Bartenders Share the Strangest Drink Requests of Their Careers

By WineBottleMag
October 20, 2025
Bartenders Careers Drink Requests Share Strangest
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A Negroni in a plastic bag? Sure. Bourbon in a Bloody Mary? Why not? From cold hot toddies to whiskey in sparkling wine, bartenders and beverage pros have heard it all—and often made it happen. But how weird, exactly, can it actually get?

We asked them to share the wildest, weirdest, and most unexpected drink requests they’ve ever received behind the bar.

More Carbonation—No, Not Soda

In over ten years of bartending, Ash Miyasaki of Mojave Gold in Yucca Valley, California, has had some strange requests, but there’s one that sticks out in her mind clearly. “A guest once ordered a custom drink with his own specs: whiskey, a liqueur, juice, and just a splash of soda, on the rocks. It seemed easy enough—until he sent it back and asked me to ‘make it more carbonated.’”

Perplexed, but still trying to be hospitable, Miyasaki offered to add more soda. “But that wasn’t what he wanted,” Miyasaki recalls. “He asked if there was another way—there wasn’t. This wasn’t the kind of bar with any sort of carbonation rig on hand, so I’m not sure how he thought I’d materialize extra effervescence out of nowhere.” Luckily, the customer enjoyed his drink enough to keep sipping it anyway—and order a second one.

Illustration by Ian Grandjean

A Bottle’s Worth of Spice

Marino Lucchetti, head barman at Londra Palace Venezia, recalls a busy happy hour shift back when he was working in London. After a guest asked twice for a Bloody Mary to be remade—despite it being prepared with the right quantities—Marino realized something was missing. On the third try, the guest approached the bar and kindly asked for the bottle of Tabasco. Marino watched as he poured almost the entire 57 ml bottle into the drink. “My first thought was: how does he drink that?” he says. “But seeing him leave satisfied, I understood that every customer has their own tastes and quirks—and that was a hands-on lesson I’ve never forgotten.”

Mint Schnapps and Pickle Juice

In her eight years behind the bar—and twelve total in the service industry—Katherine Ramont, bartender at Jack Rabbit at OKANA, has seen her fair share of eyebrow-raising drink requests. But one wild night working at a dive bar left a lasting impression. “A group of guys hopped off a party bus and the first thing they asked for was shots of Rumple Minze and orange juice—oh, and then Rumple Minze and pickle juice,” she says. “They said, ‘We’re just comparing the two.’”

For those unfamiliar, Rumple Minze is a very strong German peppermint liquor that often gets dubbed the “bartender’s mouthwash.” For Ramont, the combo triggered a childhood flashback: “It brought me back to when I was little, rushing to brush my teeth before school then grabbing my orange juice I forgot to finish.” That sharp mint-meets-citrus clash? “Yuck! No thank you!” she says. And the pickle juice pairing? “Yeah … umm, won’t be trying that one anytime soon.”

She also recalls the time someone asked for Captain Morgan and milk—served in a martini glass. “The flavor, needless to say, was way out there.”

Still, she served them all. “Any time a guest requests something I try to make it happen,” says Ramont. “Hospitality is about making positive experiences for every person—even if those requests sometimes make your head turn and giggle a little.”

Mojito in a Teapot

Sofia Augier, F&B manager at THE PLACE Firenze, recalls the night a guest sat down at the bar and, after browsing the menu, mentioned she was on a diet and wanted suggestions. Augier suggested a few detox-style drinks: perhaps a juice with cucumber, lemon, ginger, and apple, or an herbal infusion with fresh mint and ginger. “She thought about it for a moment and, a few minutes later, very politely asked if we could serve her a teapot—not with the infusion, though—but with a mojito inside instead.”

Augier suspects that her logic was that “if the cocktail wasn’t served in a classic cocktail glass, her body wouldn’t recognize the calories,” she says. “So, for the first time ever, we served a mojito in a Ginori teapot—and the guest was absolutely thrilled.”

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A Hot Toddy with Ice

Chris Carron, bartender at Costa in Charleston, South Carolina, recalls one of the more unusual requests in his ten years behind the bar: a Hot Toddy served on the rocks. Traditionally made with whiskey, lemon, honey, and very hot water as to be tea-like and almost medicinal (the bartender’s choice for a cold), the drink isn’t exactly designed for ice. “It would just melt,” Carron says. “Just order a Gold Rush. It’s a better drink.” Still, he made it—skipping the warm water entirely.

