Every professional bartender has a few bottles they don’t like. In most cases, the level of disdain never goes much further than some level of “meh.” It’s not that the liquid is objectively bad; it is just not for them. But there’s usually one bottle that functions as something of a nemesis, and seeing it on a trusted establishment’s back bar or a good friend’s bar cart is enough to burrow under their skin — and heaven help the well-meaning soul who presents it as a gift.
It could be dated liqueur, a celebrity-backed spirit in a clunky vessel, or a too-sweet substitute for an ingredient best made fresh. Whatever the reason, when a bottle achieves nemesis status, the only satisfying solution would seemingly be to make it permanently vanish. With that in mind, we asked 10 bartenders to name the bottles they wish would go away for good.
The bottles and products that should disappear from back bars and bar carts forever, according to bartenders: Pre-made sour mix Spherical bottles Non-traditionally made celebrity tequilas Crème de violette Black and opaque bottles Hard-to-hold bottles Artificially flavored vodkas Artificially colored and flavored molasses rums Blue Curaçao Drambuie
“Although I’m opposed to making the world of mixology inaccessible and unwelcoming, if I had to make one bottle disappear it would be pre-made sour mix. No craft cocktail bar should ever use it. [For home bartenders], using the same mix in a Margarita, Whiskey Sour, and Tom Collins will result in
