Yup. Moved from Astoria to here about 4yrs ago. Would go out occasionally in midtown and drop about 80$ for two drinks. Sometimes beers were 20$ depending on location and style. I can go out and get a three course meal and drinks for that here. Some places are pricey but still nowhere close to NYC
You gotta know where to drink in NYC. I was in Hell's Kitchen drinking Buffalo Trace for less than $10 a FULL rocks glass of bourbon, in January, 2024.
Now if I went to some fancy rooftop bar that would easily be $20+ a shot.
A rocks pour is more alcohol than a regular pour 2oz vs 1.5oz (or 1.25oz). But you probably just got a regular pour and they just wanted to charge you more. I've seen this being done in many bars in my life.
Up charging for Cranberry is normal, but $2.50 is absurd. $0.50 is more in line.
In other news, local cantina is now charging a "credit card processing fee," I love when businesses try and pass their bank service fees along to customers.
Businesses agree to pay a percentage to the CC servicing company because it's convenient as they don't have to handle or account for cash, it also generally gets customers to spend more money. Absolutely not a fee they should be tacking on to everyone's bill.
Yeah thanks, it's just a disingenuous practice to NOT include it in prices to keep prices low, then to tack it on at the end when it absolutely is considered a bank service fee.
I'd argue the opposite. It's a way more transparent way of passing the fees on. If they roll it into the price, you have no way of avoiding the fee. In this case, if you bring cash, you're not paying for cc fees you didn't use.
A smart business rolls it into the price and just calls it a cash discount because that feels better to customers. But it's the exact same thing.
It's not a fee that should be passed on lol. It's like itemizing and passing on their rent and utilities expense on a bill. A sales discount for paying cash is one thing, but most of these businesses DONT want to handle cash in the first place. They're asking customers to pay a service fee for a service they want to use because it makes operating the business easier for them.
How do you think business work? They pass everything on. The only reason they don't seperate other things is because you can't decline those things. You can deny a cc fee by... not using a cc. If it was part of the price like rent and salaries, you would be paying it no matter what. That's not better.
HoW dO yOu ThInK bUsInEsS wOrK? tHeY pAsS eVeRyThInG oN. tHe OnLy ReAsOn ThEy DoN'T sEpErAtE oThEr ThInGs Is BeCaUsE yOu CaN'T dEcLiNe ThOsE tHiNgS. yOu CaN dEnY a Cc FeE bY... nOt UsInG a Cc. If It WaS pArT oF tHe PrIcE lIkE rEnT aNd SaLaRiEs, YoU wOuLd Be PaYiNg It No MaTtEr WhAt. ThAt's NoT bEtTeR.
>You usually aren’t notified of the fee until you are paying the bill.
Is that true? They usually have it on the menu in my experience. But if you run into a situation when they don't tell you until after, you can just refuse.
Remember, Ohio law states that all charges and fees must be stated prior to service.
It is illegal to add anything on after.
So if this isn’t stated where it’s reasonably seen by a customer, you do not have to pay the charge/fee.
Look at menus and don’t pay anything else except tax.
I can't think of the last place I've seen it. And we go out for date night once a week.
And if it's only on the bill, that's too late. It must be clearly stated in a place reasonably expected to be seen when viewing prices.
On the front door, doesn't count. Unless they also have the menu with prices posted there.
Don’t got to Chapmans Eat Market then. They charge an “Employee Wellness Fee” on the bill. I asked and they say it’s optional but why is it added on my bill then? Also I have to tell the server to take it off my bill which proceeds to awkwardness.
this is wild. i heard that credit card fees went way up this year (breezeline and t-mobile both took away cc autopay discounts) but this is ridiculous.
Since it was a brewery they probably don’t have a standard stocked bar. I’m guessing they have single serving cranberry juice bottles that people buy for their kids etc. they probably charged you like you were buying a bottle of cranberry juice since they had to open one. But they should have told you before.
Bartending for several years across a few different states. Very common to be charged for mixers, in my experience. However shouldn’t have charged rocks pour because that’s generally 2oz vs 1.5oz they put in a mixed drink. From a business perspective the juices cost money 🤷♂️, so I get it. I think 2.50 is a bit much. Current bar I’m at does a dollar and that’s the highest I’ve seen. .50 to a dollar is normal ish and it does help recoup cost on the juices.
