Your Bartender Is Breaking The Law If They Do This

At greasy spoon diners, you might see wait staff combining ketchup bottles to make sure each table always has a full one — and, no, you don't need to refrigerate ketchup, so this might be part of closing duties. Why, then, is it a big deal if bartenders combine (or "marry") bottles of identical spirits to cut down on the number of containers behind the bar? Believe it or not, marrying liquor bottles is much more serious than marrying ketchup, although both are violations.

In the case of your local bar, however, this practice actually breaks both state and federal laws. 26 U.S. Code §5301 subsection C specifically governs the illegality of refilling bottles of alcohol. Additionally, every U.S. state has laws on the books regarding it. There are a number of reasons why marrying liquor bottles is bad practice. First of all, if a few bottles are recalled and not others, contaminated liquor could be mixed with good stuff. Furthermore, some unscrupulous establishments have historically topped off bottles of their expensive alcohol with lousy product so they can increase profit margins. In the absolute worst cases, you could even be served counterfeit liquor, which can be incredibly dangerous. Experts have ranked the best vodka brands, and, if you order top shelf, you deserve to get what you paid for ... not a mystery glass of liquor that's old, contaminated, or nothing like what you requested.

If marrying liquor bottles is illegal at both the state and federal level, why do so many bar pros not only admit to doing it, but justify the action? On Reddit, multiple threads on the topic devolve into free-for-alls where self-professed bartenders either refuse to believe that combining bottles is illicit, or even ethically wrong; or they claim that it saves space, and it's not a big deal.

"I work at a nice place and we definitely marry like bottles even though it is against the law," one Redditor shrugged. "Pretty sure it is illegal. Also every bar I've ever worked at has done it," another nonchalantly confessed. Meanwhile, on an older thread, one bartender tried to explain the practices of their employer: "If we have 5 [bottles of Grey Goose], that's 3 fewer than we need for the day, so we'll order a case of 6 before the game. At the end of the day we'll have 3 full bottles and 8 half full ones. But only space for 8 bottles. Repeat that with 4 or 5 of our 20 different liquors, you've got a problem with too much liquor and not enough space."

It can be a mistake to ask your bartender to remake a cocktail if you simply don't like it, but, if you see evidence of bottle marrying where you drink, you are well within your rights to notify the authorities. Even though the practice is illegal, there is ample anecdotal evidence that people are out there doing it. It's your money, and maybe even your health, at stake, so go ahead and speak up.