TedE Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Interesting read on a recent crack down on short pours in the District. Times where I've felt ripped off are few and far between, but I always chalked it up to ordering stupid cocktails where I should have known better, and I have no problem asking a bartender to top off a poorly drawn draft. Undersized jiggers and trick glassware is one of the oldest tricks in the book; I'm surprised that owners are taken aback that the government would care about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaRiv18 Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 The investigation was held in response to complaints from customers who said they were not receiving advertised amounts of alcohol. I have not really seen advertised amounts of pours in cocktails. And I haven't had cocktails that were short pours. I guess Todd Thrasher's cocktails can be less alcoholic than most else, but he's in Virginia and his cocktails are great. At Boundary Road (mentioned in the article), they do advertise how many ounces each beer will contain. I drink there often and have never had a portion issue. Actually, I did sit there last weekend late night when two younger ladies came in at the bar. They were unfamiliar with most everything on the bar menu, and the bartender ended up recommending a sweet dessert wine. They ordered that with a lemonade chaser. When the first dessert wine was served in a port glass, the other insisted on getting hers in a wine glass. I think she was disappointed when hers wasn't filled up to the full 15 oz top, and they started whispering to each other. This has to be up there as one of the most ridiculous enforcement actions I can recall. Not to mention they are targeting small businesses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwertyy Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Oh, I don't know. I'm pretty surprised that so many bars seem unaware that there even are regulations. But the investigators seem to be charitable about that fact, so kudos to them for making it an educational and not punitive exercise. Everyone needs a little brush-up on the rules from time to time (clearly)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaRiv18 Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 I'm pretty surprised that so many bars seem unaware that there even are regulations. You should also be surprised that the DC agency spokesman did not know how long the rules had been in place. Hmm, they seemed prepared for everything else. I would like to read the specific rule under which all this stems from. From what I gather from the article, each jigger that a bar uses must be registered in advance, and the bar pays the whatever fee (the lowest one on their website is $25) for each jigger. And it sounds that a glass or pitcher might also qualify as a "measuring device"? Would like to read the rules definitions. Hard to believe that you'd have to register your entire glassware in order to comply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TedE Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 You should also be surprised that the DC agency spokesman did not know how long the rules had been in place. Hmm, they seemed prepared for everything else. I would like to read the specific rule under which all this stems from. From what I gather from the article, each jigger that a bar uses must be registered in advance, and the bar pays the whatever fee (the lowest one on their website is $25) for each jigger. And it sounds that a glass or pitcher might also qualify as a "measuring device"? Would like to read the rules definitions. Hard to believe that you'd have to register your entire glassware in order to comply. I wonder what the regs say on glassware and advertising around serving sizes. The now-standard bar "pint" is actually only 14-15 oz and can be as low as 11-12 (take a look at how thick the base of your next glass is). If places are advertising price per pint I could see where it would be an issue, but I can't think of a local place that does this. If you are advertising 3 vs. 6 oz. wine pours, or specifying the pour size for a beer (ChurchKey comes to mind) then I would expect the government to hold you to that and have no problem with enforcement. I don't know how this applies to cocktails; who's to say what the standard pour should be for a cocktail some mixologist made up? Sounds like there needs to be some education all around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaRiv18 Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Now this would be hilarious if it wasn't so pathetic, apparently they were trying to enforce imaginary laws! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetrain Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Honestly, if bars in DC weren't charging such exorbitant prices in ridiculously shaped glassware, I'm sure it wouldn't be an issue and so many people wouldn't be second guessing pours. If a bar is advertising a certain oz pour and not delivering, they should face the consequences of not doing so. Probably a point for another thread, but I've noticed in the past year a marked difference in alcohol pricing between the Clarendon area and DC develop. I'm not sure of the difference in rents, but I suspect they are not that disparate. I am also not sure of the difference in alcohol regulations/prices, but I do know the VA bars have to buy from ABC stores at the same prices that individuals pay with no bulk discount. I assume DC's regulations are more lax, but I have no idea for sure, anyone know the answer to this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaRiv18 Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Yet another article on the imaginary laws. Honestly, if bars in DC weren't charging such exorbitant prices in ridiculously shaped glassware, I'm sure it wouldn't be an issue and so many people wouldn't be second guessing pours. If a bar is advertising a certain oz pour and not delivering, they should face the consequences of not doing so. Agree with all of this, if you advertise a certain oz, you should deliver. As for ridiculously shaped glassware, the worst is the martini glass with the staggered stem. Or the martini glass that is nested inside some glass ice vessel. Are there worse-shaped glasses out there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 These places should thank the Lord they had an ABC Manager on staff and also that the inspectors weren't 20-year-olds who looked like they were 30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now