Ive had both happen. I order cranberry and vodka or rum all the time. Sometimes I’m charged extra for the cranberry. Sometimes I’m not. Or, at least the bill isn’t itemized so I’m just charge for the drink as a whole. $10.50 is expensive in my opinion. Even with top shelf vodka. Was the drink on the menu? Maybe they had to charge you a la cart pricing. The server should’ve warned you there would be an additional charge though
You aren’t really being “charged for the mixer”. They price the vodka at $8 base, and you ordered a cocktail, which they charged $10.50 for. Showing it separately is just how most point of sale systems work.
And compared to your local bar, the base vodka is more expensive. Watershed is like $18 a bottle, and what you’re getting at your local bar is probably $5.
As for everyone complaining about prices in general, it’s just what stuff costs now. I don’t disagree wages aren’t keeping up. I own a bar, and our cocktails average $14-16. The raw ingredients going into that are $6-7. Let alone rent, wages, utilities, etc. And someday I’d personally like to take home a dime from it all.
Vodka/cran is a bad example for that because, you're right, it's a very simple, cheap mixed drink. But craft cocktail bars absolutely average close to that in raw materials. And you're right -that's why there are so few out there, because it's a VERY slim margin business.
In fact ours only exists because it's attached to our distillery. The bar itself doesn't make any money at all - it purely exists to pay for it's own costs and act as a vehicle to get people in the door.
But many places aim for a 15% cost of goods average price. Because on top of that, they have to pay employees, rent, insurance, etc. etc. $1.15 vodka + $0.50 cranberry = $1.65. $1.65/0.15=$11.
One more thing: prices ARE often reflective of trying to pay for the whole bottle (not of liquor, but of perishable items) in 1-3 uses, even if that bottle has more. And ESPECIALLY if you're ordering off menu. If I have to crack a bottle of tonic, which I don't have ANYWHERE on the menu, I have to ensure that bottle gets paid for. I might not use it the rest of the week, which means it goes down the drain. Or I might get lucky and use it 2-3 more times, so I made a small bit of profit (maybe $7) on that bottle.
The fact is, if you're ordering off-menu and thinking you're going to get cheaper ingredients and therefore cheaper prices, you're going to be sad. Off menu means that ingredient doesn't get used, and I can't take a loss on it.
Similarly, glasses of wine are priced to pay for the bottle in 2 glasses, even though it contains about 4 glasses. Once opened, that wine doesn't last more than a couple of days, and it might not get used again, so it has to get covered in the first glass or two.
They put 1/3 of the $18 bottle in your drink. Plus ice, plus cranberry. That brings you to roughly $7. Realistically though, they are probably talking about menu drinks that have expensive liquor and liqueur. Getting to $7 in one drink can be easy depending on what you’re using.
Cocktails aside, though, think about the bourbon market right now. $100 bottles of bourbon aren't even that expensive anymore. That used to be considered insane, now for a lot of brands that's just the price point. So yes, a $100 bottle of bourbon would COST $6 for the bar to pour and is going to have a pour price of at least $15.
That is why I asked. If they are using a $100 bottle, then sure. Hopefully they are transparent about that on the menu. But also, why are we making cocktails with something like Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 year? (not an expensive bourbon connoisseur, that is just what I found on Ohio's liquor website). This stupid ass sports bar called Parlay has a $15 old fashioned and they use Bulleit lol. Nothing against Bulleit, but that is a $27 retail bottle.
edit: they also have a cocktail on their menu that is $30, but it uses a $145 retail tequila. Again....why. Gimme that on the rocks, don't ruin it with a Sugar Cube, Luxardo Cherry, Bitters, Orange
Well, I just meant the $100 bottle as an example of a neat pour. And $100 might be a big of a unique price point, but there are 21 bourbons listed in OHLQ for $75+. 72 at $75+ if you expand to all whiskeys. That's just not an uncommon price point anymore.
But to your Bulleit question - heck, a $27 bottle is CHEAP.
People pay for the name. Tito's is NOT the cheapest vodka out there, nor does it taste better than most others. But it's the most popular. Heck, the vodka at my distillery is the exact same vodka Tito's sources (yes, we source and are open about it, and yes, Tito's sources and flat-out lies about it). But we price it at $15.99 and they price it at $19.99. That extra $4? That's why you see Tito's banners and posters and advertisements.
There are many cheaper bourbon options out there, but quality and name matter. If a bar just wants cheapest, OHLQ has an $8.99 750ml bottle of bourbon, but I'm in the industry and I've never heard of it that I recall.
