The Edison: CHECK YOUR BILL!

[Grasshopper2016]

Very interesting discussion. I tended bar in the late 80s and early 90s at three different establishments, ranging from a fancy private club to a dive bar. There was no upcharge for "on the rocks" and no expectation that it would involve a larger pour. I'm pretty sure that I would have gotten fired if I poured extra on the rocks and/or charged more without first clearing it with the customer.

I guess times change. Or maybe practices differ regionally or across different industry segments.

 

[MommaKetch]

I agree; this has been very interesting to hear what others experience elsewhere. I could chalk it up to being regional, but I've also bartended in the Philly area at a family-run restaurant and bar, and we charged for a rocks pour there. In Florida, I bartended in corporate and non-corporate restaurants, an Irish bar, a dive bar, and nightclubs.

So I guess for all of the on-the-rocks drinkers that visit and drink in the WDW area, to avoid an additional charge, you could order it as a shot of Johnnie Walker over ice or with a side of ice. Or inquire if they upcharge for a rocks pour?

 

[DLgal]

The Edison menu VERY clearly indicates that the straight liquors served are 1oz pours.

The ONLY thing that matters is how much alcohol was served to the OP.

I guarantee you they were served a 2 oz "standard rocks pour" and they were lucky it was only a $6 upcharge, given the listed prices for 1oz on the Edison menu.

 

[Lilsia]

Please stop making sense!! LOL

That picture is exactly what I would expect, neat vs. rocks, in a simple classic whiskey glass. I would never in the million years of drinking that my liver has so far survived (JK), expect a glass like that filled to the brim with whiskey and ice. I would not even do that at home. Where are these over pouring bars, I may have to visit one!

And common sense would dictate that if you got double or more whiskey, that it would be more than $6. And they would have labeled it as alcohol or something other than an "ice" on the receipt.

 

[neffernie]

I used to own a bar before covid. Those prices are a straight rip off. Many of their 1 oz pours would pay for the entire bottle wholesale. I understand markup but this is ridiculous.

 

[Moliphino]

The Edison menu VERY clearly indicates that the straight liquors served are 1oz pours.

The ONLY thing that matters is how much alcohol was served to the OP.

I guarantee you they were served a 2 oz "standard rocks pour" and they were lucky it was only a $6 upcharge, given the listed prices for 1oz on the Edison menu.

Only the Reserve List specifies they're each a 1oz pour. The absinthe section has the amount given per item. The rest of the list doesn't specify. They also make no mention of "on the rocks" being more expensive (which I have also never heard of, it's always just meant with ice).

https://www.theedisonfla.com/menu/#spirits-list

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

No it doesn't. I have been here for half a century and "on the rocks" has ALWAYS meant with ice cubes. Not extra liquor. Where have you seen it mean that?

I was a bartender in the ‘70’s and on the rocks meant served with ice. Straight up meant no ice. I would free pour so added more with ice.

 

[Minnie1222]

Only the Reserve List specifies they're each a 1oz pour. The absinthe section has the amount given per item. The rest of the list doesn't specify. They also make no mention of "on the rocks" being more expensive (which I have also never heard of, it's always just meant with ice).

https://www.theedisonfla.com/menu/#spirits-list

I believe the OP ordered a JW from the Reserve List. Since s/he is not coming back to clarify, it's just speculations and deductions from our end.

Agreed the restaurant should put something in writing about the rocks charge, especially since half of the people here have never heard of it.

 

[Moliphino]

I believe the OP ordered a JW from the Reserve List. Since s/he is not coming back to clarify, it's just speculations and deductions from our end.

Agreed the restaurant should put something in writing about the rocks charge, especially since half of the people here have never heard of it.

There is no Johnny Walker on the reserve list.

 

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

Just wish we had a picture of the bill. It would probably settle this.
But the server was useless in the lack of explanation.

In the 70's I worked in a "supper club" that had a dance floor and live music from time to time. A shot was one ounce, a jigger was 1.5. (It was a premeasured cup on each end, the bigger being the jigger.)
"On the rocks" was a jigger. It was more liquor than just a regular drink, like scotch and water would be one ounce. And it cost more, built into the price.
As I recall, we figured if you were drinking scotch and water, order on the rocks, you got 50% more liquor for 25% more money. And get a glass of water and water it down yourself if you still want to. Definitely better buy.
So I am another one used to the "on the rocks" means a bigger pour. not just on ice.
(We also never served in a shot glass---the image is dive bar boilermakers to me, like in movies. For hard drinking men who want to get drunk fast, as the saying goes.)

