Beer and WHAT?!?

Cleaning up my desk, I run into the March 7 edition of the print version of politico.com, and there’s a story about the beverage preferences between Democrats and Republicans, as observed by Washington bartenders.

The findings are fairly pedestrian, mostly:

    "A Democrat’s drink? I think of a gin and tonic or a martini," said Matt Saperstone, a server at Smith & Wollensky on 19th Street, adding that an older, more conservative male crowd orders scotch on the rocks.
    "I think Republicans have a tendency to drink more high-end stuff. … I think of Democrats as more beer drinking," said Matt Weiss, owner of Lounge 201 on Capitol Hill.
    Wine, meanwhile, has bipartisan appeal, Saperstone said. "Republicans drink just as much wine as Democrats."
    The effects, however, are totally bipartisan: "At the end of the night, they’re both inebriated," said Weiss.

I have no doubt. I certainly hope they’re numb before they try the favorite concoction of Sen. Jon Tester of Montana. He orders a Bud Lite, and then asks:Jon_tester1

    "Can you throw some tomato juice in there for me?" he asks the waitress, who, as it happens, works days for Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho).
    The uninitiated at the table learn that the beer/veggie concoction is called "Red Beer" in Tester territory.
    Remember the first time you had a beer, he asks, and how horrible it tasted?
    "If you put tomato juice in it, you woulda liked it right out of the chute," he says, and you just kind of get what "right out of the chute" means.

(Actually, in the print version, "chute" was misspelled "shoot," which shows what you get when you have a publication started by reporters rather than editors. Looks like they’ve got an editor on the Web version.)

Thank the Lord I wasn’t born as a Montana Democrat.

What about around here? I don’t get out to the watering holes much. I’m still at work during "Happy Hour." But what have y’all observed as the favorite drinks of the respective factions?

Footnote: Does the Web site for Lounge 201 remind you a lot of the poster art for "Swingers?" It does me. I’ll bet folks who hoist a glass there think they are SO money

6 thoughts on “Beer and WHAT?!?

  1. Lee

    How about the phrase I coined as a caller to Rush Limbaugh in 1993?
    Klinton Kool-aid
    or
    Clinton Cool-aid to be nicer.
    Actually, Jonestown Punch is a real Democrat drink.

  2. Juan

    Well, Jim Jones was a commie/socialist, but so are most the Democrats. I think I will take my shot of Tequila as that is the shot of the independants it appears. Wimps cling to parties while drinking scotch and beer.

  3. Dave

    My guesses:
    John Edwards – Kahlua and Cream (trying to match his hair color
    McCain – Straight Bourbon (Old Granddad comes to mind)
    Mitt Romney – Water with twist of lemon, the lemon to show he isnt all that boring
    Joe Biden – He would drink whatever anyone else in the room is drinking at the moment, to go along with his mobile positions on issues.
    Giuliani – Dago Red, what else
    Hillary (Mrs. Bill Clinton) – Mint Juleps when south, Manhattans in NY, you get the point
    Bill Clinton – Sex on the Beach, or anywhere else he can find it
    Ted Kennedy – Everything in sight that is wet and has alcohol in it.
    Barak Obama – Black and Tan
    John Kerry – French Whine, the best
    Newt Gingrich – Vodka
    Al Gore – Wood Alcohol – from already dead trees only of course

  4. bud

    A few more more:
    Dick Cheney – Amber Boch Pale Ale
    George W. Bush – Bloody Mary
    Rush Limbaugh – Guiness Stout
    Nancy Peloci – Shirley Temple
    Harry Reid – Margaritta
    Lindsey Graham – Flaming Rum Punch
    Charley Rangle – Draft Beer
    Mark Foley – Any Strong Cocktail
    William Jefferson-Lime Green Frozen Dacquiri
    Tony Blair – Scotch on the Rocks

  5. Dave

    Brad, Who knew that Ben and Jerrys had one..In April of 2006, ice cream makers Ben & Jerry’s caused controversy by releasing a new flavour of ice cream in the United States called “Black & Tan”, named after a drink of the same name. Ben & Jerry’s released a statement commenting that: “Any reference on our part to the British Army unit was absolutely unintentional and no ill-will was ever intended”, and has since apologised.

    Bud, we should give the Bloody Mary (Jo) to Ted Kennedy since George is a teetotaler. George will have to drink Cutter. Some other alternates.
    Harry Reid – Crooked Ale
    Mark Sanford – Makers Mark
    Ann Coulter – Colt(er) 45 Malt Liquor
    Barney Frank – Hineykin
    John Jack Spratt – Jack Daniels
    Nancy Pelosi – Dingling

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