The Bartender Request That Has Twitter Divided

Actor, writer, and stand-up comedian Eli Yudin thinks it's a truly fine time to be alive, and he's here to prove it along with his fellow comedians and co-hosts, Patrick Monahan and Kath Barbadoro, in a weekly podcast called "What A Time To Be Alive." The podcast is positioned as a weekly countdown of all the things about the present day that "make you say the thing that's the title of the podcast" (with tongue planted firmly in cheek, of course). We're talking about things like a grade school classroom that set up a GoFundMe page for their teacher to buy a cooler pair of shoes (via #229 Lawnmower Juice), a possum bellying up to a drink in a dive bar (via #237 Doll Steps), and, most recently, a guy who lost his phone in a volcano (via What A Time To Be Alive: #244 Raw Cable). 

But independent of his co-hosts, Yudin has his own observations to make about life today, particularly regarding his ability to get his hands on a cold draft right at the moment that he wants one. More specifically, the comedian has observed that when it comes to barroom efficiency, the juxtaposition of beer-craving customers with those who prefer at least three ingredients in their cocktail presents a rather disturbing inefficiency that seems to disfavor beer-drinkers. Not surprisingly, Yudin's bartender request has Twitter divided — but not in the way you might think. 

On July 22, funnyman Eli Yudin took to Twitter to address barroom efficiency in today's cocktail-centric culture (speaking of which, here's the perfect way to craft a cocktail, based on science). According to Yudin, bars should have a bartender and a designated "beertender." "Don't make me wait 30 minutes for a High Life because someone ordered some made-up sh*t like an upside down negroni," the comedian groused. 

Liked by more than 58,000 people and retweeted by more than 3,500, Yudin's request has gone viral like COVID-19 (it's not too soon, is it?). It seems that most people tend to agree with Yudin, at least as a technical matter, which is to say they agree that a problem exists. But after that is where things start to get divided. 

To wit, the bartenders of Twitter don't necessarily agree that the negroni, whether upside down or otherwise, is causing this logjam. One suggests margaritas are to blame. Indeed, when you consider how many margaritas Chili's serves each year, it's hard to disagree. Another suggests it's the requests for Old Fashioneds or espresso martinis that have him shaken. Then the discourse expanded, as coffee drinkers entered the fray to deride people who place complicated orders for caffeinated drinks, too. They were matched only by Twitter users like @Nomad546, who wonder why anyone who mocks ridiculous orders would even go to Starbucks for coffee.