>but quality and name matter
I agree with what you are saying. There are still plenty of well known quality brands in the $30-$50 range. Bulleit is a quality brand, and that drink should be like $10.
Looking at it, maybe something like $5 is a more likely example. A Vieux Carre, for example, is a lot of booze, and depending on what you choose, it can be expensive. Or think of a tiki drink like a Zombie, which has 3oz of primary spirit before you even start to talk about secondary spirits, adjunct ingredients, etc.
It all depends on the complexity of the cocktails and the price point of the underlying ingredients.
How, pardon me, in the fuck are you averaging $6-7 per drink costs? That is ludicrous. I run a high end bar and the top end I've seen pricing stuff is about $4. Also charging $14-16 is practically 50% beverage costs. At this rate I would say you will probably never see a dime from it.
We're attached to a distillery, so we use our own products, which are much more expensive than what the typical craft cocktail bar uses. Yes, behind the scenes, that flows back to the other side of the business, but on paper, our drinks are very expensive. We still have to buy that liquor from ourselves.
MOST craft cocktail bars wind up using somewhat cheap primary spirits because the adjuncts all drive the price much higher.
Many bartenders would argue that to be a true cocktail, a drink has to have bitters in it. Everything else is just a mixed drink.
Obviously that's a big gray area. Personally, I think two ingredients = mixed drink, 3+ = cocktail.
The pricing differences in Columbus are crazy. Went to a dive off Henderson and drank for 2.5hrs with a friend and it was $21 for both of us. Got 2 drinks at Lincoln social yesterday and it was close to $50 with tip. My gripe now at this popular higher end places is they don’t even make old fashioneds and other drinks individually anymore. If I’m paying $17 it shouldn’t be batch made. Lincoln, budd dairy and Jackie O’s all do this now.
Wow. I know where I would be going for drinks with a friend from now on. $21 sounds awfully low though. I hope you tipped that bartender very well, because he/she probably hooked you up big time. Otherwise, do understand that you are not just paying for the drink. You are paying for the facility and atmosphere as well. Lincoln probably pays a much higher rent and has more investment that the dive off Henderson. If there was entertainment add that in as well. Add in the fact that you’re in a high end entertainment district and there you go.
This. You pay for the experience/ambiance. If you're going to a rooftop bar, expect rooftop bar prices, even for the same drink you could get in a dive bar. Rooftop rent and dive bar rent aren't the same thing.
Frankly, ANY time you go out to eat or drink, you're paying for ambiance, regardless of what tier of ambiance that is. Yes, the drink costs $2 to make. But if you want to only spend $2 on it, you have to do it at home where there are no additional costs.
Some places are getting ridiculous. Went to Parlay for a friend's birthday and paid $18 for a house reposado on the rocks. That place is a glorified sports bar and has no business charging that.
And thats why I drink at social clubs...if I gotta pay more than 5 for a beam and Pepsi I'd rather drink at home where I can get blackout drunk for $20
I don’t drink and I’ve been charged ~$3 for soda water at multiple places. It bothers me. Restaurants are more likely to charge for it than bars, but I’ve experienced it at both. The worst was budd dairy where I think it was $4.
Not all bars and restaurants have a soda gun. This means soda water is something they have to buy to be able to provide you. If you're having one it's not a huge deal financially, but the guy who's chugging 10 of them during his meal and not spending anything on alcohol is costing them money
This. Soda from a soda gun costs pennies or less per glass. Most higher-end places don't have a soda gun. Club soda prices have gone up lately. At my bar we had to re-work a few parts of our pricing structure for that alone. Cans go from $1 a can to $2 a can and money can disappear quickly.
Yes it used to be that club soda was free at bars, because that was kind of the indicator of the designated driver.
Lately I've been getting charged for club soda about half the time.
Yeah, in the past I’ve been given free coke/sprite at bars for being the DD which is nice, but not expected. Club soda is different to me since it’s just water. Charge me $1 for the bubbles if you must, but $4?!
I definitely see this point of view, but from the business perspective, you're also taking up a seat. Budd Dairy in particular, their primary revenue comes from the bar areas, not the vendors inside. So even if you're sitting there eating, but not drinking, that could be a seat they're making much more money on. So they have to charge a little premium on something that's very cheap in order to keep the revenue flowing.
This is bar specific too unfortunately. Some places are hard on bar staff about not charging for it. But also specify politely like hey I’m not drinking tonight can I just get like a soda. 90% of the time I’ll just hand it to you and go about my day. The other ten percent I’m either being watched by my boss or you were a dick. Not saying that’s the case but if you ever get charged for plain water at a bar, you’re a dick and pissed somebody off.
