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Free Pourers Bring On The Booze

redeye.chicagotribune.com — Many bartenders opt not to use a jigger - an hourglass-shaped liquor measuring device. Instead, they use a method called free pour, which often leads to serving too much booze.

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  • MsDillon, on 07/25/2008, -0/+52"They use a method called free pour, which often leads to serving too much booze." You say that like it's a bad thing.
    • ARupp, on 07/25/2008, -0/+4Haha that's what some people in the story said...No problems here.
    • DarkSpoon, on 07/25/2008, -0/+6I love being over served.
    • xaogypsie, on 07/26/2008, -0/+3I know... They make it sound like some kind of scandal.

      No - this is just how to find a good bartender, if you ask me...
  • versualize, on 07/25/2008, -1/+67Use a measuring device to pour my alcohol, I'll whip out a calculator to give you a tip.
    • Clusterfrak, on 07/26/2008, -3/+4My thoughts exactly. Three criteria go into my tips speed, potency, and attractiveness of the server.
      • SRSco, on 07/26/2008, -1/+9She's not going to give you a chance just because you think you gave her a decent tip, moron.
      • DoTheFandango, on 07/26/2008, -2/+4It certainly doesn't hurt his chances though.
      • Tweekster, on 07/26/2008, -1/+4hitting on the bartender is generally a waste of time, but you still want an attractive one. who wants to be looking at some toothless fatty all evening.
    • Cannon49, on 07/26/2008, -3/+14You guys tip?
      • Conwaysb0718, on 07/26/2008, -0/+10I'm glad to see Mr. Pink decided to show up to the conversation.
      • Tweekster, on 07/26/2008, -3/+0That would be the reason our drinks are good and also often times free.

        Your drink is one shot of booze, mine is 50/50
        That five dollar tip goes a long way in an evening.
      • briguymaine, on 07/26/2008, -1/+1well done.
      • Smills, on 07/27/2008, -0/+1Well, I have never tipped for any drink ever. Yay to Australia. The land of no tips.
      • Matsky, on 07/27/2008, -0/+1Yeah I really hope tipping never takes off here in Australia. It's just awkward and really just means the bar owner is able to save money be keepying the wages down and using the whole "make it up in tips" excuse. Some bars here do have tip-jars though, but they really don't work because they're split evenly at the end of the night, meaning a great barman is getting the same as a ***** barman.
    • regression, on 07/26/2008, -2/+3As a bartender, when you're ordering louis XIII, i don't free pour. I get fired if i free pour that stuff.
  • electricwaffles, on 07/25/2008, -1/+4Free Booze Bring on the Poor
  • Hosalabad, on 07/25/2008, -1/+26Too much booze?
    Whatever.

    People who don't free pour make ***** drinks and they don't get my tip. I'll bartender shop, or go somewhere else. I'm not out to drink a $5 glass of mix.


    • MixMastaKooz, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1Unfortunately, the bartenders may have to use jiggers or auto-pour fountains due to corporate policy, and local/state regulations (more likely local). If you're in an area with no government regulation over portioning, then yea, shop around!
    • Matsky, on 07/27/2008, -0/+1Yeah I'm thinking that they might have to so people can be 100% sure how much alcohol they're getting in a drink if they're maybe just having a quick one before driving home? I don't think it would really make much of a difference, but the laws might argue with that.
  • obsolite, on 07/26/2008, -0/+16And in other breaking news: People are now drinking beer out of glass encasements, more commonly called bottles.
  • whoomp123, on 07/26/2008, -3/+20jigger please!
  • bigsteve3OOO, on 07/26/2008, -10/+2whoomp123 i came here to say that.....well played
  • kyle415, on 07/26/2008, -1/+17i'm so hungover right now.
  • DifferentAngle, on 07/26/2008, -0/+18Then there's the opposite - where they use the low-flow nozzles for their free pour.
    • fokov, on 07/26/2008, -0/+2Yea I'm surprise your the first to post that. There was this clip of bartender tricks years ago that showed the free pour with the tiny spout and a full glass of ice would result in about 2/3 of a shot. The pour was long combined with the ice it looks like you are getting a lot of liquor when you are not.
    • chadwalters23, on 07/28/2008, -0/+1Not to mention those things get totally clogged and slow the flow even more.
  • MalaysianMafia, on 07/26/2008, -0/+14too much booze? there is no such thing.
    • macweirdo42, on 07/26/2008, -0/+6I'd agree with you, but it seems like every time I make that statement, I end up waking up on my living room floor, wishing that the universe would just go away for a while.
  • zmigliozzi, on 07/26/2008, -2/+12Or they just give you a just a little splash of watered down booze. Apparently the person who wrote this doesn't know the business of a bar.
    • bobcrotch, on 07/26/2008, -2/+1Watering down booze isn't common practice for bars that free pour.

