I've heard the "strain the rocks" thing before (so as the ice melts, it doesn't dilute the liquor) but I've never heard of charging for it.

Is this a great country or what?

I have had whiskey chilled before, but I like it better at room temperature.

The server would chill and strain the whiskey, but I've not gotten the dirty rocks before. I would be surprised too, if I was charged for the rocks as well. What is the purpose of getting the dirty rocks anyway? To wait until they melt and then drink the extremely weak remains?

I prefer single malt neat, but i like Rumpleminze cold but not chilled over ice and strained. Most places keep it in the cooler.

LOL, now I know I can sell my leftover ice "dirty" cubes between rum and cokes. Love it! They should just take the all of the dirty ice cubes for the night and make adult sno cones :-)

RayRay,
Most places down here have Rumple Minze cooler machines, like Jagermeister does. The bottle is inverted on the top, and the bartender uses a coffee urn-like tap to dispense it. I guess they must sell a lot of it.

I can understand a server charging for leftover rocks. And why not add a delivery fee for bringing the drinks to the table? That makes perfect sense. What beggars credibility is that someone would actually pay those additional charges.
"Would monsieur care for a Moist Towelette?"
"Why, yes please."
"Oui, oui. Zat will be five dollars."
"Five dollars? For a dang Moist Towelette?"
"No, no monsieur. Ze fin is ze packet disposal fee."
"Well in that case, I'll take the packet with me."
"Oui, monsieur. Zat is seven dollars. I was only trying to save you money, ami."

PCB Rob,
One telltale sign of a meathead bar is a Jagermeister dispenser. I try to avoid these places.

Rumplemintz on tap.

Is this a great country or what?

I didn't realize that they would charge more for this but then again, I didn't (at one time) realize that by getting premium liquor I was raising the bill by up to six bucks a drink!

Was my meathead comment deleted?

It sounds familiar, but I was too traumatized by the experience to remember. It couldn't have been as funny as the one under Bucky Needs a Restaurant. :-) EL

PCB Rob,
Jagermeister machines are one indicator of a meathead bar. I try to avoid these places.

RayRay,
I try to avoid those type of places as well. Its just that down here, even the upscale places have them. I guess because its a tourist town, and tourists like to party hard.

About the only time you'll find me in a bar down here is during football season, watching the Ravens games.

PCB Rob,
I stop in at The Cat's Eye for happy hour a couple of times a week. No jukebox, Satelite TV with the blues channel on ( not too loud ) and friendly conversation. Perfect for a geezer like me. :-)

I got a Dewar's rocks @ Mother's a couple months ago and they charged $1 for the rocks....couldn't believe it.

What blog is this again?

"Pardon me, waiter, but I don't understand these charges on my bill."
"Which charges, sir?"
"Utensils, $3.00."
"You did receive a fork, spoon and knife, didn't you, sir?
"Yes, but..."
"Then what's the problem?"
"Okay, but the 'mishap preventative,' $2.00. What's that?"
"Oh, my, did we forget the napkin?"
"No, I had a napkin."
"There you are."
"Posterior placement at $5.00 doesn't make sense."
"Would you rather have sat on the floor?"
"You mean I had to pay for a chair."
"The restaurant had to buy them, didn't they?"
"There is no way that I'm ever coming back here again."
"Sorry you said that, sir. Now, we'll have add a termination fee."

Excellent, M.A.G. Cracked me up.

RayRay,
The Cat's Eye sounds like my kind of place.

scott,
This is The Only Blog You Need! Its about food of course, but our topic drift/lurch is also quite interesting. Think about it: if you're out to dinner, do you talk about the food the entire time? Well, imagine that this is one giant dinner party. Just not at Birches.

I worked in restaurant for a pretty long time, and I think the perception of getting charged for the rocks is probably just due to the way the restaurant's computer is set up. At some of the places I worked, there was a standard charge for the liquor according to level (house, up, premium, etc). The prices may be $4 for house, $6 for up, and $8 for top shelf. But that's just the price for a shot. Drinks on the rocks typically contain a decent amount more liquor than a shot. So, to charge appropriately, the $2 rocks charge is applied.

Therefore, you were probably charged for the extra liquor, not the ice itself. I can see where the confusion comes from, but think about the size of a shot vs. the size of a drink "on the rocks." Extra liquor = extra cost.

Thanks! I always assumed it was same amount of liquor only in a bigger glass because of the ice. EL

No. Really. Never at Birches.

If you are looking for really cheap drinks, go to an American Legion. Beers are 93 cents and mixed drinks are $1.75. Are you going to get infused vodkas and masterworks of mixology? No, but let me repeat, beers are 93 cents and mixed drinks are $1.75.

RoCK, back in my misspent youth, there were two places I was willing to drink (I'm really cheap); the American Legion and biker bars.

Now, considering I was a militant separatist, vegetarian lesbian pacifist (when I wasn't in a fight) at the time, it is amazing how well I got along.

Jay in Fells Point does have a point. If you order bourbon (or some other liquor) neat, you get a shot. Which is an ounce, more or less.

If you order something on the rocks, you typically get quite a bit more liquor along with the rocks.

Hopefully, EL's friend got more than just a shot of Jameson for their eight bucks. Which, it seems, is rather steep for a Jameson on the rocks.

Some of us are pleased to drink with any congenial soul, regardless of respective identifications and loyalties.

RoCK, you make a good point. Just last night as my partner and I were having badly mixed drinks (for premium prices) we were lamenting the fact that we don't have a neighborhood bar. Not a bar with a name. Just a bar sitting on a corner with a neon sign that says "bar". The "a" would be flickering. It would have 93 cent beers and $1.75 mixed drinks. Furthermore there'd be no premium blends and when you asked what was on tap the answer would be "beer".

As my mother would say... "they saw your friend coming".

Joyce, you need to try Bar, on Lancaster St. in Fells Point. The wine list consists of "red" and "white".