Rule of Thumb - Price per Pour at Bars / Restaurants?

[davidg07]

I know prices for a glass of bourbon are going to vary pretty wildly depending on a lot of factors (location, clientele, scumbag owners, etc), but I'm wondering whether people have any sort of "rule of thumb" they use to decide whether to buy a pour of something at a bar or restaurant, or what point y'all decide it's a ripoff and just pick up a bottle next time you visit your local liquor store.

Most of my bourbon tasting ends up happening at friends' houses, or by my just buying a new bottle based on recommendations from this group of trustworthy folks. But I've occasionally been in a bar and seen something intriguing, only to find they're asking $15-20 for a pour.

Where do y'all draw the line? Do you have a set dollar amount? A percentage of the cost of a bottle?

[Auracom]

I guess my standard set dollar amount for a single pour is below $10. That's allowed me to try plenty of value pours I wanted to taste so I could decide what was worth buying a bottle of (and even then, those are closer to $5-6). Stuff like OGD114, McKenna 10 yr BiB, EW SB, etc.

I've tried some great stuff between $10 and $15 but that's where locations really start to vary. It all depends on the bottles. I've had VWFRR, '12 FR SmB LE, and '11 WLW in this range and they were all worth it. Many pours that *should* be in this price range are inflated to above $20 in my area. Above $20... I've only done 3-4 times max. A few times with friends seeking PVW before I had bottles. Very recently though, I realized that if there's an unobtainable bottle on the list at $20+, it's likely worth trying once if you've never had it. PHC 27 fit this criteria and I have zero regrets.

[gooneygoogoo]

I think I read on SB somewhere that a pour at a bar/restaurant "should" cost about 25% of the cost of the bottle. Seems accurate enough to me. Example BTAC which retails for around $80 would be $20 for a pour. I don't usually drink bourbon out because I have better bourbon at home than most restaurants/bars and it does get really expensive drinking out. Unless I'm at a whiskey bar or restaurant, then sometimes I'll get something that I don't usually see.

[nd2005]

A lot of it does depend on the region you are in. I find that Michigan tends to be above the general price ranges I often see quoted here (though I sometimes think people are being a bit nostalgic and quoting some ~5 year old price ideals and not what is out there in the current market).

If I'm buying a pour of bourbon out - I will pay $10-15 if it is something I haven't had before. If they don't have anything I haven't had before, I will likely stick to beer or a mixed drink.

If it is something truly rare (BTAC, PHC, etc...) and I am at a "destination" whiskey bar for some special event (e.g. went to Jack Rose in DC with a bunch of friends while at a conference) - then I'll consider a splurge in the $20-30 range.

If I feel the bar is gouging, I won't bother - e.g. I would never pay Husk's prices for PVW.

[jonhalter]

Good rule. Im about to go to vegas, and Im sure they will have quite a few things Ive never has, and would like to try. The 25% rule could help me make some decisions. Anyone been to Vegas recently and have recommendations for must try bourbons?

[P&MLiquorsEric]

Good rule. Im about to go to vegas, and Im sure they will have quite a few things Ive never has, and would like to try. The 25% rule could help me make some decisions. Anyone been to Vegas recently and have recommendations for must try bourbons?

Vegas is its own animal price wise. You bet enough and anything is free. Walk into a trendy place with a nice list and you might pay 5 times regular bar prices.

With limited release bourbons, the general pricing guides go out the window. Many nice places will price it so that they can keep it around a while.

[amg]

I still always chuckle when I see the price of a pour of Johnnie Walker Blue at a bar.

I'll happily pay $10-$15 for a pour of something good; I hesitate above that.

[ThirstyinOhio]

I try to stay in the 15% to 20% cost of the bottle as my upper limit. The biggest rip off that I've ever paid was $90 for a pour of Old Blowhard at the Old Talbott Tavern. That one was on me as I didn't ask the price before requesting a pour. I figured it was going to be $35-$40 so I was a bit surprised when I saw the bill.

[nd2005]

I try to stay in the 15% to 20% cost of the bottle as my upper limit. The biggest rip off that I've ever paid was $90 for a pour of Old Blowhard at the Old Talbott Tavern. That one was on me as I didn't ask the price before requesting a pour. I figured it was going to be $35-$40 so I was a bit surprised when I saw the bill.

:shocked:

Whoa that's a pricy pour.

[kickert]

I try to stay in the 15% to 20% cost of the bottle as my upper limit. The biggest rip off that I've ever paid was $90 for a pour of Old Blowhard at the Old Talbott Tavern. That one was on me as I didn't ask the price before requesting a pour. I figured it was going to be $35-$40 so I was a bit surprised when I saw the bill.

If you are talking standard 50ml pours, cost is 6.7% of a bottle. I fully expect a bar to charge double to triple on a pour. For easy math, call it 20% as my cap: Move the decimal and double. I am not going to pay more than $6/pour for a $30 of ETL. Beyond that, I would rather take my chances on a bottle. (It also helps that I don't particularly like the bar scene).