      See what I just did there?
    • regression, on 07/26/2008, -1/+2I have worked at quite a few bars and have never seen someone water down alcohol.
    • sexybobo, on 07/26/2008, -1/+1They are charging you $5-$10 for a dollars worth of alcohol and fifty cents worth of mix. They don't need to watter down your drink because they are making a killing anyway.
  • SexyFarts, on 07/26/2008, -4/+4Just drink beer. They come in premeasured containers with none of this jigger nonsense.

    "Beer! It's What's for Dinner!"
  • hokie47, on 07/26/2008, -0/+19This is why I tend to dislike women bar tenders they are much more likely to use a jigger. What do I care I am married so give me my booze. Don't get me started about guys to leave huge tips to women bar tenders for just getting them a beer. Look she is not going to ***** you and you are drunk. Just tip 20% if she is good and get out of the way.
    • Stavrosian, on 07/26/2008, -3/+1Well that was certainly an amusing rant.
  • demonicume, on 07/26/2008, -4/+2I'm from a state that just allowed free pour. until then we had mini-bottles. I'm pro mini-bottle because you could watch the bartender make your drink and be sure you were getting all the liquor you paid for. at $6.25, I want the full minibottle in my drink. I don't want some bartender - who depends on selling as many drinks as possible from each bottle - shorting me. bring on the jiggers. The only advantage to free poor is that the barkeep can slip you a few extra. that is, unless he himself is being charged per bottle. Then youre *****.
    • MixMastaKooz, on 07/26/2008, -0/+5You've never worked in a bar. I've never known a bartender that is charged for the liquor they sell. You have your barback, you have the key to the liquor cage, and if you run out, have your barback get you some more. The manager can tell if the bar is being too loose on the pour by taking inventory and matching that to the bar tender's ring (how much was made).
      • fokov, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1That is why a lot of the popular bars went with almost fully automated systems for shots of alcohol. That way the customer gets exactly what they paid for and the bar owners maximize profits on each bottle.
    • drexl, on 07/27/2008, -0/+1" at $6.25, I want the full minibottle in my drink.", a full mini bottle is 1 1/2 oz. of booze, which is the typical standard for a regular mixed drink in most bars.
  • vaticdart, on 07/26/2008, -4/+4Straight stuff varies in its alcohol content quite a bit: 80 - 105 proof.

    Beer is all over the place: 3.5% with the American lagers to 12 or 13% for some of the microbrews.

    Wine even varies now that so many wineries are making hot wines.

    Mixed drinks of course hugely vary.

    If you're counting your booze intake based on number of drinks go home and sip a diet coke. Listen to your body, go slow, savor your delicious booze. Stop before you're drunk unless you really want that.

    It's really quite simple; overpouring is not a problem. It just makes a night out cheaper.
  • OgDza, on 07/26/2008, -2/+6Too much booze? There's no such thing, buried for being inaccurate.
  • halfwayentropy, on 07/26/2008, -0/+13I love the use of the term "overserved," like the use of jiggers and using less booze is for the customer's benefit. Suck it, you cheap bastards. Maybe if my Captain 'n Coke Cost what is should, say $3.50, I wouldn't mind of the booze was metered.
    • bluesman3535, on 07/26/2008, -0/+0I agree the tone is 'steeped in cheapness' or sponsored by insurance companies trying to get people to drink less.
  • terryducks, on 07/26/2008, -3/+5Let's see a 1.75L bottle is 39 jiggers. I can buy that bottle at $23 and you're charging me $3+ per mixed drink. Nice profit of $94 per bottle.

