Maybe I just noticed this, but lately I see a lot of people doing it when they step away from their drink.
New? Not new? Is their primary goal to keep someone from spitting in it or dropping a roofy (of course if someone were determined to adulterate your drink, it would not be too hard to circumvent), or is it to let the barkeep/busboy know it’s not a dead drink to keep him from discarding it? I always have the latter fear and hence if I step away, I take the drink with me.
I’ve only seen it since the smoking bans have been enacted. In Chicago, at least, it means “I’m outside having a smoke, don’t clear my drink.”
The latter. It indicates that you aren’t finished with your drink.
Yeah, and it’s not new at all. If you take the drink with you to get up and visit the restroom, it seems a little weird, and somebody will take your stool while you’re gone. The coaster over the glass reserves the barstool as well as keeping the barkeep from taking the drink.
Man, fecal theft now ? This world’s really goin’ down the tubes.
(D&R)
I’ve never seen that before, but it is a great idea. Anybody know how long this has been common practice? I don’t go out much any more.
In Upstate NY it’s been around at least since the smoking ban-2003 it think.
I saw it in San Diego back in 95-ish to reserve seats during a bathroom or smoke (multiple type) break.
Really common in the UK, from what I’ve observed. And yeah, it’s to stop the barman removing your precious pint.
I’ve also seen two straws in an X placed over the glass.
Just this weekend I saw a guy handing out business cards that said something to the effect of “I’m not done with this drink” and had his business name and number on them. They also had a U shaped notch, so you could hang it on the rim of your glass. I thought it was pretty cool.
I remember seeing it back when I was working in bars in the early 80’s. It may not have been as common then as now, since smoking was legal everywhere, but it was used.
Have you moved to a tropical area or started to hang out in outdoor bars? In Cameroon we did that to keep flies out of our drinks.
Coasters on drinks has not been something everyone has done, but it’s been done since I was first going into bars in the late '70s.
In the local pub I frequent, it means I am done, don’t refill the pint. Otherwise the bartender will just keep refilling my pint glass when empty. It’s the frist bar I notcied this pratice. I moved into the town 8 years ago; so they have been doing this long before the smoking ban. Mount Vernon (Westchester) NY; just above NYC.
I know a guy who used to drop his falsies in his drink while he went to the loo or played pool. You could always borrow some if you’ve got all your own teeth?
I’ve seen it ever since I started frequenting pubs in 1999 or earlier. Some beer company even has promotional ‘pint tops’ for the specific purpose.
There was an alkie landlord in my town who, by agreement between the other landlords, wasn’t allowed to drink more than one drink in any given pub. He also didn’t want anyone to know he was a drunk (like we couldn’t tell). So he used to drink half of his drink, drop a beer mat on top of it, then stagger to the next bar. There were 17 pubs in the town and during the day, in most of them, you would find a half-drunk pint on the bar with a mat on the top. “That’s Slush’s pint. Leave it.”
ETA: this was during the mid-80s in the UK.
Given there were 17 pubs in the town, presumably the other landlords’ scheme was to ensure they all shared the business, rather than being born out of any concern over the guy’s alcoholism? 
The RRBC’s coasters actually say “GONE TO PEE” on the bottom.
Here’s one source for the business card.
That’s how the whole “tapas” schtick got started. Some crafty chef devised little snacks to keep flies out of the drinks (ostensibly for the king), and the king liked them so much he kept asking for more.
Most places I’ve been just give you a new pint in a fresh glass. If the place isn’t too busy, the bartender should confirm you want another and pull it for you when you’ve still got an inch or two in the old one.