Ice cubes must be placed in the deep glass first. Jackie inverted a small stainless steel pot, and the square ice cubes slid into the glass in a stream. During this process, hands must not touch the ice cubes.
Why is that?
Are you kidding? If hands touch something that goes into your mouth, won't it taste like hand sweat?
Indeed, genuinely.
The ice cubes also have specific requirements: they must be uniform in size, rhomboid on all sides, without sharp corners or water stains, and ideally placed in immediately after coming out of the freezer, still radiating cold.
After adding the ice, Jackie, holding a stainless steel jigger shaped like an hourglass, poured sixty milliliters of old-fashioned tequila from the bottle into the glass, steady as a rock.
With the base liquor poured, it was time for coloring and flavoring. Holding a dropper, he added two drops each of orange bitters and tangerine bitters, symbolizing the four heroes who accompanied Silverhand in breaking through Arasaka Tower back then.
Next, he stirred with a long spoon, not too fast, not too slow, at a certain rhythm, always clockwise.
Oh, what's the significance of that?
Ah, nothing really, just for convenience.
Hah, I thought it was about the Coriolis effect, like clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counter-clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
Next, a strainer was placed on the deep glass, and two flat-bottomed glasses were stacked, with a large square ice cube sandwiched between them, before he began pouring the drink.
When pouring, one hand must support the bottom of the glass, and the other must hold the rim; hands must not touch the glass wall.
Human hands have their own temperature; if they touch the liquor inside, won't it spoil the taste, my old baby?
There's a specific way to pour: you can't fill one glass completely and then fill the other. The top and bottom of the liquor have different concentrations, so if you pour them one by one, won't they have two different tastes?
You have to pour half into one glass, then half into the other, then fill the first glass, and finally fill the last glass.
When you look at it in the end, hey, steady as can be, the liquid levels in both glasses are perfectly even—that's what you call skill.
Does it go straight into your mouth after pouring?
Tsk, not even close! You still have to add half a spoon of beer from the outskirts of Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, to enhance the flavor, and finally, insert an open, deseeded red chili pepper into the rim of the glass. Only then is it complete.
After this whole process is done, with the lights hitting it just right, the subtle aroma immediately rises—that's when it's truly perfected.
Of course, all the above was just Berry's idle imagination; in reality, Jackie quickly completed this set of operations, and finally, two perfectly mixed Johnny Silverhands were placed before them.
"Hmm, not bad, quite impressive."
V was a regular at bars, so one look was enough for her to know that Jackie had some real skill.
Although she smoked, drank, and was a regular at bars and nightclubs, she was actually a good girl. Don't worry, Berry had already confirmed this.
V picked up the glass and first sniffed the aroma, but unfortunately, she wasn't professional enough to use the fanning-into-the-nose method.
After sniffing the aroma, V took a small sip. As the fine liquor entered her mouth, V's blue eyes immediately lit up.
Oh my, Luis's sister, authentic!
"Hah, not bad, Jackie, you've got some skills!"
Unexpectedly tasting good liquor, V immediately offered her praise.
"See! I told you I have real skills!"
Seeing his product approved by V, Jackie crossed his arms, full of confidence.
V nodded. Jackie was indeed from a bar background, a bar person. With his skills, he would definitely be excellent even if he opened a small shop.
"Is that so?"
Looking at V's approving expression, Berry, standing nearby, raised an eyebrow, indicating disbelief.
Although she didn't understand anything, she was just that confident.
"Jackie, don't get ahead of yourself. Getting V's approval isn't enough; you still have to pass my test!"
Berry knew nothing about alcohol; she was completely clueless.
This was understandable, as she believed her mouth was dedicated to carbonated happy water and wasn't fond of alcohol.
Alcohol would dull her taste buds, and how could she then fully savor the beauty of V—ah, no, little coca-cola.
However, her lack of knowledge didn't stop her from bragging.
"Hmm..."
Feigning a sniff of the wine in her glass, Berry frowned.
"A hint of organ smell."
Berry smacked her lips before taking a sip.
After a small sip of the reddish liquid, Berry immediately frowned.
"This, this, this, this... there's no pickled shrimp oil in this, what is this?"
Berry put down the glass and spoke nonsense with a straight face.
"Is this stuff drinkable? I'm telling you, I'm not paying for this later."
"Oh, come on, Berry. If you don't understand, just admit it. Don't try so hard to pretend."
Watching Berry's pretentious act, Jackie threw his hands up in exasperation.
"Hehe, you saw right through me."
Berry, who understood nothing, chuckled and put down the glass.
It was all a joke just now.
She couldn't taste anything; it just wasn't as spicy. She didn't find anything extraordinary about it.
But V, watching the still mischievous Berry, couldn't help but smile.
The saint-like Berry from that morning had truly shocked her for a while, so seeing her Little Girlfriend in her usual mischievous state finally made her relax.
She was still struggling to accept this sudden change.
But, it wasn't bad either.
Remembering the gentle, loving look in Berry's eyes that morning, V felt refreshed and her heart tingled.
