Of course you’re never going to attract a member of the opposite sex solely based on ordering an awesome drink at a bar. But sipping on something impressive can’t hurt!

Saturday night I was at a bar, and one of my guy friends half-jokingly asked: “What kind of drink can I order to impress girls?” This led to a lively debate on what’s hot and what’s not for girls and guys to drink while trying to look cool to the opposite sex. Obviously there are a lot of variables, but we were able to come to some surprisingly unanimous conclusions.

For Guys:
In a world of effeminate hipsters and metrosexual alpha males, it’s nice to see men continuing to assert their masculinity at the bar. This means sticking to the basics as much as possible, with room for deviation based on type.

PBR is perfectly acceptable for the artsy, the young, and the broke. Bud Light, on the other hand, is fine while tailgating or hanging out with friends from high school, but not something you should ever order at a bar.

Most guys are pretty easy going about beer, and a girl will never fault you for ordering whatever’s on tap. Still, knowledge is power, and the more you actually know about the selection and/or the beer that you’re drinking, the more impressive. (Warning: Blue Moon is for girls.)

Never, ever, ever order wine unless you’re at a restaurant or a wine bar. Nothing poncier than a dude drinking the house red at a dive bar. When it’s safe to order wine, you really can’t go wrong, although I will say that every 20-something male in America has discovered Malbec in the past two years, so ordering that really doesn’t have the cache one might think. (3/4 times I go on a date, the guy will confidently say to the waiter, “Two glasses of Malbec!” and wait for me to be impressed by his selection.)

As far as hard liquor goes, the fewer ingredients, the better. You really can’t go wrong with a simple Makers Mark, neat; it’s sophisticated and mature. A gin martini (as opposed to vodka) was good enough for James Bond, and every red-blooded male since. Another cool choice for guys (and slightly more unusual) is a Negroni: gin, vermouth, and bitters.

Mixology is definitely having its moment, and it would be regressive to ban cocktails for men, or even label them as “girly.” Still, there’s a time and a place for everything. When drinking at a bar with a respected mixologist, go ahead and order the Lychee Martini. When at normal bars, don’t order anything with more than three ingredients.

And White Russians? Only on Lebowski day, my friends.

For Girls
Lucky girls, we’re way less restricted in terms of drink choice: Guys are usually just happy that alcohol is finding its way to our bloodstream.

Still, there’s “Oh good, she’s drinking,” and then there’s “Wow, this chick is awesome.” Let’s aim for the latter, shall we?

Beer. Real beer. Once I walked into a bar with a guy. The bartender proceeded to rattle off the beer selection to my date, then turned to me (the girl) and said, “Unfortunately, we only have one light beer.” (!) So I said “Uh, actually I was looking for an IPA if you have one,” and the cranky old bartender said “Whoo-ey, this one knows what she’s talking about, boys!” and my date was grinning from ear to ear. The moral of the story: Order an IPA, then proceed to comment about how hoppy it is.

Also, guys love it (I’m told) when a girl orders straight scotch, or whiskey or anything straight.

But all my guy friends seemed to really agree that while what specifically she drinks is a non-factor, they love a girl who knows exactly what she wants, and can instruct the bartender on how to make it to her specifications. So next time a guy offers you a drink, don’t say “Oh, whatever.” Have a specific drink ready, and be ready to explain it.

And save the Cosmos for your ironic (or un-ironic! No judgement!) Sex And The City viewing parties.

[Obviously, don't change your drinking habits just for the opposite sex. There's nothing sexier than someone who knows what they want, so drink what you like, really!]

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