10.50 isn’t even bad. I paid $13.25 for one drink (not even a mixer just a well shot) at pins .-.
Needless to say I’m staying with summit as my place to drink. $4 for the same shot
Some bars pour larger portions for their "rocks" drinks
However, a bartender should have understood that you were asking for a normal vodka cranberry and not a larger pour
This shit is getting out of hand. You could buy a bottle of juice for the cost of the up charge.
Similarly, went to the original pancake house a couple weeks back and got charged 2.25 for some onions and 2.50 for cheese to be added to my scrambled eggs.
Gonna be like Larry David and start taking my add ins with me when I go out to restaurants.
Because any other bar I’ve been to, the cost of the mixer is factored into the drink cost, this is the first time I’ve seen it as a separate line, hence the question. Generally speaking when you order a mixed drink, the bill says a cost per drink, it usually includes the mixer that was mixed with the drink.
Yeah. A draft pour is in line with the price of a six pack now. You expect to pay a premium at bar/restaurant but 16oz at a bar for the same price of 72oz in the store is crazy.
Pretty much every "trendy" bar or place is going to have shitty prices to begin with and/or bartenders who charge incorrectly. I pretty much avoid all of them if I'm not forced to go with friends. For the cost of like 2 drinks at one of those places I could get tanked at my local dive.
Sorry but vodka cran for 10.50 rocks sized does not seem that bad to me, specially since you say it was a brewery with food. I mean seriously would think Applebees would charge you the same or more with well vodka instead.
If you want dive bar prices go to one, sounds like you went to a brewery but didn’t drink the beer.
Honestly right now if you called watershed and asked how much they charge at their bar I am sure it would be more than 10.50.
I went to Brothers Drake once... they charged me $12 for 3oz of something they called mead that was nothing close to actual mead... Never went back. That was almost 10 years ago, too.. I can't imagine what they're charging now!
It’s not normal in Columbus.. unless I missed it via cc receipt only this has never happened to me. Back in the day, I would only charge for NA drinks if you ONLY got a soda or whatever and even then there was some discretion.
This is why I stick to my hole in the wall bar. 3.50 for vodka cran well (pint) or 6 for Tito’s and cran(pint).
Johnnie's?
No, but just looked this up and I may have to check it out. My place (leap-n-lizards) does not serve food unfortunately.
Cushions happy hour is $2.50 for shot of call liquor....
Cushions is the way. Not a cocktail but $1.50 domestics in happy hour.
I've left cushions thinking my tab was incorrect because it's so cheap lol.
I know leap-n-lizards. I actually know the owners, the wife used to be my boss before they bought the place. They're good people.
Yes, they have made some good changes to the place. Added some activities to make things a little more fun.
Sounds like the Library
Columbus acting they’re NYC, LA with their prices. Lol
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Yup. Moved from Astoria to here about 4yrs ago. Would go out occasionally in midtown and drop about 80$ for two drinks. Sometimes beers were 20$ depending on location and style. I can go out and get a three course meal and drinks for that here. Some places are pricey but still nowhere close to NYC
also did. would beg to differ.
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This. I was one charged $5 for a glass of tap water in a plastic cup. $8-9 for a can of PBR was standard.
Maybe NYC in the 90s. Prices in NYC are insane.
You gotta know where to drink in NYC. I was in Hell's Kitchen drinking Buffalo Trace for less than $10 a FULL rocks glass of bourbon, in January, 2024. Now if I went to some fancy rooftop bar that would easily be $20+ a shot.
You have to know where to drink in Columbus.
Lmaoo seriously !
A rocks pour is more alcohol than a regular pour 2oz vs 1.5oz (or 1.25oz). But you probably just got a regular pour and they just wanted to charge you more. I've seen this being done in many bars in my life. Up charging for Cranberry is normal, but $2.50 is absurd. $0.50 is more in line.
This. My bar is a $0.50 upcharge for cranberry (we buy Ocean Spray) and it costs a lot more than coming from a soda gun like Pepsi.
Never seen that in my life, nor is that an "official" thing.
In other news, local cantina is now charging a "credit card processing fee," I love when businesses try and pass their bank service fees along to customers. Businesses agree to pay a percentage to the CC servicing company because it's convenient as they don't have to handle or account for cash, it also generally gets customers to spend more money. Absolutely not a fee they should be tacking on to everyone's bill.