"...Sigh, I say, you two have chatted and drank. Can we talk about something serious now?"
After the three chatted for a while and their glasses were empty, Jackie nudged them, speaking cautiously as if he were a thief.
"Hmm, serious business, what serious business?"
Hearing Jackie's words, Berry raised her head, her eyes shining with confusion.
"Aren't we just here to mooch a free lunch?"
Berry finally revealed her grand plan to get a free meal.
"Hey, you sly Berry!"
Seeing Berry's shameless behavior, Jackie pointed his finger for a long time, speechless.
"V, are you just going to stand there and watch? Aren't you going to say something about your Little Girlfriend?"
Seeing Berry's unreasonable yet confident demeanor, Jackie helplessly turned his gaze to the silent V, hoping that V, as the dominant one, would say a few words.
As for why he assumed V was the dominant one, it was obvious. With Berry's personality, even if you looked with four eyes, you couldn't see her as a submissive one.
"Hmm, what did you say?"
After one drink, a slightly tipsy V, her face flushed, was propping herself up on the bar, tilting her head and quietly admiring her Little Girlfriend's stunning beauty.
The more she looked, the more beautiful and comfortable she found Berry. V seemed to be trying to discern something profound about Berry, and for a moment, she hadn't noticed Jackie calling her.
"Alright, I give up."
Jackie ran a hand over his face, indicating he couldn't bear to watch.
These two were beyond saving.
However, now was a time to ask for help, so Jackie couldn't be too picky. He patiently stated his request.
"I say, considering we've fought side-by-side, lend a brother a hand."
Jackie leaned on the counter, explaining.
"My mom, how do I put it, wasn't very happy with our last performance. You saw the result; she made me work behind this counter, but this doesn't fit my plan."
As he mentioned his plan, Jackie's eyes lit up, staring into the air as if a beautiful painting was before him.
"My dream is to become a legend of Night City. The streets of Night City still need me. How can I be a bartender or a bar owner here? This doesn't align with my dream."
"Think about Johnny Silverhand, Morgan Blackhand, damn, what great things they did! I say, ambitious people should be like them, every move they make, everyone watches. That's how a man should be."
"So, lend a brother a hand. Help me convince my mom. Although it was a bit dangerous last time, I didn't die. Besides, isn't it romantic to fall while pursuing your dreams?"
After Jackie finished, he looked at them eagerly.
"Alright, alright."
Seeing Jackie so serious, Berry couldn't joke around anymore.
"Jackie, don't worry. V and I will talk to Mrs. Welles. We'll make sure you can come back and be a Mercenary with us."
Berry knew Jackie's ambition.
This guy was completely devoted to his Mercenary career.
Actually, Mrs. Welles didn't oppose his dream; otherwise, she wouldn't have let him join gangs and become a Mercenary before. Well, of course, with Jackie's stubborn mule personality, even if Mrs. Welles didn't allow it, he would still do it regardless.
"Yeah, that's right, Jackie. Your skills are more suited for the streets. A bar owner? It's not too late to do that after retirement."
V also chimed in.
"Hmm, Gracias (Thank you very much)!"
Jackie nodded excitedly.
"Huh? V? Berry? Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"
At that moment, a strong female voice came from behind them.
Hearing this voice, the still excited Jackie coughed twice, quickly composed himself, and began to diligently wipe glasses.
"Hi, Mrs. Welles!"
The person who arrived was none other than Jackie's mother, the current owner of Wolf Bar, Mrs. Welles.
Her stern face was lined with wrinkles, and her blonde hair was somewhat dull, but even so, her former beauty was still faintly discernible.
Coupled with her black sweater and leather jacket, it was clear she was a strong woman of the streets.
In this Heywood district, Wolf Bar and Mrs. Welles's name were quite well-known.
Just look at the gangs in this area, like the Valentinos Gang, known for its strict rules.
Jackie had previously joined this gang, and the Valentinos Gang was famous for its rigid hierarchy; once a member joined, they could only leave upon death. However, once, after Jackie was severely injured, Mrs. Welles used her prestige to get Jackie out of the gang, restoring his freedom.
And this was done without falling out with the gang, which showed how deeply respected Mrs. Welles was in this area.
Of course, these were all rumors from the streets. In the eyes of V and Berry, Mrs. Welles was a strict but caring elder who was always concerned about them.
"Mrs. Welles, we missed you terribly!"
Seeing Mrs. Welles approach, Berry and V immediately stood up, greeting her warmly.
"Heh, if you missed me, you wouldn't have taken so long to come back."
But to Berry's cute offensive, Mrs. Welles hugged her arms and scoffed.
Clearly, Berry's usual playful tactics weren't working this time.
"Hey, hey, isn't it because we're usually busy?"
Berry scratched her head, looking a bit embarrassed.
"Sigh, never mind, you two."
But in the end, looking at the two vibrant young women, Mrs. Welles sighed and then showed a relieved smile.
Forget it, they're her own girls, why bother with so many details?
Mrs. Welles was much more lenient with Berry and V than she was with Jackie.
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