My sister & I went to a nice bar and she ordered some drink that came with one of those 3 inch cubes of ice that had smoke in it. The drink menu detailed the liquor and ice cube, at one total price. She liked it, and when we left, she asked to put it in a paper cup, to take with. (She travels with a travel bar, and would continue to use it back in the hotel room.)

I personally appreciate OP bringing to our attention. And look what fun we have all had too.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I'm pretty sure that I would have gotten fired if I poured extra on the rocks and/or charged more without first clearing it with the customer.

Exactly why I described this as dishonest. These kinds of things get employees in trouble or they ensure a place has a bad reputation.

 

[Minnie1222]

There is no Johnny Walker on the reserve list.

Correct! I had assumed the 1oz serving is for all liquor listed on the Spirits List, which encompasses the Reserve List.

 

[Kaleidodad]

This is the dumbest thread. “On the rocks” means liquor on just ice and should never mean anything different. Anything more is just upselling by establishments that are probably already overpriced.

 

[DLgal]

This is the dumbest thread. “On the rocks” means liquor on just ice and should never mean anything different. Anything more is just upselling by establishments that are probably already overpriced.

Why is it so hard for people, when presented evidence, to accept that a thing might mean something different than they thought it did My gosh. Is it so hard to admit you might have been wrong about something?

On the rocks, at anything other than a dive bar, means extra alcohol. It always has. Google it.

 

[diser_fam]

Why is it so hard for people, when presented evidence, to accept that a thing might mean something different than they thought it did My gosh. Is it so hard to admit you might have been wrong about something?

On the rocks, at anything other than a dive bar, means extra alcohol. It always has. Google it.

Are you serious? LOL! I did Google it and have seen nothing but "served with ice"

https://mybartender.com/articles/on-the-rocks-meaning/

https://www.thespruceeats.com/tips-for-serving-drinks-on-the-rocks-759946

Just two examples of many when you Google "what does on the rocks mean for a drink". I can post a lot more if you need me to.

Could you post a link to any of your Google hits that says on the rocks means extra alcohol? Not saying I don't believe you, I just can't find it.

 

[diser_fam]

And I do consider myself a veteran of alcohol consumption, and not just at dive bars. On the rocks is served with ice. Rocks = Ice.

 

[DLgal]

Are you serious? LOL! I did Google it and have seen nothing but "served with ice"

https://mybartender.com/articles/on-the-rocks-meaning/

Just one example of many when you Google "what does on the rocks mean for a drink".

LOL

Here is my Google result. Right at the top. You have to ask Google the question you actually want the answer to.

 

[diser_fam]

Your references above also say a "neat" pour is 2 oz. Is there a $6 upcharge for a neat pour? The OP ordered straight JW, nothing else, so it appears it should be a 2 oz. pour whether it was with or without ice.

What Is a Standard Rocks Pour?​

When liquor is ordered neat or on the rocks, it’s a 2-ounce pour.

This is for two reasons. The first is that the liquor is the only liquid in the glass, so you get a little more of it. To avoid looking like you’re sipping on a shot. The second is that neat and rocks drinks tend to be for top-shelf liquors that people savor. The experience is more about enjoying the liquor than enjoying a mix that masks it. A bartender right out of bartending school should be a maser in this simple pour.

 

[gmi3804]

Funny how some people’s only basis of knowledge is Google. Makes you wonder if/what/how they ever knew anything before that.

 

[Grasshopper2016]

Why is it so hard for people, when presented evidence, to accept that a thing might mean something different than they thought it did My gosh. Is it so hard to admit you might have been wrong about something?

On the rocks, at anything other than a dive bar, means extra alcohol. It always has. Google it.

Pot. Kettle. Black.

As should be obvious from five pages of discussion, "on the rocks" can mean different things to different people. Especially at different times and in different places.

As I posted earlier in the thread, I tended bar for several yeas more than 30 years ago. One of the bars I worked at was a very expensive club. "On the rocks" did not mean extra alcohol at that time and in that place. (Or at the other bars I worked at.)

My sense from this thread, and from the Google poking around that it inspired, is that "on the rocks" traditionally referred only to a pour over ice. There was no expectation of extra alcohol or higher prices. But many bartenders tended to pour more over the rocks to make the drink look more full. (At the bars I worked at, we were supposed to measure 1 1/2 ounces with a jigger--whether it was for for rocks, up, neat, or cocktails--but we free poured whenever the boss wasn't looking. And I suspect that we did tend to pour a little more on the rocks.)

Over time, many bar owners got wise to this practice and began to charge extra for a rocks pour, with an expectation that it would be larger (and probably a better deal on a per-ounce basis).

Over the last decade or more, this has seemingly become commonplace at many bars and restaurants. But (1) not all bars and restaurants do it, and (2) not all customers are aware of it.