# What non-alcoholic drink do non-drinkers order in bars? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 22, 2006, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-alcoholic-drink-do-non-drinkers-order-in-bars/365553 "2006-07-22T00:41:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2006, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-alcoholic-drink-do-non-drinkers-order-in-bars/365553/41 "2006-07-22T14:12:29Z")
> [@Nic2004](#): > > You would think. But drunks can be so clever. If it looks like something that could just be a soda, they’ll ask. If it looks like a mixed drink, not so much. > [@Nic2004](#): > > I had always heard that if you’ve been a First-Class Ass to the bartender make sure they don’t put a couple of drops of Murine Eye Drops in your drink as it would cause sever diarrhea. Have you actually ever been in a bar? ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2006, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-alcoholic-drink-do-non-drinkers-order-in-bars/365553/42 "2006-07-22T14:13:20Z")
> [@Laughing Lagomorph](#): > > [Linky.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=302800) > > I think it all started in this thread: > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=302338&page=1&pp=50](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=302338&page=1&pp=50) > > This topic recently came up in the thread about innocuous subjects that spawned bile-drenched flamefests. Obviously Shagnasty never saw Clockwork Orange. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2006, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-alcoholic-drink-do-non-drinkers-order-in-bars/365553/43 "2006-07-22T14:18:10Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Then I read somewhere (probably a thread here) that if you order ginger ale in bars they cheat and give you watered down coke. If they don’t have ginger ale on tap, they will give you Sprite with a splash of Coke in it. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2006, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-alcoholic-drink-do-non-drinkers-order-in-bars/365553/44 "2006-07-22T19:40:34Z")
Cranberry & soda, or coffee, or club soda with a lime. Or whatever I feel like. ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2006, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-alcoholic-drink-do-non-drinkers-order-in-bars/365553/45 "2006-07-22T19:48:43Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Have you actually ever been in a bar? Many, many bars where many others would hesitate to venture and many regretted having gone. Why. You quoted me out of context were I said the Murine was not true but I have heard it from bartenders and waitress’ for years. If you have a point, make it. ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2006, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-alcoholic-drink-do-non-drinkers-order-in-bars/365553/46 "2006-07-22T19:56:52Z")
> [@fetus](#): > > Why? (Other than it’s a pretty silly thing to drink in a bar, that is.) > > Are you legally mandated as an undercover agent to tell them the truth? If they move their nose over your drink to sniff it, you have license to punch them in the face IMO as they’re risking biological contamination of your drink. Or you could, you know, not go to a bar. If you’re not going to drink, can I have your legally mandated ability to go there? I’m not certain of your meaning but I don’t think anyone has ever confused me with any form of “undercover agent”. I often go to certain bars because that is were large numbers of old friends can be found. I no longer drink to any appreciable amount, especially if riding or driving. But if you need it, you can have some of my “mandated ability to go there.” As to “tell them the truth” yeah, I do, and fuck 'em if they don’t like it but I’d just as soon avoid the hassel if possible. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-alcoholic-drink-do-non-drinkers-order-in-bars/365553/47 "2006-07-22T20:09:07Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > If they don’t have ginger ale on tap, they will give you Sprite with a splash of Coke in it. If they don’t have ginger ale, but didn’t tell me and just gave me Sprite with a splash of Coke, I’d be fucking pissed. Tell me you don’t have ginger ale, but don’t give me something else I didn’t order, dammit! I usually ask for ginger ale, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2006, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-alcoholic-drink-do-non-drinkers-order-in-bars/365553/48 "2006-07-22T20:11:44Z")
Just remember. If you order a mixed vigin drink, you should still tip as if it was normal. It’s kind of rude to make them spend five minutes making something, and them tip based on the fact without alchohol it only costs a buck. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2006, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-alcoholic-drink-do-non-drinkers-order-in-bars/365553/49 "2006-07-22T20:32:45Z")
On the rare occasion I find myself in a drinking situation, if it’s somewhat upscale, I’ll ask the bartender if he can make a Shirley Temple (and yes, I do order it by name). On the even rarer occasion that it’s just some shady hole-in-the-wall bar, where most folks are just drinking whatever beer is cheapest, a cola (mixed drinks seem somewhat out of place, in such an establishment). And I’d always understood a Shirley Temple to be made with ginger ale, not lemon-lime, and about half the Google results seem to agree with me. But, of course, as others have lamented, many bars don’t have ginger ale. Everyone agrees on the grenadine, but grenadine is what most folks think cherry tastes like, anyway, and there’s usually a maraschino cherry garnishing the drink. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2006, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-alcoholic-drink-do-non-drinkers-order-in-bars/365553/50 "2006-07-22T21:14:48Z")