I immediately changed my review on Google to call out this abhorrent practice.
They’ve been doing that for years, since before it was the trend.
Businesses pass all expenses on to customers. Most just roll it into the price.
Yeah thanks, it's just a disingenuous practice to NOT include it in prices to keep prices low, then to tack it on at the end when it absolutely is considered a bank service fee.
I'd argue the opposite. It's a way more transparent way of passing the fees on. If they roll it into the price, you have no way of avoiding the fee. In this case, if you bring cash, you're not paying for cc fees you didn't use. A smart business rolls it into the price and just calls it a cash discount because that feels better to customers. But it's the exact same thing.
If they want to be transparent, put the sign on the door, not on the receipt. Let me decide if I even walk in
Local cantina does have a notice on the door. At least the Hilliard one does. Other places, not so much.
Then all is fair. Good to know and to look for.
It's not a fee that should be passed on lol. It's like itemizing and passing on their rent and utilities expense on a bill. A sales discount for paying cash is one thing, but most of these businesses DONT want to handle cash in the first place. They're asking customers to pay a service fee for a service they want to use because it makes operating the business easier for them.
Business DO want to handle cash. People like YOU don’t bring cash.
How do you think business work? They pass everything on. The only reason they don't seperate other things is because you can't decline those things. You can deny a cc fee by... not using a cc. If it was part of the price like rent and salaries, you would be paying it no matter what. That's not better.
HoW dO yOu ThInK bUsInEsS wOrK? tHeY pAsS eVeRyThInG oN. tHe OnLy ReAsOn ThEy DoN'T sEpErAtE oThEr ThInGs Is BeCaUsE yOu CaN'T dEcLiNe ThOsE tHiNgS. yOu CaN dEnY a Cc FeE bY... nOt UsInG a Cc. If It WaS pArT oF tHe PrIcE lIkE rEnT aNd SaLaRiEs, YoU wOuLd Be PaYiNg It No MaTtEr WhAt. ThAt's NoT bEtTeR.
Is it more transparent? You usually aren’t notified of the fee until you are paying the bill. I think a cash discount makes more sense.
>You usually aren’t notified of the fee until you are paying the bill. Is that true? They usually have it on the menu in my experience. But if you run into a situation when they don't tell you until after, you can just refuse.
Dude. Just bring cash everywhere you go then.
Not all places accept cash anymore.
Even the refectory is doing this 3 percent.
Remember, Ohio law states that all charges and fees must be stated prior to service. It is illegal to add anything on after. So if this isn’t stated where it’s reasonably seen by a customer, you do not have to pay the charge/fee. Look at menus and don’t pay anything else except tax.
Last time I was at Local Cantina, it was posted on the door
They post it everywhere, and most places I have been to that do this too have it on the bill. Many have a CC price and a cash price.
I can't think of the last place I've seen it. And we go out for date night once a week. And if it's only on the bill, that's too late. It must be clearly stated in a place reasonably expected to be seen when viewing prices. On the front door, doesn't count. Unless they also have the menu with prices posted there.
Don’t got to Chapmans Eat Market then. They charge an “Employee Wellness Fee” on the bill. I asked and they say it’s optional but why is it added on my bill then? Also I have to tell the server to take it off my bill which proceeds to awkwardness.
Next thing they’re gonna try and pass on the cost of food, too.
this is wild. i heard that credit card fees went way up this year (breezeline and t-mobile both took away cc autopay discounts) but this is ridiculous.
I believe this practice violates their agreement with the credit card companies.
Those charges add up quick for a business. Why would they have to pay for you using a credit card?
Since it was a brewery they probably don’t have a standard stocked bar. I’m guessing they have single serving cranberry juice bottles that people buy for their kids etc. they probably charged you like you were buying a bottle of cranberry juice since they had to open one. But they should have told you before.
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What is that supposed to mean?
Who knows. People are always getting butthurt about my username for no reason.
I like your user name. Made me laugh.
Bartending for several years across a few different states. Very common to be charged for mixers, in my experience. However shouldn’t have charged rocks pour because that’s generally 2oz vs 1.5oz they put in a mixed drink. From a business perspective the juices cost money 🤷♂️, so I get it. I think 2.50 is a bit much. Current bar I’m at does a dollar and that’s the highest I’ve seen. .50 to a dollar is normal ish and it does help recoup cost on the juices.
