First impressions count, whether you’re the one making them or the one being impressed (or not!) … like on a first date, when your drinks choice can say far more about you than you realize. Read on for our He Said, She Said take on what’s in your glass.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the writers are solely their own. Even if we secretly agree with them.

First impressions count
Under the surface of our polite and orderly interactions with people over first-date drinks are complex and fairly strong reactions connected with the seemingly simple action that is the choice of our drink.


Champagne
Ordering bubbly evokes images of first class travel and James Bond retro luxe. He’s looking to impress and show you that this date is important. Further dates with this international playboy may feature upscale glamour. However, ordering something so special for an event as innocuous as a first date may indicate that he’s an overconfident, bold man with a swagger in his step. This man-child is well-intentioned, but perhaps a bit too blustery for a lot of women’s tastes. 


Rum & Coke
This is a low-key man (keyword: man, not boy) who is not flashy in the least. ‘Low maintenance’ is the phrase most people would use to describe him, and he’ll be in involved in some manner of sports (football would be our guess). He’ll be refreshingly un-prissy and have a pleasantly bawdy sense of humour. He won’t have much time or patience for ‘Women with Issues’ and may have the tendency to label them as simply psycho chicks. Try to pin him down on something serious and he’ll just try to steer things in the silly direction. If you can’t deal with men who don’t like crying/women who are complex in an obnoxious way/your dark side, stay away.


Vodka Martini
You’re dating a no-trainers kind of guy dressed in a super-sharp suit who is charming, charming. His well-crafted one-liners will get you up to all sorts of antics, although the fact that he’s slavish to the whims of fashion may make you feel under-dressed in comparison. He’ll be the kind of chap who’s clever, funny, a bit accident-prone and kind of sexy. He gets away with things too, and does so in a knowing way that confirms his roguery.


Grey Goose & Tonic
Ordering something as upscale Grey Goose vodka has a filthy kind of allure – this man channels the spirit of something decadent, something illicit. He’s dirty, but not filthy; he’s someone many a woman would love to get know better – against her better judgment. He’s hip, eccentric or interesting… or more likely, he’s all of the above. In other words, his raison d’être is standing out from the crowd, although this will not be his intention. This is also a socially desirable man: he knows everyone worth knowing, which can come in very handy indeed.


Snakebite
A rockabilly, sprightly kind of guy who’s a little out-of-control but whose Hobbit-y demeanour of bouncing around makes him totally endearing. He’ll be flirty without being pervy, chic without being scornfully fashionable and laidback but in a sharpish way. It’s likely that he’ll retreat into the cliché of the standard Englishman – making a joke in order to avoid talking about his feelings. He might be a little more ironic than a cosmopolitan woman is used to, but get past this intensity and you’ll encounter an informed young man who is free-and-easy and infused with raw, youthful testosterone.


Pinot Grigio
Unfortunately, this man has the tendency to have sex with other men.

Read the girls' version.