taste it.

Once, as a joke, my bartender friend prepared a Leatherneck:

2 ounces blended whiskey
3/4 ounce blue curaçao
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1 lime wheel, for garnish

Phenomenally terrible. If a bartender unholsters the blue curaçao, it's basically time to flee.

By: Chunder

Chunder — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:25:57 -0800

Another phrase for the leftovers (in the UK anyway) is a "pint of slops" - basically the stuff in the slop tray.

Other horrible drinks are things like shooters called afterbirth, brain haemmorage, squashed frog, etc. in effect, anything that adds a creamy liqueur (e.g. Baileys) to other things which forms an icky curdled mess. Blech.

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:26:44 -0800

I've always known that drink as a Sewer Rat.

By: Miko

Miko — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:29:54 -0800

In my book, Long Island Iced Tea totally qualifies.

By: scruss

scruss — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:34:08 -0800

Sounds just like the wining jug out of Cannery Row.

By: spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints

spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:35:07 -0800

I've heard it called the Mat Shot in a couple of states.

I once prepared a shot with Goldschlager and dish soap. Kevin, I'm sorry. You were so cool about it, but that's what you get for saying you'll drink anything in the house.

By: vernondalhart

vernondalhart — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:37:36 -0800

There is also the 6/49 (Makes more sense in Canada, I think).

Pick a starting point. Pour a third of a shot six bottles over. A third of a shot 4 bottles over. Top it off 9 bottles over.

Next time, start where you left off.

By: studentbaker

studentbaker — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:38:09 -0800

Not a bizarre mixture, but a good drink to offer unsuspecting buddies is a Tidal Wave. How it's made is unimportant. The idea is that the bartender makes a big production about mixing up this fancy shot, trying to call as much attention from everyone in the bar to focus on your buddy. Then, when your friend takes the shot, the bartender throws a glass of water in his face and everyone yells Tidal Wave!

I know they used to do this at a chain restaurant. I think it may have been Fridays. The bartenders got very excited when this was ordered.

I've heard of a shot called The Rub. One part Absolut Peppar and one part Au jus.

By: Dave.

Dave. — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:38:24 -0800

A British friend made this for me:

2 oz vodka
4 oz ginger beer
lime
Tabasco

I did not finish it.

By: JoanArkham

JoanArkham — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:39:24 -0800

There was a much beloved Thursday night open bar here in DC for many years. One Thursday my brother and I decided to come up with the worst thing we could order at open bar. Now, we couldn't do a little bit of everything since open bar rules mean one shot, straight up or with a mixer.

The ultimate winner: gin and Miller Draft. With lime. Somehow the lime pushed it from just vile to unspeakably evil.

By: mkb

mkb — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:43:15 -0800

I have also heard the bar rag trick called a "mung shot" presumably so called after the practice of munging in a cemetery (don't look this up)

By: cestmoi15

cestmoi15 — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:43:58 -0800

Ass juice?

By: alcoth

alcoth — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:47:41 -0800

soundsofsuburbia > Anything even remotely drinkable, as long as it doesn't do any real harm beyond a few days

The rest of you, great ideas - loving what you're coming up with, thank you.

By: MrMoonPie

MrMoonPie — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:49:08 -0800

The bacon martini I had at a NY meetup was as good as it sounds.

By: dirtdirt

dirtdirt — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:54:32 -0800

"Bar mat" is what I always heard it called. Probably apocryphally.

By: LN

LN — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:00:15 -0800

unixrat, you'd think letting alcohol sit overnight and then brought to a simmer the following day would drive off all the alcohol. But you'd be wrong. I think that's why the drink I describe is such a killer. No-one expects it to have the kick that it does. It's a nasty trick to play on an unsuspecting party-goer.

By: General Malaise

General Malaise — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:02:15 -0800

Once had a friend claim that gin and milk was a perfectly acceptable drink, until he finally tried it.

By: sa3z

sa3z — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:02:46 -0800

The local Mexican place in my college town had a 21st birthday special: The Mexican Yeast Infection. Shot of tequila with a squirt of mayonnaise and a dash of Tabasco sauce.

By: LN

LN — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:02:58 -0800

Oh, I thought of another one.

I once ordered a hot port at a pub, after a day of walking on a cold, windswept Irish coast. It arrived to the table in an Irish coffee glass, topped with whipped cream.

It tasted somewhat like sweetened rhubarb.

Here's what was in it:
1 shot port
1 tsp sugar
1 cup hot water
sweetened whipped cream to go on top.

By: alcoth

alcoth — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:09:04 -0800

It also sounds like pretty much anything that *can* curdle will do so when introduced into our favorite 80+ proof liquor.... Excellent~~~

By: AwkwardPause

AwkwardPause — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:14:35 -0800

This brings me back to a memorable night in college when we competed on who could think up the vilest concoction from the standard bar supplies we had available. The near unanimous winner was also by far the simplest: equal parts Von Oosten bitter and cheap, house Tequila. Yech.

