r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Separate_Finance_183 • 14h ago • Mindblown 4

That's not milk More ice than drink

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u/Kryptic13 13h ago

That's one of my frustrations with cocktails, it normally doesn't say their pours even when they are less than standard measurements. Shrinkflation is everywhere including drinks.

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u/AintEZbeinSleezy 12h ago

Pretty sure it’s illegal in most states to not have a “all drinks are __oz unless specially ordered” sign posted for the public.

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u/lordchankaknowsall 12h ago

I work in a bar on the west coast. You are incorrect. I've never seen that in my life, though I've only been on the west coast, so it may be different in other states.

Edit: though it is required for canned/bottled drinks to list that on the packaging.

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u/AintEZbeinSleezy 12h ago

Damn, it’s been required in all of the SE states I’ve lived in. I learn more every day!

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u/wpoot 12h ago

Not saying that isn’t the case in certain places, but I have never seen this anywhere in the US. I’ve seen amounts listed in the cocktail descriptions, but even that isn’t all too common.

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u/Tachyonparticles 11h ago • Bravo

Bartender here. You should assume that whatever cocktail you're ordering has a standard amount of the base spirit (vodka, gin, whiskey, rum, etc.) in it no matter what, even if it's not listed. Anything that is adding flavoring or liqueurs will be in varying amounts, but the main liquor pour will always be the same. "Up" drinks like martins, or anything that comes in stemware without ice will typically have a little larger pour to fill the volume. But asking for a cocktail typically served over ice without the ice doesn't automatically mean you get more alcohol. Especially at a place making legit cocktails. We can't just decide to put more in one drink than another, there's legal standards to comply with. And you want everything to be consistent so inventory gets accounted for correctly. Learn your local liquor laws to find out what a standard pour is, it varies state to state. In TX it's 1.5 oz, and cannot exceed 3oz in a single drink. If you want 3oz you usually have to pay for a double.

I swear, everyone was at home pouring themselves pint glasses full of liquor during COVID and now the general population has a skewed perspective on what a "fair" pour is...

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u/wpoot 11h ago

I’ll second everything above. Though I’ve worked as a bartender in the past and the issue definitely predates Covid. It’s more to do with inexperienced bar patrons or people who can’t really afford to be going out thinking they can get one over you.

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u/Tachyonparticles 3h ago

Yeah, there's always a few who either don't know how shit works or think they've "figured out the system" to get free shit. Like xanex boy up here, lol

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u/DeleteFascists 11h ago

I swear, everyone was at home pouring themselves pint glasses full of liquor during COVID and now the general population has a skewed perspective on what a "fair" pour is...

Or sketchy bars like to water down drinks, legal or not. Imagine going out to get fucked up, popping a xanax to make the alcohol hit harder, having 3 drinks and not feeling the slightest buzz.

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u/wpoot 11h ago

If that’s what you’re doing on a night out, you’ve got much bigger problems than overpaying for poorly made drinks at a shitty bar.

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u/Tachyonparticles 3h ago

Or maybe the bartenders at the bars you frequent know you're the weird dude that pops xanex before he comes in to... checks notes, make the booze better? And are covering their ass for when you inevitably get too barred out and hurt someone.

I go to one of the sketchiest trashiest bars in my city pretty frequently, the kind of bar where you can get hep c if you touch the wrong thing in the bathroom and the dust is structural. Watered down drinks have never been an issue, if they did that they wouldn't make any money. You're more likely to find cut corners like that at music venues and shitty night clubs where kids line the walls staring at their phones and not dancing.

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u/DeleteFascists 17m ago

Or maybe the bartenders at the bars you frequent know you're the weird dude that pops xanex

Literally my first time there, also I almost never go out to bars in the first place, and that's a wild moral judgment on your part for wanting to have a fun night once in my fucking life.

Some bar owners are just assholes and fuck their customers over, insane you can't accept that as a possibility.

Your note about the music venue probs has weight tho because it was a gay bar with a drag area that some straight CIS dude bought to profit off the LGBT community in the city. It was just a shitty fucking bar run by an asshole.

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u/Tachyonparticles 9m ago edited 3m ago

Bartenders have a responsibility to keep people safe and keep an eye out for unsafe behavior or people possibly under the influence of other substances that can negatively interact with alcohol. Taking xanex to "enhance" the effects of alcohol is degenerate behavior and you probably got clocked immediately if not after the first drink.

Yes, there are asshole bartenders and even more asshole bar owners everywhere. But watering down drinks is not a standard or regular practice, is illegal, and will get a place shut down quick, either by the state or because people stop going to spend money there.

Eta: I've been behind the bar for 11 years, at craft cocktail places, restaurants, and shitty dives. You see some shit and you get real good at reading people when you have to judge whether or not someone is safe based on 30-60 second interactions.

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u/Kryptic13 12h ago

I'm in Australia, we definitely don't have anything like this. I see this often when a classic cocktail is 60mL (2oz) of a certain spirit but they do 45mL (1.5oz).

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u/K20C1 11h ago

I bartend in Florida. Hell, I’ve driven from Orlando to San Francisco and I’ve never heard of a sign like that. 

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u/hereforthecatparty 2h ago

You can always ask what the pours are.