    Overhead pah!
    • S4MF1SHER, on 07/26/2008, -1/+8Apparently you've never been to a bar before..
  • tibbon, on 07/26/2008, -4/+5Who cares if they overpour (note I live in a major city so the concept of counting drinks to drive is absurd. Just call a ***** cab)?

    Good bars always list the gravity and alcohol content of all of their beers. If the bartender doesn't know the alcohol content then they probably suck at bartending and don't really know their alcohol.

    Moreso, the drinks I order can't be overpoured or seem too 'light'. Scotch straight up with rocks on the side. What you see is what you get. Stop ordering fruity drinks that you can't tell what is in them.
    • obsolite, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1Fruity drinks like Jack and Coke? Stop waving your dick around, moron.
      • tibbon, on 07/27/2008, -0/+1Why not just go for Jack and.... well Jack?
  • tibbon, on 07/26/2008, -6/+1Jiggar what?
  • hpymondays, on 07/26/2008, -3/+21jigger? that's racist. I prefer jegro.
  • Gimpy1983, on 07/26/2008, -5/+41. Buy a bottle.
    2. Go home.
    3. Drink from bottle.

    1 + 2 + 3 = Jigger be gone :)
    • MalaysianMafia, on 07/26/2008, -0/+3can't pick up chicks at home...
      • macweirdo42, on 07/26/2008, -0/+10This is digg. Can't pick up chicks at a bar, either, so you might as well save your money.
      • chinolofus, on 07/27/2008, -0/+1ever heard of myspace?
    • TheSpook, on 07/26/2008, -0/+3I think you've mixed up the 12 Steps a bit.
  • FREETHINKER2008, on 07/26/2008, -0/+6It's ok to give us extra for the prices they're charging. I'm paying 5 or 6 bucks for a vodka tonic served in a tiny glass filled with ice.
    • Tweekster, on 07/26/2008, -0/+2im paying 4-6 bucks for a pint glass rum and coke. filled atleast 50/50

      Get to know your bartender...
  • DonCreech, on 07/26/2008, -1/+8My bartenders can hook me up as much as they want as far as I'm concerned. Drinks are usually overpriced anyway, so anytime I see someone using a device to carefully measure out my drink to some kind of designer specification, I roll my eyes. I'm sure that kind of thing saves owners a little coin, but a bar is a place for debauchery and sin, damn it. Don't be so shrewd, just focus on customer satisfaction.
  • huszar02, on 07/26/2008, -2/+7Given that your average 750 ml bottle has about 26 shots in 1 oz., or a about 16-17 with 1.5 oz pours, the profit margin on liquor is insane.

    Supposing you use a 20 dollar call brand liquor, using 1.5 oz. pours, you're making 300% profit off of the liquor. However, so is every other place in town, which means you got to separate yourself a bit to make the money.

    I've never had a bartender friend that didn't pour extra. Even adding an extra .5 oz to the drink gives it a lot more kick and increases the bang for the buck. The bartenders get better tips and the patrons are a lot more festive. Well paid bartenders tend to become/are good bartenders, which increases the efficiency of the alcohol serving, and leads to further profit. You'd be crazy NOT to let bartenders freepour. You sacrifice a little short-term profit for longterm gains.

    I'm not going to venture into what the maximum profit-to-pour ratio is, but my friends all seem to do well. 5 hours on a weekend even at a divebar and they come back a couple hundred richer at the end of the night.
  • Tyrghast, on 07/26/2008, -0/+9I'm gonna get drunk no matter which method you use.
  • ZeroVector, on 07/26/2008, -1/+2It sounds like it is only a problem in Chicago. Thank God!
  • heretrix, on 07/26/2008, -0/+3Freepour= getting ***** quicker= buying more overpriced drinks.

