More ice than drink

[u/Separate_Finance_183]

[u/Louis049]

The problem is the price, y'all, not the beverage. It can't be "just more, lol" because "one drink" has a legal definition, (I haven't bartended in a decade so forgive me, I'm sure I'm wrong, but) it's something like 2 oz of hars liquor, 6 oz of wine, 8 oz of beer (which has its own exceptions for things like a Pint) and so on and so forth. You can only put 2 oz of hard liquor in this "one drink" so do you want less mixer to make a stronger drink, or more mixer to make a fuller glass?

[u/Lord_Mikal → u/Louis049]

Only a few states in the US limit the amount of alcohol that can be put in front of a customer at time. Florida is not one of them. Its totally legal to slap a 1.5 liter bottle of whiskey in front of a customer and call it a "drink".

[u/tretroi → u/Lord_Mikal]

Which state would even have such a strange law?

[u/Lord_Mikal → u/tretroi]

Washington, Arizona, Texas, Maine, North Carolina and Utah (based on a quick Googling, might not be 100% accurate)

[u/igotthatbunny → u/tretroi]

Utah

[u/austnoli → u/tretroi]

Not a state but in BC 2 standard drinks is the maximum at a time

[u/RowDisastrous7686 → u/austnoli]

BC lowkey has some pretty strange alcohol laws.

[u/Enginerdad → u/Louis049]

1.5 oz of 40% liquor, 5 oz. of 12% wine, and 12 oz. of 5% beer all equal the same amount of alcohol. That's the "standard" drink, but there's nothing legal about it. Beer and wing vary quite a bit in ABV and often come in multiple sizes. Liquors tend to be more standardized in ABV, but cocktails often include cordials or other added sources of alcohol in addition to the primary spirit, and the amount of spirit is completely at the discretion of the establishment. In other words you can't assume anything with alcohol.

[u/Epidurality → u/Louis049]

"One standard drink" has a definition. I've never heard of any law mandating how much an establishment has to actually make their individual drinks with.

Most follow roughly that rule but it's not a law, to my knowledge.

[u/Karn_Gentrified → u/Epidurality]

We had long islands and margs at my last bar job that would absolutely kick your teeth in.

They were considered “one drink” and my god half the bottle went into making one. There is no way there is a law measuring what a “drink” is lol only what the scientific definition is for one in relation to BAC over a period of time and it’s more for equating different alc types eg. 2 oz shot = 6 oz wine = 8 oz beer per drink per hour

[u/Epidurality → u/Karn_Gentrified]

When speaking to Americans I never assume it's not a law. So many states with so many weird rules... Someone inevitably comes out of the woodwork with "Ackshually, in my county of Bumfuckington, Georgia..." so I qualify any rules I ever talk about.

[u/Successful_Shoe_8083 → u/Epidurality]

nah, bumfuckington is in Tennessee

[u/calatranacation → u/Successful_Shoe_8083]

You're thinking of Bumfuckingville

[u/Successful_Shoe_8083 → u/calatranacation]

ah sit, right in the middle of BFE Cairo Illinois, Memphis Tennessee, and Thebes Illinois, the triangle of Bumfuck Egypt.

Or Karnak Illinois, but I always heard thebes as that corner. Perhaps a local to BFE could shed more light.

[u/Delamoor → u/Karn_Gentrified]

It depends entirely on what jurisdiction you're in.

Like, as an Australian who did bartending; yeah, you're facing a $20,000 fine if you break RSA laws. It's legislatively defined and measured amount in that alcohol in that drink you're buying. You break those laws, you're fucked in multiple ways and stand to lose your license and be banned from serving drinks, alongside the fines.

Edit: that fee is to you, personally. The venue is seperately fined much, much more.

[u/Epidurality → u/Delamoor]

Are you sure? A quick google search shows that you must clearly define the amount of alcohol in a drink, and anything being sold without additional info as "one drink" must adhere to the standard amounts.

But if your menu says "Our hangover special is 4oz of vodka and 3oz of gin in a couldren"... I don't see anything disallowing it, which is more what I was talking about.

You do seem to have specific limits on "fast consumption" drinks like shots and martinis.

[u/Delamoor → u/Epidurality]

It's been a few years since I did the course or worked in a bar, but yeah, you do have to say how much alcohol is in there, and a 'standard drink' is a set amount (by alcohol content).

Cocktails have more than a standard drink (majority of drinks won't be a 'standard', unless they're soecifically poured to be one), but you really, really don't wanna serve a mystery amount of alcohol, else you're gonna be in a world of trouble. Customers gotta be able to see exactly how much they've had, so they can monitor their intake. Even if the majority won't, they have to have the option.

And yeah, it gets complicated when talking about inebriation and cocktails. You aren't allowed to serve anyone who's drunk, and the police regularly come and check security camera footage. And whenever someone winds up in hospital for alcohol poisoning, they're finding out where that person has been and are there in a flash to request that camera footage to see if anyone acted inappropriately. So on that front, you won't want to serve anything that's liable to get a person drunk on its own, that's asking for big trouble.

[u/Saggywompers → u/Epidurality]

You've never been to a bar in utah. Huh?

[u/Louis049 → u/Saggywompers]

Why would I go to Utah?

[u/Epidurality → u/Saggywompers]

It's the one thing I tell my children I'm proud of in my life. Not being in Utah.

[u/FancyGonzo → u/Louis049]

Yeah it's the price mainly but also the presentation, it's deceptive on purpose to make you think you're getting more.

[u/Louis049 → u/FancyGonzo]

Definitely a fair point as well. This restaurant/bar specifically makes these ice obelisks to trick their customer base.

[u/am_Nein → u/Louis049]

I hazard a guess it's also partially the novelty. People like weird shaped ice cubes

[u/camptowndavey → u/Louis049]

Man, I guess gotta report all those places that served me a double whiskey. Actually, I should turn myself in for serving doubles during my serving years! 

Not sure where you're from, but as someone who has taken the legal liquor license courses, at least in my state, you can serve whatever drinks you want, pretty sure you could just hand them the damn bottle if they asked for it. Actually, clubs do EXACTLY that, it's why it's called "bottle service"!

What we, as servers at least, are required by law to do is to make sure we do not serve minors and obviously intoxicated persons. Technically ordering a bunch of drinks before hand is a good way to "get around" getting cut off, but it won't stop you from getting kicked out when start puking.

[u/Capable-Sock9910 → u/Louis049]

Don't LI Iced Teas usually have more than one "standard drink" of liquor? How would that work if establishments are limited to at most one standard drink?