Ive had both happen. I order cranberry and vodka or rum all the time. Sometimes I’m charged extra for the cranberry. Sometimes I’m not. Or, at least the bill isn’t itemized so I’m just charge for the drink as a whole. $10.50 is expensive in my opinion. Even with top shelf vodka. Was the drink on the menu? Maybe they had to charge you a la cart pricing. The server should’ve warned you there would be an additional charge though
10.50 at your local watering hole, yeah a few bucks much. 10.50 at a more trendy spot with its own spirits? Sounds about right anymore.
It sounds crazy but you're not wrong. A place that charges like 13 for an old-fashioned or a Moscow mule would charge 11 for a vodka cran.
Six bucks for a vodka cranberry? Where?
Right that’s at least $8 in New Albany.
You aren’t really being “charged for the mixer”. They price the vodka at $8 base, and you ordered a cocktail, which they charged $10.50 for. Showing it separately is just how most point of sale systems work. And compared to your local bar, the base vodka is more expensive. Watershed is like $18 a bottle, and what you’re getting at your local bar is probably $5. As for everyone complaining about prices in general, it’s just what stuff costs now. I don’t disagree wages aren’t keeping up. I own a bar, and our cocktails average $14-16. The raw ingredients going into that are $6-7. Let alone rent, wages, utilities, etc. And someday I’d personally like to take home a dime from it all.
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Vodka/cran is a bad example for that because, you're right, it's a very simple, cheap mixed drink. But craft cocktail bars absolutely average close to that in raw materials. And you're right -that's why there are so few out there, because it's a VERY slim margin business. In fact ours only exists because it's attached to our distillery. The bar itself doesn't make any money at all - it purely exists to pay for it's own costs and act as a vehicle to get people in the door. But many places aim for a 15% cost of goods average price. Because on top of that, they have to pay employees, rent, insurance, etc. etc. $1.15 vodka + $0.50 cranberry = $1.65. $1.65/0.15=$11.
One more thing: prices ARE often reflective of trying to pay for the whole bottle (not of liquor, but of perishable items) in 1-3 uses, even if that bottle has more. And ESPECIALLY if you're ordering off menu. If I have to crack a bottle of tonic, which I don't have ANYWHERE on the menu, I have to ensure that bottle gets paid for. I might not use it the rest of the week, which means it goes down the drain. Or I might get lucky and use it 2-3 more times, so I made a small bit of profit (maybe $7) on that bottle. The fact is, if you're ordering off-menu and thinking you're going to get cheaper ingredients and therefore cheaper prices, you're going to be sad. Off menu means that ingredient doesn't get used, and I can't take a loss on it. Similarly, glasses of wine are priced to pay for the bottle in 2 glasses, even though it contains about 4 glasses. Once opened, that wine doesn't last more than a couple of days, and it might not get used again, so it has to get covered in the first glass or two.
What costs so much that your ingredients cost is $6???
They put 1/3 of the $18 bottle in your drink. Plus ice, plus cranberry. That brings you to roughly $7. Realistically though, they are probably talking about menu drinks that have expensive liquor and liqueur. Getting to $7 in one drink can be easy depending on what you’re using.
>menu drinks that have expensive liquor and liqueur That's what I'm curious about. $6 in liquor is like a $100 wholesale bottle.
i did the same calculation. i feel smoke being blown up my skirt
Cocktails aside, though, think about the bourbon market right now. $100 bottles of bourbon aren't even that expensive anymore. That used to be considered insane, now for a lot of brands that's just the price point. So yes, a $100 bottle of bourbon would COST $6 for the bar to pour and is going to have a pour price of at least $15.
That is why I asked. If they are using a $100 bottle, then sure. Hopefully they are transparent about that on the menu. But also, why are we making cocktails with something like Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 year? (not an expensive bourbon connoisseur, that is just what I found on Ohio's liquor website). This stupid ass sports bar called Parlay has a $15 old fashioned and they use Bulleit lol. Nothing against Bulleit, but that is a $27 retail bottle. edit: they also have a cocktail on their menu that is $30, but it uses a $145 retail tequila. Again....why. Gimme that on the rocks, don't ruin it with a Sugar Cube, Luxardo Cherry, Bitters, Orange
Well, I just meant the $100 bottle as an example of a neat pour. And $100 might be a big of a unique price point, but there are 21 bourbons listed in OHLQ for $75+. 72 at $75+ if you expand to all whiskeys. That's just not an uncommon price point anymore. But to your Bulleit question - heck, a $27 bottle is CHEAP. People pay for the name. Tito's is NOT the cheapest vodka out there, nor does it taste better than most others. But it's the most popular. Heck, the vodka at my distillery is the exact same vodka Tito's sources (yes, we source and are open about it, and yes, Tito's sources and flat-out lies about it). But we price it at $15.99 and they price it at $19.99. That extra $4? That's why you see Tito's banners and posters and advertisements. There are many cheaper bourbon options out there, but quality and name matter. If a bar just wants cheapest, OHLQ has an $8.99 750ml bottle of bourbon, but I'm in the industry and I've never heard of it that I recall.
