Cheap Hooch in Fancy Bottles?

Selling one type of booze labeled as another is obviously bad. But what's objectionable about them buying from grocery stores instead of wholesalers?

Booze at Walgreens is actually cheaper than what the bars are required to buy from the distributors, or so I've heard. By "buy" I'm referring to a transaction where money changes hands. I think I'm going to stop drinking and just walk around naked. Who's with me?

OK Weezy, What the hell does the type of person have anything to do with a barowner cheating it's customers? Seeing how a dumbass cannot tell the diference between swilling beer and actually drinking a mix drink I'll explain it to you. Vodka is almost impossible to tell apart. I can only tell the difference if one is a potato or a grain vodka and that is if they are side by side. Mix it with anything at all and thats it - one can't tell the difference. Chances are that what was going on. Also seeing as you have probably only passed the Martini on the way up to the Castle booths you would have seen that it wasn't a "yuppie" bar (a species long extinct).

Saying that I think that Brian is a major prick for doing that to his loyal customers and he deserves everything that's coming to him.

to repair the Martini Grill's refrigeration and bar equipment (and you're damn right I passed it on my way to the Castle Megastore). If I offended you then you must be that guy I'm taking about. I'm really, really sorry buddy.

Thanks Nick and EatTheRich. If that prohibition is about protecting wholesalers' market, then it needs to get repealed. But if it's to keep bars from cheating their customers, then maybe the law is tolerable.

Hmm. Funny that we're treating booze fraud as a special case, though. I think there are lots of businesses where the provenance of the merchandise isn't tracked by the government, and the buyer just has to beware. Does everyone else need to be regulated tighter, or is booze too tightly regulated?

Any bar that would cheat it's patrons by putting cheap alcohol or *gulp* water into expensive alcohol bottles is committing fraud. A top shelf drink can go for up to and sometimes twice the cost of a well made drink. That is the equivalent of selling a Smith's choice cut ribeye steak (average at best) but saying it was a Kobe ribeye steak (the best steak that $$$ can buy). Just because the individual sale fraud at Martini Grill was around $2-$4, doesn't make it any less fraudulent. They need to be shut down.

Now, to answer EatTheRich, The real reason alcohol is sold by a wholesaler to bars:

All alcohol selling establishments from bars and restaurants to grocery stores buy their beer, wine, and alcohol from a wholesale distributor. That wholesale distributor is licensed to sell said items in the state of New Mexico by the state government for a few reasons.

1. to control and calculate the amount of alcohol sold in the state of NM.

-helps prevent bootlegging.

2. to control that only legally licensed businesses are being sold alcohol in the state of NM.

-prevents primarily non-licensed bars and corner stores getting a hold of cheaper alcohol, thus cutting down the occurrences of speakeasy's.

3. to maintain that any legally licensed business that sells alcohol not be more than 30 days behind in payment to a wholesaler. If said business is more than 30 days behind in paying their debt to an alcohol wholesaler, their credit shall be terminated and delivery of any alcohol shall cease until the debt is paid in full.

- many grocery store chains have a problem with this because their bills are paid by a corporate office located in another state which pays their bills on a 45 day plan.

- many wholesalers used to let bars buy from them with cash if they got past that 30 day grace period, but most won't do that anymore.

All of this and more can be found in The Liquor Control Act which is administered by New Mexico Alcohol & Gaming. The website for all laws pertaining to alcohol sales are at [link]

Please remember most of these laws were written right after Prohibition ended in 1933. There have been some tweaks to the laws here and there throughout the years, but they are basically the same as they were in 1933.

I think #3 in my list above may shed some light on why Martini Grill was buying alcohol from grocery stores even though it cost more and putting cheap liquor in expensive bottles. Grey Goose is outrageously expensive at Smith's or Walgreen's (around $35 for 750ml bottle) and that cuts into the profit margin. They would have had to charge $11.50 or more for a Grey Goose martini if the liquor was bought at a retailer instead of a wholesaler. (There are about 25 shots in a G.G. bttl., martini's have 2 shots, that's about 12 martini's per bttl., each bttl. must bring in 4x it's cost) They were probably in debt up to their ears to one or more wholesalers that refused to sell to them until their debt was payed in full.

Nick Brown, alcohol is definitely cheaper from a wholesaler than from the grocery store or bar! Where do you think the grocery store gets the alcohol? You don't think they sell it without trying to make a profit do you? The main wholesalers in New Mexico as I remember are: National, Southern (Wine & Spirits), Budweiser, Coors (Maloof), and a few smaller companies that come and go.

