Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast, number 425, Serving Drinks and Cocktails.
This is English as a Second Language Podcast, episode 425.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.
Our website is eslpod.com.
On it you can find a learning guide for this episode to help you improve your English even faster.
This episode is a dialogue between Spencer and Heidi talking about making alcoholic for the most part drinks.
They'll use a lot of common vocabulary and talk about some specific kinds of popular drinks in the US.
Let's get started.
I'm practicing making drinks for the party tonight.
Do you want to try one?
I can hold my own.
Okay, name it and I'll make it.
Any mixed drink or cocktail.
Okay, I'll have a screwdriver.
A screwdriver?
Hmm, what's in that?
Aren't you supposed to know, Mr. Bartender?
I've never made one of those before, that's all.
Try something else.
How about a Bloody Mary?
A Bloody Mary, a Bloody Mary.
Do you want that on the rocks?
Sure, that'll be great.
Here you are, a Bloody Mary in a highball.
Enjoy!
Ugh, this doesn't taste like a Bloody Mary.
It tastes like you poured an entire bottle of alcohol into this.
Oh, come on.
It's not that bad.
Here, I'll add a little soda.
And, oh, I forgot the garnish.
I don't think that's going to help.
Can I give you some advice?
Stick to shots and drinks served straight up.
Uh, don't lose faith in me.
Let me make you one more drink.
Okay, but make it virgin.
My mouth is still on fire from the last one.
Spencer begins our dialogue by telling Heidi Heidi asks, Heidi asks, Heidi says, Heidi says.
Mixed drinks here means to make special, usually alcoholic drinks by mixing different kinds of alcohol, soda and or perhaps juice.
Sometimes we refer to those kind of drinks with the noun mixed drinks.
But here it's used as a verb meaning to make the drinks, to prepare the drinks.
Spencer says, I can hold my own.
Spencer says, okay, name it.
Meaning, tell me what kind of drink you want.
Both to hold your own and name it have a couple of different meanings in English.
Take a look at our learning guide for more information.
Spencer says, I'll make any mixed drink.
Notice here it's used as a noun, a mixed drink.
Or cocktail.
A cocktail is...
C-O-C-K-T-A-I-L is just another name for a mixed drink.
A mixed drink and cocktail are the same thing.
People use both names.
Heidi says, okay, I'll have a screwdriver.
A screwdriver normally is a tool that you use with little pieces of metal called screws.
But here it's an alcoholic drink, a popular one, that is made from vodka and orange juice.
Spencer says, a screwdriver?
Hmm, what's in that?
Well, screwdriver is probably the easiest drink you can make.
Almost everyone knows what a screwdriver is. at least anyone who goes to bars and restaurants.
So Spencer not knowing is a good indication that he's not very good.
Heidi says, aren't you supposed to know, Mr. Bartender?
Isn't it your job to know?
Notice she calls him Mr. Bartender.
This is sometimes used as a joke when you call someone by their job or occupation.
So you might say to me, Mr. Podcaster.
It's usually used sort of as a joke often when people say they know something but in fact they don't.
Spencer says, I've never made one of those screwdrivers before.
That's all.
Try something else.
So Heidi gives him another drink.
How about a Bloody Mary?
A Bloody Mary is a drink made from vodka, tomato juice and usually some spices to give it a certain flavor.
But basically vodka and tomato juice is a Bloody Mary.
Again, a very simple drink.
Spencer seems to know how to make it, and he asks Heidi if she wanted it on the rocks.
The expression on the rocks, R-O-C-K-S, means with ice.
We use this expression when we are talking about beverages, drinks.
Some people, for example, like to drink whiskey and they like the whiskey to be poured onto some ice cubes in a glass.
That would be whiskey on the rocks.
Well, Spencer gives her the Bloody Mary on the rocks.
And he says, here you go, or here you are, a Bloody Mary in a highball.
A highball is a type of glass, a tall glass that is often used for alcoholic beverages.
