Strange Brew

March 10, 2009 12:06 PM

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!)

posted by alcoth to Food & Drink (50 answers total)

Best answer: 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.
posted by LN at 12:12 PM on March 10, 2009

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.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 12:14 PM on March 10, 2009

Best answer: It's just called a mat shot
posted by 7segment at 12:15 PM on March 10, 2009 [3 favorites]

The drink you describe is known as a Gray Snail.
posted by hilaritas at 12:16 PM on March 10, 2009

My friend who works as a bartender calls this a "mat shot".
posted by dunkadunc at 12:17 PM on March 10, 2009

yes, mat shot.
posted by rhizome at 12:18 PM on March 10, 2009

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

Also, LN - if you simmered booze wouldn't it all boil off?
posted by unixrat at 12:18 PM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

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.
posted by jquinby at 12:19 PM on March 10, 2009

Similar drink: Second Shelf.

A shot of everything on the 2nd shelf, from left to right, until the pint glass is filled.
posted by DarlingBri at 12:22 PM on March 10, 2009

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.
posted by dios at 12:23 PM on March 10, 2009

"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.
posted by Skot at 12:25 PM on March 10, 2009

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.
posted by Chunder at 12:25 PM on March 10, 2009

I've always known that drink as a Sewer Rat.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 12:26 PM on March 10, 2009

In my book, Long Island Iced Tea totally qualifies.
posted by Miko at 12:29 PM on March 10, 2009

Sounds just like the wining jug out of Cannery Row.
posted by scruss at 12:34 PM on March 10, 2009 [2 favorites]

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.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 12:35 PM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

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.
posted by vernondalhart at 12:37 PM on March 10, 2009

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.
posted by studentbaker at 12:38 PM on March 10, 2009

A British friend made this for me:

2 oz vodka
4 oz ginger beer
lime
Tabasco

I did not finish it.
posted by Dave. at 12:38 PM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

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.
posted by JoanArkham at 12:39 PM on March 10, 2009

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)
posted by mkb at 12:43 PM on March 10, 2009

Ass juice?
posted by cestmoi15 at 12:43 PM on March 10, 2009

Response by poster: 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.
posted by alcoth at 12:47 PM on March 10, 2009

The bacon martini I had at a NY meetup was as good as it sounds.
posted by MrMoonPie at 12:49 PM on March 10, 2009

"Bar mat" is what I always heard it called. Probably apocryphally.
posted by dirtdirt at 12:54 PM on March 10, 2009

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.
posted by LN at 1:00 PM on March 10, 2009

Once had a friend claim that gin and milk was a perfectly acceptable drink, until he finally tried it.
posted by General Malaise at 1:02 PM on March 10, 2009

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.
posted by sa3z at 1:02 PM on March 10, 2009

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.
posted by LN at 1:02 PM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: It also sounds like pretty much anything that *can* curdle will do so when introduced into our favorite 80+ proof liquor.... Excellent~~~
posted by alcoth at 1:09 PM on March 10, 2009

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.
posted by AwkwardPause at 1:14 PM on March 10, 2009

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.
posted by klangklangston at 1:21 PM on March 10, 2009

Another vote for New Jersey Turnpike as the name of that abominable drink.
posted by kimdog at 1:22 PM on March 10, 2009

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.
posted by muddgirl at 1:40 PM on March 10, 2009

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.
posted by ob at 1:50 PM on March 10, 2009

I meant the previous comment as an answer to your request for other concoctions. You might also want to try gin and birch beer.
posted by ob at 1:53 PM on March 10, 2009

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.
posted by the luke parker fiasco at 1:57 PM on March 10, 2009

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

*shudder*
posted by TheGoldenOne at 2:32 PM on March 10, 2009

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.
posted by klangklangston at 2:39 PM on March 10, 2009 [4 favorites]

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".
posted by DecemberBoy at 3:01 PM on March 10, 2009 [3 favorites]

See also cold duck, the name given to mixing up the dregs of many wine glasses.
posted by Nelson at 3:03 PM on March 10, 2009

melvin's lunchbox: equal parts orange juice and beer
posted by thinkingwoman at 3:15 PM on March 10, 2009

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!
posted by dios at 3:37 PM on March 10, 2009

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.
posted by zadcat at 4:36 PM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

New Jersey Turnpike. Then again, I AM from Jersey and this may be a local drink term.
posted by rachaelfaith at 5:39 PM on March 10, 2009

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.
posted by Shepherd at 5:43 PM on March 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

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.
posted by crinklebat at 10:49 PM on March 10, 2009

Vodka and wheatgrass? Homer Simpson invented that. It's called a lawnmower.
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:11 AM on March 11, 2009

We invented the SST (soda, salsa and tequila). It's great with chips. We also invented pabsinthe (pabst + absinthe), which is terrible with anything.
posted by snofoam at 9:25 AM on March 11, 2009

The Tectonic involves Mountain Dew and Cinammon Aftershock. It's a bad idea all round.
posted by the latin mouse at 2:49 AM on March 12, 2009