Drink expert reveals how much you should tip a bartender — but will people actually do it?
If cocktails weren’t already expensive enough, an expert asserts that people should always tip for their alcoholic beverages at the bar.
Kat Kinsman, an executive features editor at Food and Wine, practices tipping two bucks per drink when she goes out, encouraging others to tip their bartenders, who curate a drink that sets the tone for their meal or a long night out.
“I’d [tip] $2 a drink,” Kinsman told WNYC. “I wish we could get rid of tipping altogether and just have people have a livable wage. But we are not there yet.”
It may not help that tipping rules are “constantly changing,” as Kinsman asserts.
A survey conducted in June 2023 revealed that two-thirds of Americans hold a negative view of tipping, and one in three Americans think tipping culture is out of control.
Kinsman’s tip suggestion could add fire to an already controversial debate around tipping as she believes the tipping policy can apply to takeout drinks.
“You should tip, even if you pick up your order, because it’s for the back of the house because outgoing orders disrupt service,” she added.
Meanwhile, some people have already left their tipping etiquette in 2023 and have no plans to add an extra dollar or even a dime to their receipts.
“I’m not tipping in 2024, and I’m not gonna feel guilty about it,” said Justice, a Chicago-based content creator.
In a viral TikTok clip, Justice explained she won’t be tipping for drive-through, self-serve, walk-up or to-go food orders — including frozen yogurt places or pretzel stores like Auntie Anne’s.
And she is not alone: Pew Research Center found that barely half of Americans always tip when buying a cocktail. The organization polled 11,945 adults across the country as part of their research on U.S. gratuity culture, saying it “comes at a time when tipping … is undergoing significant structural and technological changes.”
While inflation has heightened the tension with tipping, Kinsman explained why bartenders and workers rely on the extra compensation.
“There is a minimum wage and then there is a tipped minimum wage. Say, for instance, in New York City, there is a $16 minimum wage. The way that actually breaks down, if you are a person who works in certain occupations in food service, only some of that is what you’re guaranteed per hour. The rest of it is basically the employer gets what is called a ‘tip credit’ for it,” she said.
Kinsman suggests tipping in cash to make the transaction easier.
“It cannot hurt to have cash on you,” Kinsman said. “I’ve tried to default to that and get in the habit of having smaller bills on me.
“You’re never going to feel bad about having tipped.”