[davidg07]

Thanks for the replies so far. I've generally fallen in the $10 or ~20-25% range myself, when I do end up going to a bar or restaurant. Most of the time they don't have stuff I feel like paying for, so I end up with beer.

One of the recent ones I saw that brought this question up was a bar in Houston that was selling glasses of the BT Experimental and New Oak lines for $25/pour. I've never been willing to pull the trigger on the $75-80 bottles (at 350ml), so definitely wasn't going to pay 1/3 of that for just a glass. I'd like to try those eventually, but so far haven't come across anyone that's paid the asking price.

[HD 335]

As you mentioned, the price fluctuates based on many factors such as location and availability (both actual and perceived) of bottle. My typical bottom to mid shelf pour shouldn't exceed 20% of the bottle price. However for the limited and out of production stuff, the flood gates open on pricing. I recently went to Last Vegas for my bachelor party and wasn't looking for anything special however on the last day we went to Mesa Grill. They had some Pappy Van Winkle Lot B, 15 and 20 year available. I tried a 1.5oz pour of the 15 year for $35 and the 20 year for $40 and didn't hesitate on getting pours for that price. This was very fair pricing for something I honestly can probably never get a bottle of. If you're the type of enthusiast that enjoys trying many different types of whiskeys and has the disposable income to afford the luxury, I think paying a little more for extremely limited/high demand allocated bottles is worth the experience.

On a separate note, I believe all bars should pour at least the minimum of 1oz if not 1.5oz. Nihon Whiskey Lounge in SF is a place I basically avoid now since they offer a "taster" for 3/4 oz while the pricing that is actually more inline for something at least 1oz or even 1.5oz. Then there is a separate and much higher price structure for 1.5oz. Hard Water Bar, also in SF charges a reasonable cost for hip and trendy bars in SF. Here's a PDF of their whiskey menu

http://static.squarespace.com/static/51364d9fe4b055d8b61af131/t/52fce552e4b0560c84dcaa91/1392305490553/Whiskey%202-8-14%20copy.pdf

and a list is also available on their site which might have revised costs. General bottles that are available, a pour is 2oz for about 20-25% bottle cost. All craft and allocated bottles are 1oz pours (although I felt they were pouring closer to 1.25 - 1.5oz) but price varies greatly on how old the bottle is. They want $120 for a pour of AH Hirsch 16 year gold foil top and $60 for a Parker's Heritage 4th Edition Wheated Cask Strenght... but just $5 for OF 2013 Birthday and $15 for a Four Roses 125th Anniversary Small Batch which I feel is great pricing for some good Bourbon.

[Restaurant man]

[quote

One of the recent ones I saw that brought this question up was a bar in Houston that was selling glasses of the BT Experimental and New Oak lines for $25/pour. I've never been willing to pull the trigger on the $75-80 bottles (at 350ml), so definitely wasn't going to pay 1/3 of that for just a glass. I'd like to try those eventually, but so far haven't come across anyone that's paid the asking price.

[sutton]

No set rule - depends where I am and my mood.

I will pay to try things that I either don't see around me or am curious about - paid $28 for Springbank 18 and $38 for Glenfarclas 25, that is probably the highest I've paid for any pour and was glad I did. Made me want a bottle of the Springbank 18, and can pass on the 'farclas 25 and be happier with the 17 and 21 that I've got. So it was still $38 well spent.

I haven't seen many rare bourbon pours, but I would pay to try something up to a point - my top end, if my wits are still about me, would probably be $50.

[HOF44]

Good rule. Im about to go to vegas, and Im sure they will have quite a few things Ive never has, and would like to try. The 25% rule could help me make some decisions. Anyone been to Vegas recently and have recommendations for must try bourbons?

[Guy Debord]

I usually pay anywhere from $4-$8 for sips of bourbon out at local bars to see what I like. A lot of places do 3 prices for bourbon pours. I typically opt for the first number, which is the half oz, for example Four Roses LE Cast Strength at the bar by my house charges $8, $11, $15 for pours.

On Sunday I paid $6 for a half oz of Booker's, which is half of 25% of the price of a 25oz bottle of Booker's. Now I know I like it and some day, I'll grab a bottle of it.

FYI: when you do half oz pours you sometimes get a little bit more than half an ounce

[petrel800]

Good rule. Im about to go to vegas, and Im sure they will have quite a few things Ive never has, and would like to try. The 25% rule could help me make some decisions. Anyone been to Vegas recently and have recommendations for must try bourbons?

Been to Vegas numerous times over the last several years. Expect to pay a premium for the trendy stuff, but there are still some good finds and bargins on some of the menus out there. Delmonico in the Venetian still had the Wheated Parkers on their whiskey list for $12 the last time I was there. Also check out Table 10 in the Palazzo, Spago and Mesa Grill at Ceasars. All have had some harder to find pours on their bar at reasonable prices. Just make sure you ask before you order if you're concerned about price.

