Bartender reveals secret hack for dealing with customers who’ve had enough to drink

It’s a common question: why do bartenders keep serving people who are clearly mashed out of their heads?

The answer is generally that those over-boozed punters are adults making their own choices within the limits of the law.

If they get so smashed that they go outside and start a fight, it’s on them, not the bar staff who served them.

That sense of accountability does occasionally slip over to the bartender’s side, as it turns out, with one in the US admitting to diluting drinks for those he deems to be over their limit.

The bartender's hack involves pretending to pour booze, but actually serving a soft drink (TikTok/@benjispears)

American mixologist Ben Smith, known as @benjispears on TikTok, posted a video explaining his tactic for handling those who either can’t hold their liquor or have otherwise found themselves overencumbered.

In the clip, Ben performs a scenario that will be all too familiar to anyone who’s pulled a pint: a punter who clearly doesn’t need another drink has just slurred out a fresh order.

"When your drunk bestie is insisting [on] another drink but you know they have to work in the morning," he captioned the video.

"Oh yeah, you're good babe, I got ya," he says before demonstrating his workaround.

He pretends to pour a spirit into the glass, but actually fills with a soft drink or water instead.

Following that, he tops it off with some presumably alcohol-free juice and a generous spritz of lime, finishing it off with a metal straw.

"Alright, honey, a strong one coming right up," he says, completing the deceit. Let’s hope ‘honey’ didn’t pay for the alcohol she wasn’t served.

The clip, shared with Ben’s 1.5 million subscribers and liked 1.2 million times as of March 2025, elicited some varying responses.

"I'm a bartender and do the same sh*t!!! I'm f*cking screaming!" said one fellow hospitality worker.

He makes the drink look like a fancy cocktail, but it's actually alcohol-free (TikTok/@benjispears)

Unsurprisingly, many non-bartenders took umbrage with the method, but even Ben’s fellow barkeeps were divided.

"If I'm paying for a drink and you do this, we're fighting,” said one commenter. “Be up front with your guests, p.s. I'm a bartender."

"I’d be fuming if I found out," said another.

"Question, would you charge for that?" someone asked. Ben replied, "Nope." Let’s hope every other bartender using this method is equipped with the same ethics.

With the payment issue ostensibly cleared up, many more commenters praised Ben’s approach.

"You are a good friend and bartender. Good looking out!" said one.

"You’re a real one," said another.

Another chimed in: "This is actually really great of you!"

What’s your take on Ben taking his customers’ decisions into his own hands?