626204 Mon Jun 08 14:47:30 -0700 2009 16 36 Spirits 0 4754054 I am a waitress and the restaurant that I work for has just added a "specialty cocktail" menu. One of the cocktails included is a sazerac, the cost that they have decided on for the drink is $17.00!!! This to me is akin to robbery. We do not have the best atmpsphere, the prices are not listed on the menu and though the bartender is competent she is in no way a master mixologist or anything.... What do you all think? I feel bad selling them. Also, a mint julep is $15.... ouch. Mon Jun 08 14:47:30 -0700 2009 278875 pinkbayou 1 4754442 For $17 you better be using super-premium ingredients in that baby. The Brandy Library in New York only charges $13 for a Sazerac or a mint julep, and that's at NY prices. Mon Jun 08 16:51:55 -0700 2009 4754054 10132 sku 1 4754549 Sazeracs here in Boston range from $8-10. $17 is rather steep for a gussied up Old Fashioned. What city was it in and what are the food prices like at that restaurant? I know that there's one posh place that charges $17 per cocktail to keep the proverbial riff-raff out (which I guess includes me). Mon Jun 08 17:26:04 -0700 2009 4754054 256764 yarm 1 4755081 It depends: the city, the bar's location, its atmosphere, the level of service, the quality of the spirits (there are some pretty pricey American ryes available these days), glassware, ice, etc. There aren't many places in Boston that could justify that price. It's not a terribly hard drink to make, but it does take some care, and I've seen several Boston bartenders do terrible renditions. Classic blunders: using bourbon instead of rye or Cognac, tossing a big dash of absinthe or pastis directly into the shaker instead of doing a rinse, shaking instead of stirring, on the rocks instead of up. The wrong glass is pretty common, too: I expect this to be served in a heavy rocks glass, not a cocktail glass or snifter. If you're taking the trouble to offer this drink, it needs to be done right -- it's one of the oldest known cocktails. http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/ Mon Jun 08 20:10:14 -0700 2009 4754054 10143 MC Slim JB 1 4755969 I agree with that the others have said- that's steep. I had a couple drinks at the new mixological emporium at the W downtown in Atlanta the other night. They chip the ice off a block to make your drink. And if you order a single-ingredient rocks drink, they take a big hunk of ice and put it in a mold that makes it into a perfect sphere. All homemade mixers and high-end stuff. And that was only $12 or $13. So, maybe if you are putting in a rye that's well north of $50/bottle (ri, Thomas Handy, Michter's). But you better be proudly proclaiming that to justify that price. Tue Jun 09 07:26:19 -0700 2009 4754054 12626 ted 1 4764563 A giraffe will walk into your bar and order a sazerac. When he pays the bill you'll say "We don't get many giraffes in here" and he'll say "At $17 for a Sazerac I should think not. If your drinks were cheaper I'd tell the other customers to drink up, the high balls are on me". Thu Jun 11 15:19:25 -0700 2009 4754054 59865 texascarl 1 4764854 If the atmosphere is not the best and the bartendrix not the most skilled, it is an outrageous price. You'd probably need financing to get a Pousse-cafe there, if she knows what that is. There's something surreptitious about not posting prices and would lead me to suspect I'm going to get an over-inflated bill anyway. I have NO reservations about asking for a price list or leaving if they won't provide one. Are you at least allowed to discuss drink prices with the customers or does the boss zip your lip until he can extort all he can? Thu Jun 11 16:59:28 -0700 2009 4754054 138009 Chefpaulo 1 4764957 Hmmm, looks like this got moved from the New Orleans board. Any chance you see a lot of tourists? Thu Jun 11 17:34:06 -0700 2009 4754054 58743 alanbarnes 2 4766271 Did not get moved, she originally posted in both places, it's still on the NOLA board, just further down the page. I'd have trouble paying $17 for one even in New York, they just are not that expensive to make. Fri Jun 12 07:43:51 -0700 2009 4764957 154901 roro1831 1 4766035 i don't care if the waitress is naked and the drink served in a glass made of gold, $17 is outrageous. Fri Jun 12 06:40:05 -0700 2009 4754054 60603 TroyTempest 1 4770747 I live in LA and went to westside tavern - one of the best made sazeracs I've had for $9 I had a sazerac also at the Edison - that was $15. I think the Varnish charges about $15 also... Sat Jun 13 20:44:13 -0700 2009 4754054 1083314 travelingmansoul 2 4775391 . . . . except at Edison and Varnish a bunch of that is going to amortize the fancy/"nostalgic" ambiance and build-out. Mon Jun 15 15:40:41 -0700 2009 4770747 11398 silverlakebodhisattva 2 4914487 Wow, $9! That's dirt cheap; I wonder what they used booze-wise to compose your drink. I've had a sazeracs at 2 bars in Los Angeles. The Edison's version was pretty good, but the one at Comme Ca was even better. However, Comme Ca charged $21 bucks for it, but they did make it with premium booze; I don't know what Edison used. Still, $21 for a drink is absurd. Mon Aug 03 16:10:26 -0700 2009 4770747 74451 vinosnob 3 4914764 I had a great sazerac at Comme Ça as well, but I am pretty sure it was around $15 and not $21 (I would not order a $21 cocktail). Maybe they mis-charged you or have raised prices since I last went. Mon Aug 03 18:02:41 -0700 2009 4914487 51760 joshekg 4 4916406 I had the drink there not long after they opened and I know what I paid. Perhaps the ingredients in mine differed from yours. Tue Aug 04 10:04:18 -0700 2009 4914764 74451 vinosnob 1 4911858 I think pretty much everyone here would agree, based on the information given, that that price is ridiculous. It's possible that more information - a different side to the story - would change that opinion but not likely. Ouch. Sleaziness finds its own rewards. Sun Aug 02 19:11:55 -0700 2009 4754054 68210 andytee 2 4913790 My mama taught me never to order anything without knowing its price, or at least having a pretty good idea what it was. Bars will charge whatever patrons will pay, at least until we have socialized bartending.... Mon Aug 03 12:32:42 -0700 2009 4911858 11398 silverlakebodhisattva