KEY POINTS:
For a moment, I thought my subtle sage-green Grey Lynn boutique dress had morphed into an AC/DC T-shirt and stonewashed jeans.
"We don't serve Bacardi," the barman at Wellington nite spot du jour Matterhorn sniffed. It transpired Matterhorn has a philosophical opposition to the white rum brand on
the grounds of supposed inferiority - and why would I want to be drinking that "capitalist" spirit, anyway?
I was incredulous, not least because just moments before I had been regaling friends with the story of fellow swanky Wellington bar Motel, which had been similarly disinclined to serve me a Bacardi and Coke. On that occasion, the white-coated barman had lectured me about the superiority of rival brand Havana Club and about how he couldn't, in all professional conscience, bring himself to serve me such a downmarket drink.
Was I starting to look like trailer trash? Or was a new breed of bar that presumes to know better than its patrons emerging?
Matterhorn - just named fifth best bar in the world by Bartender magazine - confirmed its anti-Bacardi stand. "We sell the proper Cuban rums," co-owner Sam Chapman said. "We use Havana Club, which is a proper, authentic Cuban white rum, which is essentially what Bacardi was before it was made multinational."
Motel's stance is not quite as hardline, as it does stock Bacardi, but only for the purposes of not breaching the Fair Trading Act when mixing a Bacardi cocktail.
"Otherwise, we tend to use Havana, simply because of the split between Havana and America and the trade embargo and so on... which forced the Bacardi company to move overseas so they could still access the American market and produce what is actually Puerto Rican rum," bar manager Ben Simpson explained. He also believes that classic Cuban cocktails such as mojitos should be made with the local white rum.
If push comes to shove, Motel will satisfy the poor Bacardi and Coke-drinking customer - for a $2 surcharge per drink.
Bacardi prejudice would appear to be a Wellington phenomenon, although several other Capital bars were surprised to learn of it: "Oh my God, you're joking," said Juniper bar and restaurant manager Rekha Lala, when told about Motel's Bacardi surcharge.
Phil Clark, operations manager of Auckland watering holes Pasha, Euro, Green Room and Danny Doolin's, described it as "bizarre".
However, it's not the only alcohol on some bars' blacklist. Tony Stewart, owner and manager of Match bar and part-owner of Clooney bar and restaurant in Auckland, said he steered away from Malibu and Midori because of the "demographic" they attracted.
"I don't do Malibu and lemonade. [It's] kind of a young person's drink. So if I'm trying to attract an older group, if I can deter a younger crowd through certain drinks, I will do it.
"But I think Bacardi is quite a big call, not to stock that, because it's still a very good product."
Phil Clark said Pasha on Princes Wharf was reluctant to serve cider - "it's not a great mover, and it's quite an expensive item to have" - but Danny Doolin's does.
Bar operators confirm they have allegiances to drinks distributors and have "first pour" spirits - if a customer asks for a gin and tonic, for example, the distributor's brand will be poured. Bacardi and Havana Club are distributed by different companies.
Rowan Dean, senior brand manager for Bacardi, points out that the drink is far and away New Zealanders' favourite white rum, with 90 per cent of the market. Bars like Motel and Matterhorn were "a more niche offering, so they might offer a different, non-mainstream spirit range", he said.
Nick Dykes, bar manager at jazz bar Deschler's in Auckland's High St, said that if a customer asked for a spirit by name, they should be given it.
Bacardi and Havana Club are made from different sugar canes and so take on different characteristics, he said. "I don't see Bacardi being an inferior product to Havana at all."
Dykes said Deschlers had steered away from drinks such as Chartreuse and Absinthe, because they weren't used for anything except for drinking shots. "For a long time here, we didn't serve Chartreuse, because people would come up to us and go, 'What's your hardest shot?"'
And that's when I say, 'Why do you want something so bad?"'
What's In
* Mojitos
* Martinis
* CC and dry (Canadian Club whiskey and ginger ale)
* Vodka
* Heineken
What's Out
* Malibu
* Midori
* Chartreuse
* Absinthe
* Agavero (tequila liqueur)
