This is a follow up to an article I wrote a few years back about my quest to drink a White Russian. It's an ordinary drink one can easily make and any well stocked bar should have the ingredients to make it. But the restaurant I was at did not have it on the menu so I was denied despite the ingredients being on the shelf.
That night was just a whim and I did not think anything more of it until I was out to eat recently. I flipped over the menu to the drink section and lo and behold White Russian was listed as a selection. Of course the waiter had to make sure it was available. Thankfully it was.
A screwdriver? That is such a basic drink any bartender should be able to make. Why is it on a list? Why is it that in the Philippines you cannot order a drink unless it's on the menu? If I went to any bar in the rest of the world and requested a drink they would make it without having to check the menu first. Not only that but the waiter had to make sure the materials to make my drink were available. There are only three ingredients in a White Russian: vodka, Kahlua, and milk or cream. Any properly stocked bar would have those items.
Now, perhaps there are bars in the Philippines that will make anything you ask. However that should be the case EVERYWHERE. Being able to order the drink you want is the point of going to a bar. Bartenders are trained how to mix and pour drinks of all kinds. Apparently that is not the case in the Philippines. This issue likely has little impact on foreign tourism but no doubt there are plenty of disappointed tourists once they learn Filipino bartenders are forbidden from mixing drinks unless they are listed on the menu.
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