Mixology Mishaps

Noire stared at the liquors, glasses and instructions looming in front of them, shifting uncomfortably in their seat behind the bar. Why did he sign up for this again? He had come to take a little mixology class, not realizing just how far out of their element they actually were.

It wasn’t the craft itself, it was the atmosphere, the bar, all the people. So many people, buns and dolls galore all talking and enjoying one another’s company, loudly. It was making it hard to think, feeling less present, their brain all fuzzy. They were probably moving towards a sensory overload, not there but close.

“Hey, everything okay? You look like you’re having some trouble! Are the instructions confusing?” Hops appeared out of nowhere to check on Noire, who was staring at the recipe for a Sin and Tonic. This was a pretty hands off lesson due to how busy the bar was at the moment, so there was little time for one on one help.

“Uh... um... it's... maybe?” He stuttered, not wanting to bother the clearly busy Hop. She had much better things to do than deal with them! They shook their head, rationalizing their troubles away.

”It's just- a little loud in here! Hard to focus, I'll ask if I need help, worry not!“ Noire shoddily assured her, not wanting to be a burden. His bluff seemingly worked, as Hops had to focus her concern on the business of the bar, customers came first when it came to work.

He sighed, looking back at the instructions for a sin and tonic, going over them once again.

2 Ounces Botanical Gin - Sin Liqueur Brand
4 Ounces Tonic Water
1/2 Ounce Lime juice (optional)
Garnish- Lime Peel and Slice

He looked over his ingredients once more, he had everything available since Hops had set everything out beforehand.

Step One - Fill a highball glass with Ice

Easy enough... he grabbed a bunch of ice, then stopped. How much is filled? To the top? Above the top? Half? Below? Why do you fill it if... what about the drink? He'd go with half ice, that would make the most sense.

Step Two- Add gin and lime juice

That should be simple. They grabbed the two and sloppily measured the amounts, then stopped. The gin was pretty strong, so what if they went with more lime juice instead? Noire switched to a one to one ratio on the juice and gin.

Step Three- Top with tonic water, garnish with lime wedges and peel

The final act was upon him, all he had to do was get this right. He poured in tonic water until it was just about full of liquid then tried to push the lime slice into the rim a few times to make sure it was stuck in there properly. At last, he put the spiraled lime peel on top of the liquid.

It looked... interesting, wrong somehow. Hops came over a few minutes later to take a look, she was mildly concerned at how visibly off it looked.

“Oh wow it's... um...did you follow the instructions?” She asked carefully, staring at the attempt at a sin and tonic. There was too little ice, all floating around in there and it looked a bit cloudy from the excess lime juice. The lime wedge was pushed into the rim a bit too much, as it was up to the rind.

Noire was so ashamed of himself he wanted to melt into a puddle on the floor and flee, he messed it up! He knew it, he screwed up! He watched in abject terror as Hops took a tiny sip, face scrunching a tiny bit. Was that bad? That was definitely bad.

She nodded after a moment of judgment. ”It's not bad! It's just kind of... uneven. Ice up to the top and way less lime juice would have saved it, but it's not terrible- I promise!“ Hops assured them when seeing how afraid they looked.

Noire nodded, accepting that his judgment was not the best thing to follow in this case, he should have followed the instructions.

”Can I... um... if it's okay, may I try one last time?“ He was almost pleading, so Hops relented. He looks absolutely destroyed, so she couldn't bear to let him walk out all dejected.

They tried again, but this time they followed the instructions to the exact line and took the advice given. Hops said more ice, so ice was filled to the top. The measurements were followed clearly, then finally the tonic water was added. The lime wedge was still pretty sloppy, but not as bad this time.

Hops tried his second attempt, paused, then lit up and gave them an excited smile.
”This is way better, good job! I think this is a solid A, you've definitely passed!“ She assured him, which was what he wanted to hear.

He learned something very important today: bartenders have a terrifying job, and he'd prefer to stick to astrology.