Wikitravel talk:Bar listings

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[edit] Well Drink

This guide suggest providing a guide price for a "well drink". Is this some kind of North American terminology that we don't have this side of the pond? Could someone please describe it to me and I'll see if I can add the appropriate Commonwealth English example to the guide.

Nevah hoid and Google doesn't seem to know what this is either (I just get lots of mis-peelings of "well-priced"). Howsabout just a beer and a cocktail? Jpatokal 04:06, 31 Jul 2005 (EDT)

It's a North American term refering to a cocktail mixed with the cheapest liquors at the bar, which in North America will usually have a shallow metal bin holding the cheapest (and therefore most-used) bottles just behind the bar. This is done to increase serving speed. -- Mark 06:40, 31 Jul 2005 (EDT)

FWIW, the British term (at least as adopted in South-East Asia) for this is a "house pour", at least assuming the 'well drink' is also usually limited to one spirit & one mixer (gin and tonic, rum and coke, etc). I still think 'cocktail' is the path of least resistance. Jpatokal 06:52, 31 Jul 2005 (EDT)

There you go, although there was already some language in there about fitting to the local drinking tradition, I reckon it's better if contributors don't have to scratch their heads and ask "What the heck is a well drink?" -- Mark 07:28, 31 Jul 2005 (EDT)

This is all correct. A cocktail where you choose the liquor is a "call drink", like "Ketel One and soda" or whatever. --Evan 12:11, 31 Jul 2005 (EDT)

I've not heard the term "house pour" either. I can't pretend to be an expert in alcohol parlance, though. I think most pubs would call this drink "house spirit & mixer" in their advertising / tariff. "House spirit" refers to the cheapest of a specific spirit, eg. vodka (cf. "house wine"). -- Owl 17:05, 31 Jul 2005 (EDT)

Does "cocktail" work? --Evan 20:40, 31 Jul 2005 (EDT)

Annoyingly, no. I don't think I've ever heard of "shot + mixer" referred to as a "cocktail" -- I think perhaps a cocktail needs to have at least two alcoholic drinks in it (even if one is a nominal drink like Grand Marnier). Moreover, cocktails seem to come in three sizes here: shooter, long and pitcher, which are priced accordingly. I think "shot + mixer" or "house spirit & mixer" is probably the best you can do in UK terminology. -- Owl 02:04, 1 Aug 2005 (EDT)

Gack. How about we forget all this silliness and just suggest including the price of a standard drink, and suggest a draft beer as an example? Jpatokal 03:00, 1 Aug 2005 (EDT)

The guide already suggests giving a price for draught beer. It makes sense to give one beer price and one spirit price because often (in the UK at least) the two prices don't correlate to each other. Maybe just "price of other popular drink at this bar", since at a wine bar it would be nice to know the price of a glass of wine, I guess, and more important than the price of a vodka&tonic. -- Owl 03:28, 1 Aug 2005 (EDT)