    Sounds fair.
  • thekassette, on 07/26/2008, -0/+22When I took a job tending bar at a fancy restaurant/lounge, the manager trained me thusly:

    1. Take an empty liquor bottle, pour spout and jigger home.
    2. Fill the bottle with water.
    3. Practice pouring exactly 1.25 oz. (which was our standard pour for most mixed drinks) of water into a glass.
    4. Check the pour by emptying the glass into the jigger.

    Before I was given a shift, I was tested on the accuracy of my pours. I had to pour 15 precise servings in a row. And precise meant being able to see the rounded "skin" of the water over the top of the jigger. Miss one by a drop over or under, the count started over.

    Hardcore? Yeah, definitely. But it would be nice to think that all bartenders were trained as rigorously. I mean, for those who drink cocktails for the taste and not simply to get faced (not that there's anything wrong with that) too much liquor can ruin them just as easily as too little.

    Besides, just because a bartender knows how to NOT overpour doesn't mean he CAN'T if you tip proper. :)
    • Muffinhunter, on 07/26/2008, -0/+2agree 100%. when i tended bar, i was trained rigorously to make perfect pours EVERY time. i trust my inner timer more than a jigger.

      also, jiggers and control-spouts piss off both bartenders AND patrons. let the bartenders make their drinks; don't watch over their shoulders like a nanny.
  • nnck, on 07/26/2008, -1/+6Buried as inaccurate. Free puriong leads to bartenders serving the RIGHT AMOUNT of booze.
  • sgtawol, on 07/26/2008, -3/+3Free pour for LIFE!
  • Jarod8bit, on 07/26/2008, -0/+4Slow news day in Chicago... Sorry rest of world!
  • HeyArnold, on 07/26/2008, -0/+5waa! bartenders are getting people drunk by giving them too much booze??
    dude, these days you hear more about bartenders short changing people on beer and booze. How about people get what they pay for??
  • p51d007, on 07/26/2008, -5/+2I saw one of those "modern marvel" shows on spirits that had one place which went to the trouble of installing a "pour meter" on the bottles. At the beginning and ending of each shift, they weigh the bottles.
    If they pour too much, it comes out of the bartenders pocket. Might sound a little harsh, but it's good business.
    • mikelieman, on 07/26/2008, -0/+4It's not good business. It shows the inattentiveness and cluelessness of the MANAGER. If you don't know if your staff is doing the job without wasting money on dispensers, then you suck as a MANAGER.

      All the tools in the world ain't going to remove that failure.
    • bigsteve, on 07/26/2008, -0/+4Yea, the ***** Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, in the box seats. The bartender attached a device to the top of the bottle of Jameson she was pouring for me that was attached by a wire to another device. It measured exactly one shot, and closed off automatically. It was a shame. Considering a double on the rocks already costed like $14, you'd think they'd be able to spare a few more drops.
      • mikelieman, on 07/26/2008, -0/+2That's the place that used the be the "F.U." Center, right?
    • thecatcantalk, on 07/26/2008, -0/+4In the restaurant business, we have a word for that management style. It's called "being a greedy idiot whose staff hates him". They're the guys who don't understand why their waitresses treat the customers like *****, and why they can't keep an employee for longer than 90 days.
  • GREEDOnvrFIRED, on 07/26/2008, -1/+3How To Read Any Article About Bar Tending.
    Step 1: Do a search for the word "mixology" or "mixologist."
    Step 1a: If either word is found close the tab and see what else is on Digg.
  • pvaras, on 07/26/2008, -0/+3It may be a free pour, but it will still cost you. My head is killing me right now.
  • Tweekster, on 07/26/2008, -0/+2Kind of funny this article is about chicago, since they are essentially the capital of overpriced drinks.

    Come up to milwaukee and the concept of free pouring is simply the standard. The only time I see measuring is in martinis.
  • miriv365, on 07/26/2008, -1/+4When I am paying $8 or $9 bucks for a shot...they better be over pouring...
  • thecatcantalk, on 07/26/2008, -0/+7"Free pouring" leads bartenders to giving the customer what he's paying for: a good drink. "Standard" drink recipes are just like "standard" cookbook recipes: weak, watered-down to avoid offending anyone's palate. Like canned pasta sauce, they're a good base to start with, but only a bad cook stops there.

