As for beer-drinkers, bartenders didn't have anything bad to say at all
Ordering beer tends to make bartenders' lives easier, since it's so quick and easy to serve, so these drinkers rank highly in bartenders' estimations. If anything, bartenders said that ordering a beer makes you look "chill."
If you want to score big points with your bartender, order a scotch or bourbon — properly
"Ordering scotch or bourbon properly depending on the flavor profile says you know what you're doing and what you like," Danielle, a bartender from Seattle told Business Insider. "I really like when someone orders something with confidence rather than ordering something to look cool because they know the name of it."
Especially if you mix it with expensive liquor
"If you order premium alcohol mixed with something sweet, then I know you just want to impress somebody but you are not all that cultured," Sun said.
In fact, any overly sweet drink will illicit the ire of your bartender
"Anything overly juicy or sugary are signs of immaturity," Amy, a bartender with four years of experience in New York told Business Insider.
And only anachronisms order apple martinis
"Apple martini? No, this isn't 1995. Stop it," Christine said.
People who drink moscato probably don't really like alcohol
"If they are drinking moscato, they don't like the taste of alcohol and just want to taste sugar," Christine, a bartender with two years of experience in Washington, DC, and New York, told Business Insider.
Tequila screams 'PARTAY!'
"Ordering a lot of tequila often gives the impression that you're trying to have a wild night," Elena Alvarez, a bartender with two years of experience at the University of Iowa told Business Insider.
Dry martinis make you look old
"If a guy is going to a nightclub for young people and orders a dry martini, this guy is in the wrong place," Rodrigo Grudina, a bartender with eight years of experience in Curitiba, Brazil, told Business Insider.
Nothing good can come of ordering a Long Island iced tea
Ordering a Long Island iced tea makes you "ignorant trash" in Meyer's eyes.
"If you order a Long Island Iced Tea, I know you are new to the bar scene and/or you are cheap and want to get sloppy drunk," Sun said.
Rum drinks don't look great either
If you order rum, bartender Kim Meyer told Business Insider you'll look like a "frat boy."
If you order vodka drinks, you look boring or troublesome — or both
"Friends don't let friends date vodka soda girls. Basic girls always order them," Kyle Siegel, a bartender with nine years of experience in Montauk, New York, New York City, Palm Beach and West Palm, Florida, and Maryland told Business Insider.
"Please don't order vodka," Emily Doyle, a bartender with 12 years of experience in Ireland told Business Insider. "You're nice when you stick with beer, but a demon on spirits."
And shots of absinthe may be the worst offender of all
"If you order shots of absinthe, then I figure you're insane and a cheapskate drunkard," Sun said.
Overly sweet shots don't make you look great either
"Shots of Chartreuse, Jager, Goldschlager, or Fireball are abhorrently sweet and low on alcohol and tell me that you are a hipster who has no clue what you are doing," Jennifer Sun, a bartender with five years of experience in New Haven, Connecticut, told Business Insider.
Ordering expensive shots in particular makes you look foolish
"Some people will buy loads of expensive shots when out in groups," a bartender from Ireland with 12 years of experience told Business Insider. "They're trying to look flash."
But for all your attempts to look cool, bartenders say you just wind up looking the fool.
"You look stupid when you order expensive shots," a former bartender from New York with 10 years of experience told Business Insider. "The whole point is to get it down quickly — you're not enjoying the quality."
Read more on what bartenders think about ordering high-end shots »
