We don't tip at the bar in South Africa, but if sitting at a table with waiter/waitress service then 10% if the drinks service is quick.;)

i will normally tip $1.00 to 2.00 per drink

Normally a dollar or so per drink. Although the amount does vary if I'm doing cash v. CC and if I'm at more of a lounge v. packed bar.

If it's a friend working at one of the bars around campus, I'll tip big and generally end up paying only 20-30% of what the tab should have been :D

obviously $1 a drink is the norm, but there have been some bartenders that have given me free drinks and i'll give 'em about $5 per free drink

Can I ask if this is common to tip at the bar in South Africa? I usually give 2 or 3 Rand. I sometimes see people give a tip and sometimes not.

what about tips on expensive alcohol?

(fine wine @ restaurants)

(bottles @ nightclubs)

$1 drink is a good place to start. If I am in a fancy place, I usually leave $3-4 for 2 drinks.

Same as everyone else... 1$ per beer. If the bartender under-pours, I will usually tell him/her "go easy on the head". If he/she keeps doing it... The tip may disappear. And likewise, if I get a beer or two on the house, his/her tip goes up.

I've had a bad run of under-pours in the outskirts of Chicago. Some brewpubs even charge for a taste of beer (free tastes are common in brewpubs). That's really bad form. I've also found quite a few places that sell 14 oz "pints", and have the b*lls of putting 1" of head on top of the beer.

Makes me wish the US had the same rules as in the UK for measured pours!

JP

They charge for tastes of beer?!? :eek: Even at most non-brewpubs, I'll get tastes without charge!

$ 1 - 2 if I am paying for drinks individually, 18% if I am running a tab.

At my regular places with bartenders I know, they get better tips because they know how I like my drinks, and some of those drinks don't get charged to my tab.
If I think I might make a place a regular spot, then I give the bartender a good tip and make sure they remember me. This worked great in Spain several years back when in spent 6 months there, and most nights I drank free but tipped the bartender.

Usually when I go somewhere just for a drink, it is non-alcoholic. More or less like a Starbucks environment. Hence no need for me to tip.

I normally tip a $1 to $2 unless I'm at my homebar then it often goes way up because I don't get charge for many of my drinks.

I do $1 a drink. I can't really justify more than that for the $9 airport martini that's half the size of what it oughta be.

Usual restaurant tipping
 

My buddie is a bartender at Tortilla Flats in Soquel and he tells me that 1 dollar per drink is sufficient. But it all comes down to your preference. Some tip more, and others tip less, some tip none at all. Go to www.tipping.org