In some parts of the country, a highball is a name of a drink.
It's a drink with brandy or whiskey mixed with either some sort of soda or water.
But here it just means a glass.
Heidi says this doesn't taste like a Bloody Mary.
It tastes like you poured, you put, an entire bottle of alcohol into this.
Spencer says, oh, come on.
That expression is used when you are telling somebody not to complain or to stop saying what they are saying because it's wrong or it's exaggerated.
He says, oh, come on.
It's not that bad.
It's not very bad or as bad as you say.
He says, here, I'll add a little soda.
Soda, when you're talking about drinks, usually means carbonated water.
That is water that has little bubbles in it.
If you're not talking about alcoholic drinks, soda can refer to what is called in some parts of the country soda pop things like Coca-Cola or Pepsi.
In Minnesota, where I'm from, everyone just says pop.
So you'll say, can I have a pop?
Whereas here in California and in most other places you would ask for a soda if you wanted, say a Coca-Cola or something similar.
In making alcoholic drinks, a soda, or what's sometimes called soda water...
Spencer says, Oh, I forgot the garnish.
Garnish is something that's used to decorate your plate of food or your drink.
It isn't really part of the drink.
It's just something that's supposed to make it look nice.
Heidi says, I don't think that's going to help.
She says, can I give you some advice?
Stick to shots and drinks served straight up.
A shot is a small amount of alcohol.
They're actually little glasses, which we call shot glasses, where you can pour alcohol into.
You can use it to measure the alcohol or you can just drink the alcohol right from the shot glass.
These are called shots.
Give me a shot of whiskey.
Sometimes, especially younger people, when they are in a bar and perhaps not experienced with drinking alcohol or want to get drunk, will do shots.
That is, they will drink a lot of shots of alcohol so they can get intoxicated.
This has never happened to me but I've seen other people do it.
The expression stick to something means do something that is very basic or do only this.
Continue doing that and don't try to do anything more complicated.
So I do audio podcasts.
If I were to start doing video podcasts with the exception of our anniversary videos, of course Someone might say Jeff, you're not very good at that.
Stick to audio podcasts.
Continue doing the simpler thing because you don't know enough to do the more complicated thing.
That's what Heidi is saying to Spencer here.
Spencer says, don't lose faith in me, meaning don't stop having confidence in me.
Continue to believe in me.
Don't lose faith in me.
Let me make you one more drink, he says.
Heidi says, okay, but make it virgin.
My mouth is still on fire, is still hot from the last one.
A virgin drink is a drink without any alcohol, but it has all of the other ingredients.
So it looks like a regular drink, but in fact there is no alcohol in the drink.
A virgin here means untouched.
The term, of course, also refers to a woman or a man who has never had sexual relations.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
I'm practicing making drinks for the party tonight.
Do you want to try one?
You're the bartender?
I didn't know you knew how to mix drinks.
I can hold my own.
Okay, name it and I'll make it.
Any mixed drink or cocktail.
Okay, I'll have a screwdriver.
A screwdriver.
Hmm.
What's in that?
Aren't you supposed to know, Mr. Bartender?
I've never made one of those before, that's all.
Try something else.
How about a Bloody Mary?
A Bloody Mary.
A Bloody Mary.
Do you want that on the rocks?
Sure.
That'll be great.
Here you are.
A Bloody Mary in a highball.
Enjoy.
This doesn't taste like a Bloody Mary.
It tastes like you poured an entire bottle of alcohol into this.
Oh, come on.
It's not that bad.
Here, I'll add a little soda and, oh, I forgot the garnish.
I don't think that's going to help.
Can I give you some advice?
Stick to shots and drinks served straight up.
Ah, don't lose faith in me.
Let me make you one more drink.
Okay, but make it virgin.
My mouth is still on fire from the last one.
Our script today was written by someone who can hold her own here in Hollywood, Dr. Lucy Say.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you for listening.
Come back and listen to us next time on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
This podcast is copyright 2008.
