With the holidays season in full swing that means meeting friends and coworkers out and about for the occasional cocktail (If you want holiday drinks at home, click here if you just want good cocktails  at home click here ), which brings up the issue of tipping. In the past I have always followed the advice of my dear friend Abby. She was a bartender during graduate school (I know, could she be any cooler?) and her solution is a dollar a drink or 20%, whichever is more. That has always seemed generous, yet fair. I, however, now question this advice after I recently had a cocktail and was flabbergasted that 70% of my drink was an ice cube. When did supersized ice cubes become a thing? It made me ponder some of these questions. How do you tip?

— Was the pour generous, precise or stingy?

— Was their spot at the bar kept clean during their experience?

—Did the guests chat with the bartender or was the interaction solely transactional? If they chatted, did they appreciate the face time or was it intrusive? Based on the interaction, do they ‘like’ the bartender? This is subjective and unquantifiable but important.

— Did they say thank you when they dropped the check? Did they make eye contact? Was the check presented clean?