Law Students

Dram Shop Liability (for Lousy Drinks)

By Dr. Bombay

So Mrs. Bombay and I were at a wedding this weekend in Philadelphia, and stopped off for a drink with some friends for a drink. The selected venue was an establishment called The Continental, which holds itself out to be a martini bar. I sat down and ordered a pair of ?Dirty Goose Martini?s, Straight Up.? What I should have received was a Grey Goose Vodka martini, made with olive brine instead of dry vermouth. What I got was a warm glass of vodka, sans brine, which cost me $12. In thinking about it since, I?ve convinced myself that the problem was one of construction. The glass was not chilled prior to pouring in the contents of the shaker, which doomed it.

Now I know some of you are going to think it cowardly for me to slam this restaurant anonymously after the fact, or wondering why I just didn?t send the drink back. I think the answer is that I?m a coward who likes to stew about things. But I?ve also been fascinated by the notion of the drink order as an implied contract, and remedies available to me for a violation thereof.

Growing up in D.C., there was always this story (that I considered apocryphal) about the now defunct Blackie?s House of Beef. On the menu of this legendary steakhouse, it clearly stated ?We do not serve Coca Cola Products.? The story goes that a traveling representative of the company ordered a ?Rum and Coke? but was served a Rum and Pepsi instead. He detected the difference, and the Coca Cola promptly sued Blackie?s, winning a judgment based on the claim that ?Rum and Coke? was a specific combination of products, and that he did not get what he had contracted for in his order.

So my question is, when I order a ?Dirty Goose Martini?s, Straight Up,? have I entered into an express oral contract with specific points of performance? Do I have a cause of action if the drink is lousy? And though not mutually exclusive, is it possible that I?m just a jerk?

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Full post as published by Fight The Hypo on April 07, 2008 (boomark / email).