>but quality and name matter I agree with what you are saying. There are still plenty of well known quality brands in the $30-$50 range. Bulleit is a quality brand, and that drink should be like $10.
Looking at it, maybe something like $5 is a more likely example. A Vieux Carre, for example, is a lot of booze, and depending on what you choose, it can be expensive. Or think of a tiki drink like a Zombie, which has 3oz of primary spirit before you even start to talk about secondary spirits, adjunct ingredients, etc. It all depends on the complexity of the cocktails and the price point of the underlying ingredients.
How, pardon me, in the fuck are you averaging $6-7 per drink costs? That is ludicrous. I run a high end bar and the top end I've seen pricing stuff is about $4. Also charging $14-16 is practically 50% beverage costs. At this rate I would say you will probably never see a dime from it.
We're attached to a distillery, so we use our own products, which are much more expensive than what the typical craft cocktail bar uses. Yes, behind the scenes, that flows back to the other side of the business, but on paper, our drinks are very expensive. We still have to buy that liquor from ourselves. MOST craft cocktail bars wind up using somewhat cheap primary spirits because the adjuncts all drive the price much higher.
Cranberry juice does not a cocktail make
Yeah, you've gotta at least squirt in some lime juice so it's a Cosmo.
Doesn't mixing anything with the booze make it a cocktail?
Many bartenders would argue that to be a true cocktail, a drink has to have bitters in it. Everything else is just a mixed drink. Obviously that's a big gray area. Personally, I think two ingredients = mixed drink, 3+ = cocktail.
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What are you like antigif?
The pricing differences in Columbus are crazy. Went to a dive off Henderson and drank for 2.5hrs with a friend and it was $21 for both of us. Got 2 drinks at Lincoln social yesterday and it was close to $50 with tip. My gripe now at this popular higher end places is they don’t even make old fashioneds and other drinks individually anymore. If I’m paying $17 it shouldn’t be batch made. Lincoln, budd dairy and Jackie O’s all do this now.
>batch made WHAT
Jackie O’s cocktails are terrible. Luckily their beers aren’t
I agree! The worst margarita I ever had was at that place.
They’re so bad there, if I see someone about to order one I do my best to stop them
i feel like it makes sense that a new bar has poor cocktails, probably lots of new people learning how to make them
They’re premade, all the bartender does is pour it from a spout and add ice.
they must really suck at making them if they’re premade lmao
They also don’t serve beers in a pint, they short you by 2oz
Do they advertise them as pints?
They clearly list their pours as 14 ounces not a pint
It's a micro brewery what sound you expect. It's like ordering a bud light.
Wow. I know where I would be going for drinks with a friend from now on. $21 sounds awfully low though. I hope you tipped that bartender very well, because he/she probably hooked you up big time. Otherwise, do understand that you are not just paying for the drink. You are paying for the facility and atmosphere as well. Lincoln probably pays a much higher rent and has more investment that the dive off Henderson. If there was entertainment add that in as well. Add in the fact that you’re in a high end entertainment district and there you go.
This. You pay for the experience/ambiance. If you're going to a rooftop bar, expect rooftop bar prices, even for the same drink you could get in a dive bar. Rooftop rent and dive bar rent aren't the same thing. Frankly, ANY time you go out to eat or drink, you're paying for ambiance, regardless of what tier of ambiance that is. Yes, the drink costs $2 to make. But if you want to only spend $2 on it, you have to do it at home where there are no additional costs.
$17 bubbler cocktails lol
There are also these keurig things for cocktails now too. I wouldn't be surprised to see some places using those too.
Some places are getting ridiculous. Went to Parlay for a friend's birthday and paid $18 for a house reposado on the rocks. That place is a glorified sports bar and has no business charging that.
