The OP is the funniest thing I’ve read all day. 
Thanks for cheering me up, I needed it.
And tasty, from what I hear.
Mine’s already been said, too. I guess you can call me Snooty Snooterson, cause that’s disgusting (What he did).
I think my wife summed it up nicely.
If he’s that cheap, he shouldn’t be throwing the party.
Seriously, how much money could he have saved in the long run? $100? Maybe?
Chincy Mo Fo if you ask me. That maneuver tells a LOT about his character; and it’s not a flaw in the booze, it’s a flaw in his PERSONALITY. Even if you told everyone about the scam it won’t stop the ickyness factor that this guy has. I like the Herb Tarleck reference above; the guy is like the used car salesman that’s only interested in the sale, and doesn’t care that about his reputation. People are just conquests to him, one bullshit job at a time.
What an ASS.
I prefer to call you Snooty McSnooterson, Bricker. The Mc makes all the difference.
I’m with you. The switching is not just dickish; it’s the behavior of a diseased mind. I would have to be a very different person to even consider this sort of behavior, and I’m glad I’m not that person.
I’m a sales and marketing manager and I would fire any of my staff that did something like that to a customer. There are bad sales people out there, like there are bad attorneys and bad programs, but you won’t win any points by slamming a profession for the bad apples.
Yes, exactly. It’s about patterns of behavior, really.
Agreed, but that is why this was my follow up post:
If you don’t know Herb Tarlek, I could understand the offense you took, if you do know Herb, then please let me have my joke in peace, especially as it turns out the guy was in marketing.
Jim
Tee hee.
Yeah, but is this guy a retail dealer, agent or employee of such a dealer? If he is some regular Joe with alcohol at his house, I somehow think he doesn’t qualify.
Oh, I can. Maybe not 12yo and 20yo version of the same single-malt, but Cutty from Glenfiddich? Sure. But I couldn’t tell modestly priced brandy (Presidente) from first rate cognac in a mixed drink either. Well, maybe if you had two identical drinks except for the brandy in front of me and told me one was Martel and the other was Christian Bros. Maybe.
Using expensive name brand booze in most mixed drinks is usually a waste of $$. Do not get the cheapo crap either mind you, I mean Smirnoff instead of Grey Goose, not Plain Wrap Generic.
Incidentally, Presidente is a good brandy for this. Not too expensive for mixed drinks, yet good enough to drink straight. French Cognacs are overpriced, IMHO.
Oh, I’m not doubting that you can - just that after the third one, it all tastes the same to me. I’m a bottom shelf kind of guy in my booze.
I’m just hoping that, if someone tried the switch described in the OP on me, and said, “pretty high class stuff, eh?”, I would respond “heck, I can’t tell twelve-year-old stuff from Old Overshoes on my best days - I’m a cheap date!” and saved face.
Regards,
Shodan
El Cid was responding to the reports from Barbarian of bars and restaurants that swap in cheap booze, not to the OP.
The OPs a lawyer, right? So his co-worker must also be, presumably.
Bricker, I would mention him to the ethics committee of your state bar association! It’s an outrage.
OK, maybe that’s a little over the top. But still: Truth in serving drinks to guests should be the same as truth in selling them at a bar.
That’s easy, once you know exactly how much Listerine to add. 
Pretty much sums up my thoughts. If the guy is gonna do something like this, you know this isn’t the only respect in which he is hinky.
So how big a price difference is there between Cutty and Glenfiddich? Was this guy saving some big bucks or a piddling $20-$30?
The latter.
From what I’ve been told by my army of friends who still work in the bar/restaurant scene in Chicago that this is not as uncommon as people would think. Most of the high end vodka has been replaced in the original bottle with Smirnoff. You only ever get the real thing if you order it straight up, since most people couldn’t tell the difference between one or the other in a mixed drink. Sometimes they even pour the cheap crap as shots and if someone points it out they just apologize and say that the bartender must have mixed up the bottles.
They say the only way to be 100% certain you’re getting the right booze is to get bottle service, but at $300 a pop that’s a bit silly.