@abgemacht tipping the bartender won't do the trick…

@X3n0n: Ok. "When in Rome..." is usually a good policy regarding tipping regardless of personal feelings.

@JK In Rome you should not tip, esp. not in cabs. And yes, in the US I would tip because I know of the problem, albeit I never found out how much of the tip went to the kitchen staff.

Besides, I completely missed the original for this thread. One should run a campaign against this demeaning kind of missionarism.

@ abge

In the UK it's the done thing for the customer to order at the bar, where the beer is pumped in clear view, and then take his round to his table. The only opportunity to water down the beer is in advance, which makes the tip irrelevant to it.

Besides which all a UK barman actually does is pull a lever or open a bottle, which is a skill so easy it can be learned in minutes and hardly worthy of a tip. The only added value you commonly get outside of your local is the occasional joke or the barmaid sticking a dirty finger in the top of your Guinness to draw a crude smudge she'll claim is a shamrock. Frankly I'd rather they wouldn't.

lol I know beer isn't watered down. Do you guys not have mixed drinks across the pond?

Our beer is good enough that we don't need to muck about with it!

@ Octavious: "All a UK barman actually does is pull a lever or open a bottle, which is a skill so easy it can be learned in minutes and hardly worthy of a tip"

That's harsh. They also have to change barrels in the cellar, clear up empty glasses, act as a host and converse politely with patrons. They generally have to help manage stocks, and sometimes often have to act as security staff as well, dealing with any troublesome or overly-intoxicated patrons.

A *good* barperson should know something about spirits, too, especially if the bar has a decent range of, for example, whiskies. And if it's a real ale pub, you'd expect the barman to know something about the ales they are serving.

In many UK pubs that serve food, the bar staff also have to act as waiting staff (and yes, they *might* get tipped for providing food service).


@ Abgemacht: Do you guys not have mixed drinks across the pond?

If you mean a gin and tonic, or a Jack Daniel's and coke, sure. But most normal UK "pubs" don't offer a cocktail menu, and generally you shouldn't expect cocktails in a regular pub - there are special high-end wine bars and cocktail bars which offer this, but regular pubs often don't.

I wasn't very impressed with the mixed drinks and cocktails that I've had abroad. I once ordered a Manhattan in Wiesbaden and got a rocks glass full of Southern Comfort and sweet vermouth. Southern Fucking Comfort. Blasphemy I tells ya. Granted, this was before rye was back in vogue but I couldn't believe they didn't have any bourbon on hand. That was the one and only time I've ever walked out on a bar tab.

Not trying to ring the jingoist bells, but you'll never get a better cocktail than in the USA.

Beer, we got a thing or two to learn still (though it's getting better)...

@ abge

My old local used to do snakebite, which I'm sure counts as a mixed drink, and Mallards down the road did its infamous Birthday Special, which was a pint glass full of a mix of whatever random spirits happened to be on the shelf behind the bar. Sadly, as with beer, you watch the spirits being poured so there is little opportunity for watering it down.

Whisky, of course, should always be served with a tiny splash of water.

Noone should ever dare to put water into my whisky!

Sevyas, you are doing it wrong. Understandably so, as the natural instinct is to leave it untouched. However a tiny splash of water (emphasis on the word tiny) is required to liberate the flavour. Like adding a pinch of salt in cooking

As a native Scot, I can agree with Octavious on the issue of water. I would advise against putting ice into whisky, as the coldness inhibits the flavour. But, especially with cask whisky with a high %ABV, a small dash of water takes the edge off the alcohol "burn" and brings out the flavours.

I tryed the tiny splash thing a few times, and each time the trust in my natural instinct increased ... but maybe I should try adding a pinch of salt ... hmm ...

Wait, we are talking whiskey now? :)

(Yes to the splash of water)

Y'all are making me want a Scotch and it's 8am on a workday....