As for me, I paid $30 for a pour of HW21 in a bar and $35 for a pour of Rittenhouse 25. Were either of them worth that much for 2oz, probably not, but the HW21 is devine and it pushed me over the edge to buy a bottle. The Rittenhouse 25, chalk that one up to opportunity cost. Not many of those floating around these days. The best rule of thumb I can give is to enjoy yourself, you only live once, no reason to be frivolous, but at the same time, don't miss out on something you really want to do because of a few bucks either or some arbitrary line in the sand of percentage of the bottle cost or whatever.

[Special Reserve]

I still always chuckle when I see the price of a pour of Johnnie Walker Blue at a bar.

I'll happily pay $10-$15 for a pour of something good; I hesitate above that.

Around 2003 I was on a business trip to Chicago to look at some lab equipment. The salesman took me to some trendy nightclub. Their bourbon selection was awful so we drank scotch. Johnnie Walker Blue to be exact. When the tab came it was $50/pour. The salesman convinced them to charge him only $30/pour which was still a gross overpricing.

Ardbeg 10 at $10/pour is much better.

[393foureyedfox]

most times, I only order a drink if its something that I havent tried yet, so I dont have to gamble on buying a whole bottle...as there have been multiple bottles that I either dumped out or gave away and that gets pricey.

the most Ive ever paid was $12 for a decent size pour of Barterhouse, which i thought was totally fair. I expected that place to tell me at least $20 and be stingy with it. Second priciest was my first ever pour of Bookers at $11 something. Usually, I can get something interesting to me for $8-ish, but several places around here will give me a flight of 3 for $15, which is what I like to do, as I often get one thing I know I like and two other new ones, so I have a basis of comparison.

I think I'd draw the line at $15, and only for something I really really want to try.

[SqueakScolari]

most times, I only order a drink if its something that I havent tried yet, so I dont have to gamble on buying a whole bottle...as there have been multiple bottles that I either dumped out or gave away and that gets pricey.

the most Ive ever paid was $12 for a decent size pour of Barterhouse, which i thought was totally fair. I expected that place to tell me at least $20 and be stingy with it. Second priciest was my first ever pour of Bookers at $11 something. Usually, I can get something interesting to me for $8-ish, but several places around here will give me a flight of 3 for $15, which is what I like to do, as I often get one thing I know I like and two other new ones, so I have a basis of comparison.

I think I'd draw the line at $15, and only for something I really really want to try.

$12 for Barterhouse was a really good price. Probably the best deal I got in a bar (not counting the times you get an extra big pour to finish a bottle) was $13 for a Jameson 18 year old.

[tigerlam92]

We all have our limits.

For me only:

I expect they to charge 4x what I can buy myself per ounce. If I find something for 2-3x that's a good price. 4x and more not so much.

For me the hard part is going to a place with any selection for a reasonable price. Also, at home I have almost everything I would want to drink or try so hard to pay 4x or more. I end up ordering scotch.

[jmj_203]

I understand the markup, especially when we're talking rare bourbons...I just see thats why I buy my bourbon and drink with friends at home. When you seriously think how many ounces are in a bottle it depends on the bars pour sizes. But paying for almost 1/5 (20%) of the bottle for a tiny few ounce pour is insane. The atmosphere isn't worth it to me. I'm sure most prefer to have their special bottles at home where you can analyze and taste it in your own comfort. Guess thats why I rarely go to bars.

[BootsOnTheGround]

I paid $20-$25 for PVW15 a few times last year. That's very reasonable for something you can enjoy for a good 45 minutes. I can think of A LOT of things that cost way more than $30 hr that are a total waste of time.

If you don't want to get screwed on price, than figure out which bars/restaurants stock what you like and wait and see if there are any Groupon-like deals for those places. That's usually what I end up doing and you effectively drink for about 1/3 or 1/2 price. $15 pours of Stagg or private Willett barrels? Yes, I will have that.

[Renegator]

I've seen a lot of bars that aren't "whiskey bars" do their pricing by charging $1 per year it is aged. $8 for eight year bourbon, $10 for ten year bourbon, etc. What's nice about that is sometimes you can find a steal like I got a couple pours of 2013 ORWV 10/107 for $10 a piece because it was aged 10 years. They didn't take the scarcity of the bourbon into consideration.

[Renegator]

Sorry to double post but I forgot something else I was going to say. The highest price I ever paid for a pour was for Whistle Pig 11 year Rye 111 proof because the General Manager of the restaurant was a friend of a friend and was talking it up. I didn't ask price up front which was totally my fault and ended up getting charged $25 for it.

The best part of the story is that the very next day - I was walking my dog and found $25 on the street. No lie. I think it was the bourbon Gods repaying me for getting hosed the night before.