A Denver, Colorado-based bartender shared a PSA about “well drinks” after her patrons had no idea what she was talking about. Her explanation, while straightforward, still ignited a heated debate in her comments section, leading folks to question: What really is a well drink?
Bartender Issues PSA
“A lot of people don’t know what a well drink is,” Gabriella Masseran (@gabriellamasseran) shares in a TikTok, adding that she’s had to repeat herself about 300 times this week. “So I’m here to teach you.”
The bartender then explains how a well drink is a spirit plus a mixer. She points out the vodka, gin, rum, whiskey, and tequila on the rail in front of her. “That’s what you get to pick from,” she says. “And then you get a mixer from the soda gun.”
Masseran demonstrates by adding vodka and soda to a cup of ice. “Well is bottom of the rail, OK?” she explains. “That’s all you get.” She garnishes the drink with a lime and a straw.
Reiterating, Masseran shares what well isn’t: Clase Azul, Tito’s, or Jack Daniel’s. In other words, not the good stuff.
Is She Right?
It didn’t take long for commenters to clock her in the comments, accusing her of being wrong.
“Wrong, well refers to any liquor in the well. So you can get a marg, old fashioned, etc., as a well drink,” one wrote. Masseran replied that well is “bottom of the bottom.”
“I just thought well meant the default (cheapest) liquor. I didn’t know it meant that it’s mixed with fountain drink,” a commenter wrote, leading another to reply, “It doesn’t. She is incorrect. It’s just the cheap ‘house liquor.’”
One pointed out that the confusion could stem from the way different bars operate: “I will say part of the confusion could be well is different everywhere. I managed a place that used Tito’s and Jack as well haha.” Masseran agreed with this comment.
What’s A Well Drink?
So, who was right? Technically, both Masseran and her commenters are correct. Well liquor—which many of her commenters pointed out—refers to the cheapest liquor bartenders keep within reach. A well drink, then, is what happens when you mix that liquor with a mixer.
In other words, the bartender chooses the liquor for you if you don’t specify a brand. Toast penned an article describing what a rail drink was, which is the same as a well drink.
“Rail drinks are simple cocktails made with lower-cost liquor, typically stored in a bartender’s ‘speed rail,’” the article states, citing examples that include rum and Coke, vodka cranberry, and gin and tonic.
It seems not many people are aware of well drinks these days, and Masseran isn’t the only bartender struggling. In a Reddit post on the r/bartenders subreddit, one user asked what the best way to explain to customers what a well drink is.
The top comment explained it succinctly: “You can choose the liquor, but we choose the brand.” Another user shared an even quicker explanation: “Its the cheapest sh-t we have.”
@gabriellamasseran Today is education day so I don’t have to repeat myself #bartender #bartenderlife #denver #bar #denver
How To Order A Well Drink?
One of Masseran’s commenters laid out how one can go about ordering a well drink. “[The customer] says ‘vodka soda.’ Bartender says, What vodka? Customer says, ‘well please.’” Now, if you want something top-shelf, you’d have to say Bacardi and Coke, for example.
BroBible reached out to Masseran via TikTok direct message.