Rant/Rave: Bourbon

[jim]

To me if you have to ask how much it costs because they are hiding it then I am in the wrong damn place. I think that's just bull [expletive] and I wouldn't hesitate to ask, and I'd probably be a dick about it too. Other than to [expletive] you over, what possible motivation is there to not show you how much something costs?

[Michael]

Yep, thanks guys!

Also, let me ask you all this. What's the deal with not listing prices on menus for some of the drinks? And, do you all ask before ordering? I know we have had this convo, or a tangent of it, somewhere before. But, it kind of drives me nuts. Last night we were at this place and they had prices for all their wines, all their cocktails, seemingly, and then under the bourbon list there were no prices.

The answer is very simple: This place is stupid.

And yes, I would ask about the prices. There's no shame in doing that. There is, however, shame in not listing their damn prices.

The old adage of if you have to ask what it costs, you probably can't afford it?

Fancy restaurants are not exempt from clearly listing their prices.

[thrill]

Anytime you go to a place that doesn't list prices and there are a lot of people going there anyway, there is at least one person in the back room watching on CC TV doing the shmoney dance.

[33anda3rd]

Last night we were at this place and they had prices for all their wines, all their cocktails, seemingly, and then under the bourbon list there were no prices.

Ludicrous. You either print the prices of each on that menu or you take them off the cocktail list and have a separate menu with all your spirits and their price per pour. You do NOT put the guest in a position where they have to ask "so....how much for that?" because you're there to make the guest feel at home and taken care of. That's total BS and makes me want to write a strongly worded Yelp review.

We have a separate menu from our cocktail/wine/beer list that's wine bottles, desert wines, amari, grappa, brandy, whiskey, mezcal, gin, vodka, cachaca, etc. You name it, all our spirits are listed with a pour price. Our cocktail list tells you that this book is available on request. All you have to do is ask for the spirits list.

God damn it that makes me mad. Jerks. That or just ignorant.

How do you all handle situations like that.

On behalf of the industry, please not with a strongly worded Yelp review. Ask for the manager or owner and tell them that their menu doesn't help you make the right decision for you as a spirits drinker, and that it would be very helpful to you in enjoying your experience if the prices were listed. Tell her/him that they're putting the guest in a position of having to ask the price of something and that this makes some guests feel intimidated.
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Edit to add: is this your glass?

[jim]

I'd tell him to stick his spirits up his ass is what I would do, and tell him to bring me a glass of free tap water. No mother [expletive] n' way I would buy something where I had to ask the price.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

Yeah, it was pretty similar to that, generally speaking, but it was taller and had a stem more like your typical wine glass.



The general shape of the top of the glass you linked to is right, but it was much more compact, height wise, and the bulge was much more distinct, almost angular. It worked pretty well. You know when you have a snifter of Grand Marnier and it gives off that rich awesome aroma, this glass reminded me of that, though, it was probably the good woodford than the glass.

[Maclowery]

I serve my scotch in one or two ounce pours, using small and medium sized versions of a whiskey dram.



As you said, it lets our good whiskeys give off their great noses. And it discourages the masses from asking for a 25 dollar shot of whiskey on the rocks.

[Secret Weapon]

Speaking of rocks, a new DC restaurant will be charging 1 dollar for their "artisanal" ice cubes

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blog ... sanal-ice/

The Pennsylvania-themed spot, which is set to open in the former Mighty Pint space at 1831 M St. NW on Oct. 21, will be the first place in D.C. with an ice surcharge listed on its cocktail menu. (Most bars eat the cost or build it into the price of the drink.) Granted, these are no freezer-burned, generic tray cubes. This is the fancy, unclouded artisanal stuff from D.C.'s boutique ice company, Favourite Ice, founded by local bartenders Owen Thomson and Joseph Ambrose. Second State bartenders will chip off the eight corners for a more spherical shape that sits in the glass like an iceberg.

"It's worth it," says bar manager Phil Clark. "When it goes into a cocktail, it's crystal clear. It's purified water, so there's no minerally taste."

[haltz]

rocks is a common upcharge, it just doesn't get itemized on the customer's check.

[jim]

I like mineral taste. Give me the free tap water rocks.