Now, Weezy and I agree on one thing. Leonard would never cheat me at his bar by serving me rot gut and disguising it as top shelf. Furthermore, Sabrina, his ever wonderful bartenderess, would NEVER EVER EVER put Old Crow in the Maker's Mark bottle. Too many of us who drink at Atomic Cantina would riot because we, unlike the snobs who drink at Martini Grill, CAN tell the difference when it comes to our liquor! Oh, and NEVER try to pass of cheap gin as Tanqueray 10. I can tell from the smell alone. Jessica dear you can have the night train. You deserve it if you can't tell the difference.

Cheers & bottoms up! I'll be at Atomic Cantina with my can of PBR and shot of Maker's Mark...unless you have a better suggestion and are buying. :)

janekounty...that is to serve you that many drinks in one hour.

Seems to me that the last time I was in M.G., which was a few years back also, we had a similar problem. We ordered well lemon drops and got well lemon drops, but were charged for tuaca lemon drops. I definitely know the difference between regular lemon drops and tuaca lemon drops as do my friends. We also argued and had to pay. We were less than gracious when we left and did loudly pledge to never enter M.G. again.

Thus the recent turn of events at M.G. were not that surprising.

Boycott Martini Grill! Pass it On!

Dear OutaCigs,

I didn't gather my info regarding liquor sales off the net, with the exception of the one link I posted to support my statements and feed anyones further curiosity. I actually got my info from working for over 17 years in the bar business of which 5 years was in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The other 12 years were in Boston, Dallas, and Los Angeles. My last industry job was being a bar manager where I actually did all the ordering from those wholesalers and cut them their weekly checks.

The message I left about Self Serve was intended to be a short pleasant helpful message to suggest another store other than Castle for adult shopping needs, unlike the one you just posted. I got the feeling from your posting that...well, you are upset (and possibly need a smoke to calm your nerves...I know that works for me). Dude, this is just a friendly forum to share info and ideas where gentle ribbing is indulged. :)

Lastly, what does any of your posting have to do with this current thread about Martini Grill defrauding the public? I would like to hear about your past experiences at Martini Grill and your opinion on their business practices.

Boycott Martini Grill! Pass it on!

Thats the nature of the Net eh Mellymel. People try to read into or sense how a post "sounds" rather than just read it.

For the sake of the threads continuity, I've never had an issue at MG's. But I'm not one to sit around and have more than one or two drinks in any one place. After 12 years in the F & B biz myself 1. I'm no longer a drinker and 2. I've always thought I was being courteous to a Bartender because I wasn't threatening their server's or liquor license by giving them cause to have to watch how many drinks I've had, determine my level of sobriety and have to bounce me out or pay for my cab ride home.

Secondly, I hijacked your post (hence the title HIJACK!!!), which is similar to what you did by bringing up Self Serve while referencing the post about Castle bookstore, because I think it's bad netiquette to drop a bomb like cancerous dildos in a thread about Martini Grille with out at least providing some explanation that may or may not be as lengthy as your well informed post about liquor laws in NM.

I have no idea nor a way to prove how you know what you know but I do know that posting things like cancer causing dildos without and explanation can lead to fear. And as Yoda says: " Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, Anger leads to Hatred and Hatred leads to Suffering.

...and understood. I unintentionally opened the door. Let's close it. :)

Hmmm....now I am craving an old fashioned....yumm!

I wonder if M.G. is open tonight. I might like to go in there in zombie attire after the zombie crawl in Nob Hill. Mind you, I am not thinking of purchasing anything, just walking in as a zombie w/ zombie friends for a couple for minutes. THAT could be festive fun. Anyone in?

What does a zombies drink? Mind erasures.

No offence intended... I get grumpy with the backpain and running out of vicodans.

I do agree with a boycott of the Martini Grill... I had a White Russian that for sure was not Kalula out of the bottle recently. I would say that one could get a pretty good price on a firesale at the place as it is gone for sure.

However I get conflicted in that I made it a habit to got out every other wednesday at Martini Grill to see Vanilla Pop. Alan and Lester do not deserve to get caught up and suffer from some cheating asshole's troubles.

The cancerous dildos is another thing alltogether. I definately apologize for bringing anything up that leads to a discussion or rant about them.

As for metrosexual - I am more donutsexual. Thats a guy with long hair that cares more about having a good jelly donut then giving a shit about how his eyebrows look.

Let's have six paragraphs from someone about donuts now!