Rant/Rave: Bourbon

[Michael]

Yep.

[Secret Weapon]

this is why ISIS hates us

[Maclowery]

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

We just had a huge dispute with a woman who put a scathing yelp review up about our money-grubbing policy to upcharge a dollar for our rocks drinks - she bought one from us downstairs for 9 bucks, then another crown once she went up to the dining room and noticed it was 10. The waitress said "Oh that's because it's on the rocks", was dumb, and told the lady it was the ice she was paying for, not the fact that you're getting about 20% more liquor out of the pour. She refused to listen to the manager regarding her drink, amended her review to be even more negative, and only took it down once our damned owner got involved and basically gave her a 100 dollar gift card to remove her rant.

[33anda3rd]

Look, ice is a mother [expletive]. Getting the stuff that's hollow and [expletive] is easy. It's also not serving the drink ideally, as we've talked about early in this thread.

A good Kold Draft machine is expensive. Getting a service like JustIce or another high-end service is expensive*. Having two barbacks spend 8 hours a day chainsawing and sculpting ice blocks is expensive**. Drinks on the rocks have a cost that serving it neat doesn't, and if the bar is awesome and is freezing huge blocks of ice and paying staff to cut them by hand daily then that should cost a buck. It's not snobbery or elitism. It's like an extra 50c for extra cheese at Subway or another $2 for making your burger a double. At the end of the night our dump sink is full of Kold-Draft ice from the drinks we stirred/shook the last couple hours of service, and the stuff is costly--machine, power, water, maintenance, it adds up.

Also those people upset about the ice should just get a splash of water, it doesn't numb the effect of the whiskey that much, but whatever.

*They charge $1--one dollar!!!--to bars for a perfectly clear, solid 2.5X2.5X2.5 ice cube for an old fashioned.

**Scofflaw, Billy Sunday, they have basements with barbacks coming in early to chainsaw down huge blocks of ice to perfect cubes. If they want a sphere, after they saw down the cubes they hand carve--HAND CARVE!!!--the ice into perfect spheres that fit in a glass. The labor for this, my god. And if you think, eh, that's just dumb, go to Billy Sunday and have an old fashioned and try not to marvel at the beauty of the drink.

This stuff, it sounds crazy. It is crazy. But they do it to try to hit a mark and they up the game. It's craft at a really high level, and some of these guys are just killing it.

The Aviary thing that Michael shared, it's that to even a higher level. It's nuts. Crazy squared. Sorry Charles is leaving, but happy for him. I look forward to drinking in The Office a lot the next 10 days.

[jim]

If I found out I was charged for ice I would be pissed ... well maybe not pissed but I would find it bizarre and petty to the point where it would make it less likely that I would buy that drink or return to that place. I'll bet most people would.

So it seems pretty stupid to charge for ice.

If people ask for a drink on the rocks, do they remind you that is an up charge? If not, why?

[Jocephus]

twin peaks restaurant serves their beer at 29 degrees

[TimeForGuinness]

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

This I didn't realize until I saw it itemized one night when we went out for dinner. I pulled the server aside and joked, $1 for ice? I didn't mind paying it, but I was cracking up that they itemized it...just tell me the damn price $8/$9, it doesn't really bother me. Then I was informed that it was a deeper pour (which I didn't know), so I felt like a bit embarrassed and apologized.

That was the least of my worries about that restaurant as it turns out.

[Freed Roger]

That was the least of my worries about that restaurant as it turns out.

What & where?

[TimeForGuinness]

That was the least of my worries about that restaurant as it turns out.

What & where?

The server was on her double-shift and they were short staffed, she was really great and polite, so I wasn't frustrated (I was kinda drunk, and we were all having a good night).

-Well they put a different table's bottle of wine on our bill.
-They billed us for a wrong meal in our party of 4.
-Then they forgot to cancel out our old check (to make fixes), so they double billed me on my credit card (they said they cancelled out the old check, and I had a receipt, but I found out later that they hadn't)...party of 4, nice restaurant, booze flowing...not exactly cheap when you pick up the check.

...but when we had to call their management a few times over the next two weeks to fix the problem, that made me frustrated.

Just a hassle and the food wasn't all that special. Their bar was okay, though.

[Blitzer]

Been a huge fan of Buffalo Trace for a while. Use it in my Manhattan and also drink on the rocks.

Went to a local irish hole in the wall bar and asked about their whiskey selections. Was recommeded the Angel's Envy. Had it on the rocks for $5.00 a glass. Freaking fantastic whiskey and fantastic day. Walked down the street to the local liquor cabinent and saw they sell it for $55.00 a bottle.

Maybe I'll stick with the $22.00 Buffalo Trace.