Diet Coke with a slice of lemon. Upon occasion, I’ll get a virgin Pina Colada. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2006, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-alcoholic-drink-do-non-drinkers-order-in-bars/365553/51 "2006-07-22T21:17:52Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Just remember. If you order a mixed vigin drink, you should still tip as if it was normal. It’s kind of rude to make them spend five minutes making something, and them tip based on the fact without alchohol it only costs a buck. Wow, what bars do you go to where _anything_ only costs a buck? 😃 Seriously, a virgin drink will probably only cost about $1 _less_ than a normal, assuming it’s just a drink that just uses well alcohol and only one or two of them, and not something real simple like a rum and coke or screwdriver, since a virgin of those is just OJ and coke, respectively (though a soda in a bar still costs like $2 for 1/4 the amount you get in a restaurant where it’s $1.50 with unlimited refils.) But since a virgin daquir takes almost as much work for the bartender, and still uses lots of ingredients, they will probably only knock off a buck or two for a virgin, still costing you like $5 or $6 (daquris tend to be the more expensive mixed drinks at $7-$9 at an average bar, in my experience.) And yeah, tip them as normal for a complex virgin drink (which tends to be $1 for a drink.) But just for a soda, I say don’t tip unless you get a lot of them, and even then I would just tip like $1 for every three or four. That’s just me, though. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2006, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-alcoholic-drink-do-non-drinkers-order-in-bars/365553/52 "2006-07-23T02:51:29Z")
Pepsi or lemonade, depending on whether I want to be caffeinated or not. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2006, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-alcoholic-drink-do-non-drinkers-order-in-bars/365553/53 "2006-07-23T12:35:30Z")
> [@fetus](#): > > If you’re not going to drink, can I have your legally mandated ability to go there? We don’t take kindly to your kind in bars. Unborn children should be at home, in the womb. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2006, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-alcoholic-drink-do-non-drinkers-order-in-bars/365553/54 "2006-07-23T18:33:28Z")
Come and see the violence inherent in the system! I’m being repressed! ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2006, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-alcoholic-drink-do-non-drinkers-order-in-bars/365553/55 "2006-07-23T18:53:49Z")
On Friday, I went to a bar for the first time in about 20 years. A real, authentic, dyed-in-the-wool blues joint in the middle of nowhere. They had beer, or Coke. I had Coke. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2006, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-alcoholic-drink-do-non-drinkers-order-in-bars/365553/56 "2006-07-24T14:29:09Z")
> [@SnakesCatLady](#): > > A Virgin Mary is good - a Bloody Mary without the vodka. That’s a favorite of mine (in fact I prefer it to a real one). Also virgin daiquiri or virgin pina colada (sorry, don’t know how to make that squiggly thing on top of the ‘n’). I’ve occasionally caught the bartender / waitperson in an “oops” when they’ve sent a standard drink vs. the virgin variety. Since my nondrinking is usually by choice rather than necessity (medically mandated, recovering alcoholic, religious choice or whatever) it’s no huge deal for me to get a sip of booze by mistake, however it’s rather annoying. **Typo Knig** has been known to order tonic+lime. I’ve occasionally swigged that by mistake and blech!! ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2006, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-alcoholic-drink-do-non-drinkers-order-in-bars/365553/57 "2006-07-24T14:41:11Z")
A bar that doesn’t have ginger ale is unprepared to offer a Jack & Ginger, and should thus be fled immediately, on principle, whether you’re drinking or not. ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2006, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-alcoholic-drink-do-non-drinkers-order-in-bars/365553/58 "2006-07-24T16:26:45Z")
I order **Red Bull**. If I’m the designated driver, that will definitely keep me awake. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2006, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-alcoholic-drink-do-non-drinkers-order-in-bars/365553/59 "2006-07-24T16:34:05Z")
If I am not “drinking”, I order vodka/tonic but do not ingest it. I’m not really sure _why_ I do that, but that’s what I do! Sometimes it works out because my mood changes and, why look, it’s a drink! ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2006, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-alcoholic-drink-do-non-drinkers-order-in-bars/365553/60 "2006-07-24T16:34:49Z")
> [@Nic2004](#): > > You quoted me out of context were I said the Murine was not true but I have heard it from bartenders and waitress’ for years. Hell, I’ve been threatened with Visine in the drink, myself. Ah, I miss the Red Room, I gotta get back to Santa Cruz. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-alcoholic-drink-do-non-drinkers-order-in-bars/365553.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-non-alcoholic-drink-do-non-drinkers-order-in-bars/365553.md?page=4)