Here’s a well kept secret that most bars and bartenders know: if you want to have an amazing experience at a bar, go on a tuesday night. Some of the best drinks, best conversations about spirits and best discoveries have happened over a bar on a Tuesday night.
The unfortunate truth is on Thursday, Friday and Saturday you might get some face time with a bartender, but while they are talking to you they’re running all the drink tickets they’ve got queued up in their head, scanning the bar for who needs to be taken care of, and finding an exit line so they can get back to the business of mixing drinks. Sunday and monday are often nights off for some of the best bartenders and when they hit the bar on Tuesday night they’re fresh and ready to start their week.
Tuesdays are often days bartenders are testing out drinks they are working on, experimenting with a new bottle of spirits they got in with their distributor and often just enjoying the time and space to do what they love the best.
After spending many a Tuesday night out at my favorite bars I’ve come up with a top 10 list of why you should start thinking about tuesday being a night to go grab a drink.
- You’ll never get better service from a good bartender than on a Tuesday night. Bartenders have the luxury of time on tuesdays and that luxury means a great experience for you.
- Tuesday night isn’t the night for a bender, so you’re more likely to sit and sip your drinks. If you know you’re only going to get 1 or 2 drinks in a night you’re more likely to really savor it.
- Tuesdays are the best nights to try something new. From a bartender’s work in progress drink to something you read on a blog, Tuesdays offer you a chance to explore a drink that may not be on the menu.
- When bartenders aren’t in a rush, you get a better drink. I’ve had drinks on a tuesday night that blew my mind and then had them again on a busy night, and it just wasn’t the same.
- If you’re drinking whiskey or bourbon, Tuesday nights often mean a generous pour. When bartenders are relaxed and happy they tend to be more generous, and that can be huge when you’re ordering a George T Stagg.
- Tuesday nights are the night to order drinks like the Ramous Gin Fizz. Order a Ramous Gin Fizz on a Friday and you’re going to get labeled as “the guy who ordered that damn fizz during a rush”. Order it on a Tuesday and your bartender will show off with an amazing drink.
- Bartenders like to share good spirits with people who appreciate them and it’s a lot easier to ask for a taste of something on a Tuesday night. I’ve had some tuesdays were I ended up tasting almost as much as I drank.
- At a good bar on a Tuesday night you’re often drinking with other spirits enthusiasts and even off-work bartenders. If you love to talk spirits with people, Tuesday is the night to do it.
- Tuesday nights are the best nights to become a regular. Anyone in the service industry will tell you the benefits of being a regular, and coming on Tuesday nights is the quickest way to become a regular of your favorite bar. Come on a Friday night with friends and you’ll see the benefits.
- Tuesdays are simply the best nights for the unexpected. If a bartender has an amazing bottle of mezcal they got from a friend, a small batch whiskey or a real special spirit, that bottle is most likely to find its way out from its secret hiding space onto the bar on a tuesday night (and by Thursday night it’ll be well hidden again).
The benefits of drinking out on a Tuesday are great but don’t forget the importance of tipping well on a tuesday night. Tuesdays aren’t big tip nights for bartenders so you can reward their Tuesday night creativity and generosity with at least a 20% tip. You acknowledging something special on a Tuesday night with a hearty tip won’t go unnoticed.
