Having a drink after work

So, you go to a bar with an intent. You want a drink after a nice hard day at work. What to drink? Going to a local and having a pint of beer is one option, although not my favourite. Your allowance for alcohol shouldn't be wasted. Drinking any ol' beer is a waste of alcohol allowance, abuse of liver and poor use of your time. I prefer to get something to tell home about. I've taken girlfriends out to have a flaming shots or to a drink bar where just the building of the beverage is a show to be watched, amazed and remembered for a long time. The best option after a hard days work is up to you. For me, a good start is a well stocked bar with a view. There, I might opt for a Martini. A proper martini, in my opinion, would be:

• Stirred, not shaken (shaking will water it)
• Absolutely without twist (lemon peel is a bit too harsh)
  
• From Gin, not Vodka (vodka is for other drinks)
  
• With a plain olive or two, from a jar (mmm.... olives)
  
• Dry (no vermouth, too strong. Don't like it)
  

Then again, you might want to have something that does not kill your braincells. Like a coke. That is a lot harder than getting a proper drink. There was this time I wanted a coke on a cafe. When coffee is 3€, water 1€ and coke is 4€, I kinda wan't to try if i can get a proper one. What is a proper coke then? Ill tell you the story about what happened later. Meanwhile, here is the recipie. Go and try to get one. Going to a bar to ask for a coke, I dare you. What can go wrong?

The glass. It should be about 4 dl, thick and sturdy. Does not have to be chilled, but can't be hot from the dishwasher.
The Coke should be ice cold and with a lot of fizz. Not from a pistol behind the bar, but from a glass bottle where it is like it's supposed to be. Plastic and can give it a taste, plastic has too little fizz and the can is not only too small, it has too much fizz.
The Lemon is optional, but if there is sucha a thing in your coke, it should be a lemon, not a lime. It should float in the glass, not too thick, not too thin. Zest should be there, but not on its own. And it needs to be washed and de-seeded for use in this drink. You dont wan't to drink the seeds.
The Ice Some ice should be there, not too much as it will water the lovely coke. Two or three ice cubes should be enough. Chill the glass if the surroundings need more cooling.


The Build and Serve
1: Wash the glass, especially the rim of the glass, with cold water. This removes possible debris from the glass, makes one inspect the rim for cracks, removes the drying towel old sock taste from the rim, wets the glass from the inside and checks the temperature of the glass.
2: Put the ice in the glass, add the washed lemon slice or two (hold the seeds) in the middle.
3: Pour the coke in. The fizz is now minimized, since the ice is already there and the glass is wet. Wet glass is slick, making the foaming hard as there is less forming surface, thus leaving the fizz in the coke. If the coke was warm or fizzless, you can see it in the amount of foam at this point.
4: Serve with a smile, on a napkin. The glass is so cool that it will condence the moist from the air on it's outside surface, thus water running on the table. Needs something to soak it in. As the whole glass is wet, some want to dry their hands.

The Smile is just optional, but this coke served with perfection should have a tip coming your way by now, why ruin it at this point.