An Order off a Vibe

Christa Csoka, executive chef and owner of The Artisan’s Palate in Charlotte, North Carolina, once had a guest ask for “a drink that Cruella de Vil would drink.” With over 30 years in the industry, she didn’t hesitate — and served it with the appropriate attitude. The result: A smoky, moody mix of mezcal, Ancho Reyes, lime juice, activated charcoal, Demerara, saline, and mole bitters (which they aptly titled “The Dog Catcher.”)

Whiskey and Sparkling Wine

Bryan Giancarlo Ramirez Lopez, bartender at Hilton Cancun Mar Caribe with seven years behind the bar, often gets requests from guests that tie back to classic recipes “where they eliminate or add an unconventional ingredient,” he says. He remembers a special request from a guest named Mr. Oswaldo, originally from El Salvador. Oswaldo asked for a cocktail mixing Jameson whiskey, pineapple juice, lemon juice, lychee, natural syrup, and the ingredient that intrigued Bryan most: sparkling wine.

“I was very curious to add sparkling wine to his whiskey drink, as it is unusual due to the combination of sweet, dry, and bubbly flavors,” Bryan says. “But it turned out to be a completely delicious combination.”

cocktail in a plastic bag — Illustration by Ian Grandjean

A Negroni in a Plastic Bag

At Palazzo Daniele in Puglia, house manager Sarah Jade recalls a guest who asked for a Negroni “to-go, in a plastic bag.” It wasn’t a common request, and at first, the team thought he was joking. But he explained that he wanted the feeling of walking around with a drink the same way you might carry fruit from the market. So they prepared the cocktail as usual, poured it into a glass jar with a lid, sealed it, and added a straw. The guest was delighted.

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A Dinner Cocktail (Literally)

Yasu Yoshiwara, head bartender at Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills with 20 years behind the bar, recalls a guest who hadn’t eaten dinner and asked for “a cocktail that could fill the stomach.” Drawing on his background as both a chef and bartender, Yasu created a drink inspired by a strawberry salad. Using Malfy lemon gin as the base, he combined strawberry, white wine vinegar, and egg white into a sour-style cocktail. To finish, he grated a generous amount of Parmesan cheese on top of the foam, explaining to the guest that it was “a salad in cocktail form.” It was an unconventional request, but Yasu enjoyed the challenge of creating something playful and satisfying — bridging cuisine and mixology.

A Non-Sweet Wine (Wait for It)

Christopher Lucchese, sommelier at Wife and the Somm in Los Angeles, once had a guest adamant that all wines were too sweet. They rejected every option—from Albariño to a lightly oaked white Burgundy—saying each was “too sweet.” Thinking outside the box, Christopher poured a German Riesling, Trocken style, which has noticeable residual sugar but brilliant acidity. To his surprise, the guest loved it.

“The racy acidity balanced the residual sugar so well that their palate interpreted it as anything but sweet,” he says. They even ordered a full bottle. Lucchese reflects, “Sometimes the best way to challenge a guest’s expectations is to lean into what they fear—fighting ‘sweet’ with acid, minerality, and stone fruit.”

The Most Bitter Cocktail Imaginable

Mitsuhiro Nakamura, head mixologist at GŎNG in Shangri-La The Shard, London, recalls a guest who asked for “the most bitter cocktail imaginable.” Normally, only a few drops of Angostura bitters are used to enhance a drink’s flavors, but this time Nakamura poured a full 30 ml—balanced with plenty of fresh lime to keep it drinkable. To his surprise, the guest loved it so much they ordered a second. Mitsuhiro enjoyed it too, even making one for himself after the shift. He’s since recreated the cocktail both in Tokyo and London.

Bourbon in, Well, Everything

At the LGA Delta Sky Club, bartender Genesis has seen bourbon take some surprising twists—showing up in drinks you wouldn’t expect. She recalls a standout request: “I had a guest ask for a Bloody Mary made with bourbon instead of vodka.” A bold swap, but one they were happy to make.

Luz has also encountered bourbon in unusual places. “I once served an espresso martini made with Woodford bourbon,” Luz says. “And a virgin mimosa—another fun curveball.”

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