A viral video is sounding the alarm for anyone who trusts their bartender to make a reasonable choice, after two women were charged a shocking $400 for just five mixed cocktails, as reported by BroBible. These two friends learned the hard way that when you tell a bartender you have “no preference” for your liquor, some establishments might take that as an invitation to pour the absolute priciest bottle they have.
Content creator Casie shared the moment right before she and her friend discovered their massive tab. The text overlay on her TikTok video, which has already garnered over 81,000 views, explained the brutal reason for the bill: “They don’t know it yet but they’re about be shocked to find out the restaurant charged $400 for 5 drinks bc we said we had ‘no tequila preference’ and they chose Clase Azul for our MIXED cocktails.”
You can understand why Casie was furious. It’s truly a matter of principle. When you give a bartender permission to choose, you’re certainly not asking them to use the most expensive liquor possible in a sugary cocktail. Casie vented her frustrations later, asking several key questions: why would the bartender choose the most expensive tequila, why put it in a mixed drink instead of serving it neat or on the rocks, and what if they couldn’t have paid that staggering amount?
Clase Azul isn’t just a standard high-end tequila; it’s an ultra-premium, luxury brand
The popular Reposado expression alone can cost well over $150 for a 750-milliliter bottle, putting it among the priciest tequilas you can buy. If you were wondering why it’s so expensive, the brand goes all out on presentation. Each bottle is a hand-painted ceramic decanter, crafted by artisans in Santa María, Mexico, and takes two full weeks to complete. The tequila inside is 100% Blue Weber agave, aged in fine oak barrels, delivering a smooth, sweet experience that fans absolutely love.
This brings us to the biggest problem with the $400 charge: the tequila was used in mixed cocktails. When you buy an ultra-premium spirit, it’s designed to be savored neat or over ice. Expensive liquor is priced that way because of high-quality ingredients and a careful, bespoke distillation process that develops complex flavors. When you combine those developed flavors with ultra-sugary mixers, or bizarre drink orders in worse cases, all that quality and flavor is completely lost.
This whole situation raises serious questions about bar etiquette. Industry experts generally agree that when customers don’t specify a preference, bartenders absolutely should ask clarifying questions, especially if there’s a huge difference in price between the well option and the top-shelf option. Otherwise, the standard operating procedure is to default to the mid-range or “well” liquor.
The general public reaction confirms this standard. Commenters on Casie’s video were quick to jump in with strong opinions. One top comment noted, “This is so weird because I thought it was standard to serve well/house when someone doesn’t have a preference.” Another person, claiming to be in the industry, said they would never pull a stunt like that. The reaction was intense, with one person stating, “If I heard one of my bartenders was pulling that s— I’d fire them, that’s borderline theft with how shady it is.”
The lesson here is simple: while you’d love to trust your bartender, you absolutely have to be direct. If you’re deciding between two liquors, always ask what the cost difference is. If you’re using a mixer, you’re better off specifying a mid-range brand. Otherwise, you might end up paying a small fortune for a drink where you can’t even taste the quality you paid for. Not all bartenders look out for their customers, after all!
Published: Dec 30, 2025 07:30 pm