    The comment that "measuring also keeps bars from going broke", from Betty's Blue Star bar manager Scott Chasen is total *****. Only a food and beverage manager could tell such a whopper with a straight face.

    Think about it: booze doesn't need to be refrigerated, it doesn't spoil, it takes up very little storage space compared to food.

    Every chef knows that nearly all of a restaurant's profits come from booze and desserts. Dessert ingredients are cheap, but the markup on booze is INSANE. One pays $12 (wholesale) for a bottle of bourbon, which contains 36 shots of liquor @ $5 each (customer's cost). That's $168 profit on a $12 investment, a markup of more than more than 1,000%. Even when you depreciate rent, heat, payroll and garbage collection, a barroom is a gold mine: that's why people commonly pay $500,000 and up for a liquor license, but are able pay it off in a couple years.

    Most importantly, stiff drinks (and serving a free round every 3 or 4, to regulars who tip well) actually INCREASES a bar's profits significantly. Happy customers tip better, which makes for well-paid bartenders, better tips for bar backs and waitrons as well; and happy employees who like their jobs treat your customers WAY better, and don't steal as much.

    Mistreated, underpaid food service employees will ALWAYS take their revenge on a stupid/greedy owner, by robbing him blind and treating his customers rudely. Giving away drinks, serving stronger drinks actually increases the bottom line by reducing "shrinkage", i.e., employee theft. Whereas weighing the bottles at shift's end, and docking the bartenders' pay, creates resentment and destroys trust...which is ALWAYS bad for business.

    Happy employees work harder and steal less. It's that simple. Being a greedy toad who treats his staff like criminals leads to failure. Deal with it.
    • zaffir, on 07/27/2008, -0/+0As someone who works as a barback, i agree 100%
  • Shiftgood, on 07/26/2008, -0/+2Check this beer out that i found, since we're on the subject of fun juice
    http://digg.com/general_sciences/BEER_Brewed_with_ ...

    Its like Jurassic Park meets ... well... Beer.
  • vrbanabanana, on 07/26/2008, -0/+2It sounds like someone is just jealous. Now, I don't drink much, but if they want to "free pour" let them! They're the one's selling it and if they want to give more to the customer that is their business. If I go into a bar, it makes me feel better when they "free pour" because I know they aren't tightwads. This is just me, but I would prefer going into a bar that is relaxed and cares more about it's customers than the exact measurement of a drink.
  • BillOReilly08, on 07/26/2008, -0/+2Jigger stole my bike.
  • artinge3, on 07/26/2008, -1/+1Who bitches about too much booze? give me a break, get drunk and be somebody.
  • maverick_swl, on 07/26/2008, -0/+3its so obvious who has tended bar and who hasn't. Speed pours as said above are the way to go for bars, its fast and professional. You "free booze is good people" need to realize that the bartender can be held accountable for letting people get fall down drunk at the bar.
  • tinkertoy, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1So...More booze means happier customers who buy more drinks, and tip better. Everyone wins. I don't see what the problem is.
  • brianmita, on 07/27/2008, -0/+1That last analogy that Betty's Blue Star bar manager Scott Chasen makes is perhaps the most laughable part. " If you order a half-pound burger, that's what you should get." You NEVER get a half pound burger, EVER. it's a half pound of ground beef before any restaurant cooks it, and ultimately, it always loses weight due to the fats burning/dripping off.

    Personally, being in the bar business, where repeated wasted seconds can mean the difference between taking 50 less drink orders a night or not, 'free pours' are economically better. For every drink you measure in a jigger, you have to wash that jigger. it might be only a few second per drink, but walking back and forth to the sink adds up.

    That being said, for those diggers who've never been there, Betty's is pretty far down the list of places to go drink on the near west side in Chicago. They had a good minimal techno night on wednesdays a few years back, but the promoters quickly bolted for Sonotheque. From what I heard, it was because the management were dicks. surprise surprise. Had they not had their 4 am license or been on a main avenue, they'd have closed down a long time ago.
  • Royale106, on 07/28/2008, -0/+0If they use the jigger, I ask for a straight shot anyway.
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