On Monday, “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” aired a skit that came straight for pompous cocktail bars. Fallon and guests Keegan-Michael Key and Boy George hit TV screens donning tacky hipster wear to poke fun at the stereotypical speakeasy barkeep. The bit’s title: “Cool Bartenders.”
While the lyrics rang true with some of the things we love to hate about today’s bar culture, much of its jokes instead brought us back to the early aughts mixology scene and the institutions it boomed in. Don’t get us wrong, speakeasy stuffiness is still alive and well, but most of the sketch felt stuck in the past. Here’s what the show got right and wrong about the current state of cocktail bartending.