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:21:50 -0800

I've heard it called a mat shot, Buffalo Sweat, and a Wiper.

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the Cement Mixer yet.

By: kimdog

kimdog — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:22:07 -0800

Another vote for New Jersey Turnpike as the name of that abominable drink.

By: muddgirl

muddgirl — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:40:49 -0800

In regards to LN's comment, the first part of that drink sounds like a version of sangria (yum!). The second part begins to sound like a version of Jungle Juice.

By: ob

ob — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:50:02 -0800

You're looking for a Mongolian Mother. It's like a Long Island except that it has twice the number of ingredients, a dash of at least nine if not ten different drinks all mixed up with sour mix, two or three different fruit juices and it's meant to be garnished with very type of fruit imaginable. When I used to bartend I used to get very grumpy when someone ordered this as it takes a long time and is frankly gross. I've only ever seen one person order a second.

By: ob

ob — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:53:59 -0800

I meant the previous comment as an answer to your request for other concoctions. You might also want to try gin and birch beer.

By: the luke parker fiasco

the luke parker fiasco — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:57:43 -0800

Yeah, I've heard barmat shot also.

An old acquaintance of mine, at her first bartending gig in New Orleans, was told by a coworker that every bartender had to have their "own" drink. He suggested giving it a name first, and this was how the Noisy Cricket was born: Jaegermeister and Chartreuse. *retch*

Needless to say, nobody ever ordered it.

By: TheGoldenOne

TheGoldenOne — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:32:39 -0800

The Hitler Taco:
One part Jägermeister, one part tequila.

*shudder*

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:39:26 -0800

Well, hell, then, I'll just make one up now. The Axis Powers: One shot each Jäger, grappa and sake, ideally hot. Mix with Turkish Coffee and Sangria if you want the whole war in your mouth.

By: DecemberBoy

DecemberBoy — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:01:27 -0800

Well, hell, then, I'll just make one up now. The Axis Powers: One shot each Jäger, grappa and sake, ideally hot.

And the Allied Powers to match: one part each Jack Daniels, Boodles, Stolichnaya and Pernod. Whoever vomits first loses the "war".

By: Nelson

Nelson — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:03:11 -0800

See also cold duck, the name given to mixing up the dregs of many wine glasses.

By: thinkingwoman

thinkingwoman — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:15:58 -0800

melvin's lunchbox: equal parts orange juice and beer

By: dios

dios — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:37:09 -0800

And the Allied Powers to match: one part each Jack Daniels, Boodles, Stolichnaya and Pernod. Whoever vomits first loses the "war".
posted by DecemberBoy at 5:01 PM on March 10

You forgot Poland.

And China.

So mix in some Baijiu and some Krupnik, and you've got a winner!

By: zadcat

zadcat — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:36:34 -0800

At the Quebec winter carnival you can get a drink called Caribou, a recipe for which involves brandy, vodka, sherry and port. Traditionally it's sweetened with a dash of maple syrup, and served hot, because it approximates the drink people kept warm with out in the woods in a cabane à sucre during sugaring-off time.

By: rachaelfaith

rachaelfaith — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:39:12 -0800

New Jersey Turnpike. Then again, I AM from Jersey and this may be a local drink term.

By: Shepherd

Shepherd — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:43:14 -0800

Caribou is &?%\! awesome. You have to take a deep breath and hold it while drinking, though, because there's a human reflex to inhale a bit through the nose while pouring something in your mouth and the boiling alcohol fumes are killer.

Another Quebec treat: PineSol. Quebec is the only place I've seen where you can buy spruce beer, which is like root beer but with spruce gum rather than sasparilla as the flavouring agent. Spruce beer and gin give you a brilliant piney drink with a kick like a freakin' mule.

By: crinklebat

crinklebat — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 22:49:10 -0800

I invented this in college. The Dirty Hippie: one part fresh-squeezed wheatgrass juice, one part low end vodka. A shot will be vastly more than most people can, or want to, handle. Said to be paradoxical because most people with the means to squeeze wheatgrass juice fresh can afford more decent vodka...and probably don't drink vodka.

I also invented a variation, the Pragmatic Hippie, in which you substitute a green health drink (like Green Machine or Odwalla Superfood, but it must be green in hue) for the wheatgrass juice. I have tried this drink, and it is heinous. I couldn't get anyone else to have a sip.

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 05:11:51 -0800

Vodka and wheatgrass? Homer Simpson invented that. It's called a lawnmower.

By: snofoam

snofoam — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 09:25:59 -0800

We invented the SST (soda, salsa and tequila). It's great with chips. We also invented pabsinthe (pabst + absinthe), which is terrible with anything.

By: the latin mouse

the latin mouse — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 02:49:07 -0800

The Tectonic involves Mountain Dew and Cinammon Aftershock. It's a bad idea all round.