With this election over, in the few days before ads for the 2020 candidates hit, let’s take a look at a bi-partisan issue confronting Missourians: extravagant ice costs.
Dining with friends a few days ago at a nice west county bar and grill I ordered a double Jameson’s Irish Whiskey “on the rocks.” Their idea of “double” fell short of mine. More disconcerting was a charge on the bill, right below the Jameson’s, of $1.50 for “rocks.”
This was the second time in recent months I found ice as a surcharge item, though the first came at a white table cloth place which also hit me up for “extra bread.”
Like most trends, this apparently began in New York…
Yesterday a reader sent in a receipt from…The Darby, which featured a surprise $2 charge for the “rocks” that accompanied a Grey Goose. Today, the restaurant’s general manager tried to explain the extra fee to the Daily News: Drinks with ice get a bigger pour…We charge more because we use more alcohol for a drink served with ice.
The complainer, (a Bloomberg News writer) actually, lives and works in Manhattan and did know how things worked.
It gets worse. Also from New York…
The drink was $13, which isn’t totally outrageous in Manhattan. I asked my waitress to clarify. She summoned the manager, a friendly young guy. He told me with a smile that I got extra Woodford without ice. He said this explained the extra charge. What’s more, he told me that this was common practice in the city…”Everybody does it.”
So, let’s review. In New York you can get charged more for a drink with ice or more for a drink without ice because with or without ice results in more alcohol in the glass.
Now St. Louis liquor license holders are playing the ice game. Why does this not feel like progress?
For $4.29 I can get 20 pounds of clear, quality ice made with filtered water. Figuring two ounces of ice per drink, that bar and grill makes about $240 on every 20 pounds of ice. (Okay, ice melts, so, maybe just $200.)
What’s really happening? Bars found a way to raise the price of drinks without admitting they’re raising the price of drinks.
What’s next? Can we expect a “glass charge” when ordering a draft beer? Will restaurants add a silverware surcharge with each pasta serving?
Remember, the bar and restaurant industry spends a lot of money so they can pay workers just half the minimum wage…sneaky ice charges aren’t out of character.
My wife had two suggestions: 1) get a glass of ice water, order whiskey neat, then spoon ice into the whiskey, or, 2) bring your own ice.
My solution: I keep my current bottle of Jameson’s in the freezer. That way I don’t need ice.
Glenn