Climbing walls with the Hairy Bear - a 20-year tradition

The infamous Hairy Bear, described on the Bear's drink menu as capable of making patrons "want to climb walls," consists of six shots of three different liquors. Though the original idea was conceptualized nearly 20 years ago, general manager Jim Reef says nobody really ordered it until five years ago. \n"It started out as a joke," Reef says. "It's so intense; it's kind of a nasty drink. It started out as six shots in a 12-ounce mug with some grenadine, sour mix and orange juice for flavor. Now it's the signature drink, thanks to (former Bear's owner) Ray McConn. We used to sell 300 to 400 Long Islands a night; now it's all Hairy Bears."\nReefs cautions that servers are technically not allowed to serve more than one Hairy Bear to any consumer (but as this writer knows, that's often not strictly adhered to) -- an instance Reef attributes to the layout of the bar. \n"It's so hard -- you can get it from the bar, from your server, or change sections and order it elsewhere," Reef says. "It's hard to monitor"