Bartender or Mixologist

Well, it was bound to happen. For some industry pundits and aficionados, the term ‘mixologist’ is another term for a bartender or, as some put it, a bar chef. But, for many in the industry, the term mixologist is off-putting and the preference is for bartender.

Ray Foley, founder and publisher of Bartender Magazine has this to say about the different terminology: “A mixologist is a person who really doesn’t know how to tend bar but has the money to get a PR agent.” Whew, that Ray, such a kidder, always holds back his opinions.

The Smirnoff Ad

A friend in the industry alerted me to the Smirnoff ad that seems to agree with Mr. Foley. According to Adweek, “With the tagline ‘Exclusively for everybody,’ Smirnoff spends most of the ad mocking all things VIP, while also taking quite a few digs at the mixology movement, represented by a Stockholm-educated neckbeard who curates his herbs and deconstructs martinis.” (Neckbeard?)

Here is a link to the Smirnoff Vodka Deconstructed Martini ad, in case you can’t view it below.

So, I have two questions:

For Diageo (owner of Smirnoff) – the ad is clever and very well done. But, you’re poking fun at pretentiousness (which is very cool) so aren’t you biting the hand that feeds you? Aren’t you the people who’ve been pushing the term mixology? If the answer is yes, good for you.

And now dear reader – what do you think of the ad?

(My thanks to Robert Lehrman and John Messinger of Bevlaw.com for bringing this to my attention.)