Chicagoans, bartenders, barflies, lend me your ears . . .

I work in a Chicago bar that is frequented by Irish and British folks (it’s owned by two Liverpudlians, an Irishman and his American wife). “Tipped out” would only be used in the context of tipping out the bus, wait, or door staff.

The usual etiquette is to place a coaster on top of your drink if you are going out for a smoke. If I was in that situation I would have said “Sorry, I thought you were gone, here’s another pint” Most bars are good about that sort of thing and a high class bar would do it without a second thought. That’s assuming the guy dsoesn’t storm into the bar and cuss out the bartender for stealing his beer.

Another Chicago bartender here and I concur with the consensus. :slight_smile:

If the bartender is trying to be especially proper or courteous, which might be expected at a 5-star hotel when dealing with a guest who looks like an executive for something, a more appropriate wording would be: "Sorry Sir, I threw it out."

If he’s taking a more casual approach, if the customer and bartender are similar in age or if the customer appears to be the unpretentious type, he’d probably say: "Sorry man, I just pitched it."

There you are.