In a viral video, TikToker Vanessa Cervantes Martinez (@la_guerita.20) caught her bartender adding only one shot to her drink despite her ordering a double shot.
Martinez begins the video by sharing: “When you ask the bartender guy to make your drink with a double shot but he noticed it’s your 5th drink.” As she says this, Martinez records the bartender as he makes her drinks.
He places a large cup of ice on the bar. He pours the first shot of clear liquor, which is hefty and overflowing. A smirk emerges on his face, and he quickly looks at her. Then he begins to pour the second shot. Barley anything comes out of the bottle of liquor. The second shot is nonexistent.
In the caption of the video she adds, “He didn’t understand the assignment.” The video has over 897,000 views and hundreds of comments, sparking much discourse.
Many viewers disagreed with Martinez, arguing that the bartender did “understand the assignment” by not giving her an additional shot. They assumed he did this because she was visibly drunk.
@la_guerita.20 He dkdnt underatand the assignment 😭😭😭💀💀💀#fypage #bartender #fail ♬ Como Quisiera – Los Canelos De Durango
“He secretly did you a favor babe,” one viewer shared. Another added, “He understood the assignment in my book.” Martinez responded, “He really did cause the next day it was bad.”
Others chimed in with personal experiences and anecdotes. “I used to bar-tend weddings and sometimes the bride didn’t want the guests to get too drunk,” one shared.
However, some viewers felt if Martinez paid for the double shot, she should receive it. “This is good if it’s an open bar but not if you’re paying for a double,” one viewer commented. Another added, “No because did you pay!?! Run sis her shot!!”
Do bartenders have a responsibility to cut drunk patrons off?
The discourse around the responsibilities of bartenders cutting off drunk patrons is not just limited to the comments of Martinez’s viral video. There are many bartender Reddit threads grappling with the question: “When and why do you cut people off?”
In the state of California, where Martinez is based, the answer to the question legally is pretty straightforward. According to the Alexander Law Group, “In California, the law is clear that a third party cannot be civilly liable for continuing to serve an over-intoxicated person, even if that person later drives drunk.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Vanessa Cervantes Martinez via TikTok.
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