I love scotch. And when I order one, I always get somewhat annoyed by the pleb bartender who asks me if I want it with ice. Doesn’t he know that a fine single-malt should never be served with scotch, or watered down, unless with a mere thimbleful of spring water from the very locale in which the whiskey was distilled?

But according to this article over at USA Today, my own anal-retentive pretentiousness is chargeable by up to a buck. There is a mounting tendency amongst bartenders, restaurants and airlines to charge an extra dollar for drinks without ice, because “there’s more liquor in it.”

Which is, of course, bullshit. Bartenders have largely become so pedantic about sloshing liquor into your glass that they have precise measuring cups behind the counter. If it’s an issue of the aesthetics of ‘filling’ the glass, you simply keep smaller glasses behind the counter. What’s most absurd is they are charging the $1 no-ice surcharge against drinks that aren’t even supposed to have ice in them, like martinis (and, I’d argue to the bloody death, scotch!)

I like Patricia Dailey, editor in chief of Restaurants & Institutions: “A drink’s a drink. Control your glass size.”

The $1 ‘straight up’ charge has drinkers all stirred up (Thanks, Upgrade Travel!)

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.