Don’t use quirky drink names when ordering at the bar, says Big Brother, or you could hurt someones feelings. New Hampshire has pulled hundreds of bartending guides from state-run liquor stores after workers complained that the drink manuals contained sexually explicit and derogatory drink names such as “stripper mom.”
The Concord Monitor reports (http://bit.ly/1FkUhY4 ) the New Hampshire Liquor Commission paid $3,300 for 500 copies of the “The Bartender’s Black Book Tenth Edition” as a resource for retail store employees to answer consumer questions about wines and cocktails.
Now, Gov. Maggie Hassan told the commission to recall the guides after people complained some drink names were hurting their feelings.
“She directed they be removed because they contain material that is potentially offensive to workers and customers,” her spokesman, William Hinkle, told the newspaper.
The state’s 78 liquor stores accounted for $626 million in sales in 2014 and pumped $149 million in profits into the state’s general fund. Private entities cannot operate liquor stores in the state.
“In retrospect, we could have done a more thorough job vetting the guide,” Liquor Commission spokesman E.J. Powers said in a statement.
The bartending book is widely available for sale and on its cover, it proclaims over 1 million copies sold.
“The guide itself features an extensive and informative section by Robert M. Parker, Jr., the most widely known and influential wine critic in the world today,” Powers said.
It’s written by Stephen Kittredge Cunningham, who has a long history in the bar and restaurant industry, according to an “about the author” section.
The Associated Press contributed to this article