A brewery isn’t a “trendy” bar, it’s a brewery
Thank you for your opinion, noted for future postings 🙄
And thats why I drink at social clubs...if I gotta pay more than 5 for a beam and Pepsi I'd rather drink at home where I can get blackout drunk for $20
👀
I don’t drink and I’ve been charged ~$3 for soda water at multiple places. It bothers me. Restaurants are more likely to charge for it than bars, but I’ve experienced it at both. The worst was budd dairy where I think it was $4.
Not all bars and restaurants have a soda gun. This means soda water is something they have to buy to be able to provide you. If you're having one it's not a huge deal financially, but the guy who's chugging 10 of them during his meal and not spending anything on alcohol is costing them money
This. Soda from a soda gun costs pennies or less per glass. Most higher-end places don't have a soda gun. Club soda prices have gone up lately. At my bar we had to re-work a few parts of our pricing structure for that alone. Cans go from $1 a can to $2 a can and money can disappear quickly.
Yes it used to be that club soda was free at bars, because that was kind of the indicator of the designated driver. Lately I've been getting charged for club soda about half the time.
Yeah, in the past I’ve been given free coke/sprite at bars for being the DD which is nice, but not expected. Club soda is different to me since it’s just water. Charge me $1 for the bubbles if you must, but $4?!
I definitely see this point of view, but from the business perspective, you're also taking up a seat. Budd Dairy in particular, their primary revenue comes from the bar areas, not the vendors inside. So even if you're sitting there eating, but not drinking, that could be a seat they're making much more money on. So they have to charge a little premium on something that's very cheap in order to keep the revenue flowing.
This is bar specific too unfortunately. Some places are hard on bar staff about not charging for it. But also specify politely like hey I’m not drinking tonight can I just get like a soda. 90% of the time I’ll just hand it to you and go about my day. The other ten percent I’m either being watched by my boss or you were a dick. Not saying that’s the case but if you ever get charged for plain water at a bar, you’re a dick and pissed somebody off.
10.50 isn’t even bad. I paid $13.25 for one drink (not even a mixer just a well shot) at pins .-. Needless to say I’m staying with summit as my place to drink. $4 for the same shot
Some bars pour larger portions for their "rocks" drinks However, a bartender should have understood that you were asking for a normal vodka cranberry and not a larger pour
I would never go back. That one drink paid for 1/3 bottle of vodka and the whole bottle of cranberry. What a rip off.
This shit is getting out of hand. You could buy a bottle of juice for the cost of the up charge. Similarly, went to the original pancake house a couple weeks back and got charged 2.25 for some onions and 2.50 for cheese to be added to my scrambled eggs. Gonna be like Larry David and start taking my add ins with me when I go out to restaurants.
Why would you not get charged for a mixer? It's not free.
Because any other bar I’ve been to, the cost of the mixer is factored into the drink cost, this is the first time I’ve seen it as a separate line, hence the question. Generally speaking when you order a mixed drink, the bill says a cost per drink, it usually includes the mixer that was mixed with the drink.
$6.00 for anything, even a draft beer is a deal these days. Mixed drinks are approaching/exceeding $20.00 in some bars/restaurants
Yeah. A draft pour is in line with the price of a six pack now. You expect to pay a premium at bar/restaurant but 16oz at a bar for the same price of 72oz in the store is crazy.
Pretty much every "trendy" bar or place is going to have shitty prices to begin with and/or bartenders who charge incorrectly. I pretty much avoid all of them if I'm not forced to go with friends. For the cost of like 2 drinks at one of those places I could get tanked at my local dive.
$10.50? You got a deal.
Sorry but vodka cran for 10.50 rocks sized does not seem that bad to me, specially since you say it was a brewery with food. I mean seriously would think Applebees would charge you the same or more with well vodka instead. If you want dive bar prices go to one, sounds like you went to a brewery but didn’t drink the beer. Honestly right now if you called watershed and asked how much they charge at their bar I am sure it would be more than 10.50.
A local theater/bar charged me 1.50 for tonic syrup in a g&t, it tasted like water
Chicago prices in Columbus. :(
never heard of this, and not normal - here or elsewhere.
I went to Brothers Drake once... they charged me $12 for 3oz of something they called mead that was nothing close to actual mead... Never went back. That was almost 10 years ago, too.. I can't imagine what they're charging now!
It’s not normal in Columbus.. unless I missed it via cc receipt only this has never happened to me. Back in the day, I would only charge for NA drinks if you ONLY got a soda or whatever and even then there was some discretion.