How much do you tip for drinks only?
 

Drinks meaning alcohol, more than likely ordered from a bar.

I usually tip $1.00 minimum, according to the 10-15% rule, appears to be excessive.

usually $1 but if I see more than a 3 second pour or pouring a bit extra if there is a shot measuring device, I'm inclined to tip more.

if I'm at the bar for awhile (watching a game or something) the tip o meter changes if I'm being taken care of or not.

bartending help put me through college, so I don't think $1 is excessive.

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$1 or $2 per drink.

Same--$1-$2/drink leaning toward $2 if the bartender is generous and makes good martinis!

My bartender is a fine looking lady with all the parts ;), I tend to tip her much higher than that...

1$ per drink unless

bartender is:
1. female
2. attractive
3. friendly
4. pours a generous drink

then i'm inclined to tip more

I was the same way when I lived in SD. Now that I have moved to the land of $2.50 beers (and we're not talking bud, miller or coors) my habits have changed a bit. I have noticed that out this way, not everything ends up on my tab :D:D, so if the same bartender is working when I am in again, I will tip more than usual.

This happens to me way more than it should ^

I should have added that in, about previous experience with bartender. My friend works as a bartender at a cool place downtown and I always tip her quite well. Many things don't end up on my tab but that's as far as I'll go on this family friendly site.^

Typically tip $1/drink - at the start of every year I always tip my local bartender excessively because he helps me get Elite status on Dining Rewards. We've worked out a system where he'll ring me up for twelve $5 drinks at once - I tip him $20 and he rings each drink up separately! ^

Tips
 

Living in the UK I don't tip the server in the pub but will buy them a drink if I'm a regular and get good service.

In the US I do tip because I understand the minimum wage is pathetic and people depend on gratuities (sp?).I would tip at least $2.00 per drink. I have to say that if having more than one or two drinks...very likely!....I often get back in free food & drink what I give the bartender.

With the exception of NYC... I've never had anything for free!

If I'm not running a tab, $1/drink or $2/pitcher if I'm in a bar where I'm not particularly a regular. If I am running a tab with friends, then it's usually a total in the $25+ range, and I'll tip 15%.

When we're at a bar where not everything ends up on our tab, we definitely tip more! Otherwise, it's about $1-$2/drink.

I tend to tip a coupla bucks for the first couple of beers, if I am gonna be at the bar for a while (a game). I will usually split the difference if drinks are not added to my tab for example, 2 4.00 beers don't show up on my tab then I will add 4.00 to the normal tip amount.
Generally I find if you tip well to start you will get some free drinks

Start out around $1/drink. If I keep getting service, it goes up.

Really good bartenders who take care of me throughout the night get 20%+ on my tab.

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

$1 per drink unless there is some reason for more.

Such as? :D

Some tip for better service, some for discretion, some for late drinks, but there is one universal truth for all of us, "Hotties will usually get better tips".

And then there are those of us that live in places where tipping is not the norm, and service is impeccable. At our locals we would answer the OP with, zero.

I do the standard buck a drink, but if the bartender bothers to smile or is friendly, they get extra...

For each of us the "something more" is different. For me it is choosing to serve me when there are mutiple people trying to get drinks at the same time and ....

Does anyone tip at starbucks?

Never! I just treat starbucks like any other fast food outlet without the tipping.

No. They're paid better than a server, and since I typically only order coffee, it's not like my order is difficult.

I agree with a lot of other people in this thread. $1 seems to be a pretty good tip if the service is decent. It's a rare occasion when I've felt the need to leave anything more than that.

I do, because at 7 am when there's a line out the door at my local Starbuck's, my local barista sees me, by the time i'm at the register, my coffee and my ny times are at the counter ready for me to pay and leave.

that is service.