corkage

Post by **sam** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 4:20 pm

Hi everybody, wondering if someone could explain to me the custom of having your own bottle in a bar. I know in some bars/restaurants you can take in a bottle of wine or spirits, some places charge corkage others charge for mixers. In a nightclub in Krabi you bought the bottle of spirits but the ice and mixers were free for the life of the bottle. do any of the bars in Hua Hin have this system? P.S. I am not an alcy, yet!

Post by **buksida** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 6:21 pm

I think the restaurants in HH will charge you some king of "corkage" but there are plenty of bars that are ok with you bringing your own bottle of sauce in as long as you buy the mixers there.

Best to ask first though.

Post by **sam** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 2:17 pm

Thanks for the reply . Don't need the service on holiday but could be useful when we live there.

JW · Post by JW » Thu Dec 08, 2005 3:57 pm

Hi Sam ,
Buksi is spot on, if someone comes into my bar and asks if its ok to bring a bottle and buy mixers its fine, just good courtesy. If they dont ask i have charged a corkage previously. (This has only happenend twice, both with groups of Thais, one group brought a big bottle of coke also - as soon as we spotted them the cashier told them that they would have to pay 200 baht and pool was 20 baht a game and the pool was winner stays, they had a few games and keep losing, they paid their 300 baht and naffed off)

Post by **lomuamart** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 7:10 pm

Allbeit years ago, I never allowed it.
In those days it was late and some drunken Westerner poured himself in off the soi and ask the corkage question. There was no way he was going to get his half bottle of meths into our bar and just pay for an occasional bottle of coca cola.
All he was after was eyeing the girls up and trying to watch some football on the telly.
Cheap charlies. I told them to go forth and multiply.
Sorry JW, I just never went along with that.

Post by **Bamboo Grove** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 8:47 pm

I charce for corkage. Bars and restaurants exist to make business. It wouldn't make sense to let people come in with their own bottles and use the facilities for nothing, would it? I remember some years ago a compatriot of mine was cruising around the bars around Soi Binthabath area with a bottle of Saeng Som in his bag and ordering only glasses sodas, which he then filled with SS. Chersus, I didn't want anybody to know I come from.............

Post by **SHADOW** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 7:24 am

A friend of mine used to serve a drink advertised as an Isreali cocktail
a bottle of water and four straws.

If living in Thailand is so expensive that people have to skip the bar fine, drink their own beer, walk because taxi's are too expensive then maybe a radioactive attol is about the only place left that is cheaper.

I was in a bar the other afternoon two "students" came in and ordered a large Singha X price "why so expensive next to the railway it's only x".

The lady behind the bar then tried to explain, the bar by the railway has 1 staff no toilet no pool table no tv no music no beer fridge and one light bulb, if she did the same the beer would be the same price, but she would only have two custemers You.

Very amusing and all done in a very polite manner I had to go to the toilet as I was litteraly pissing myself.

You've saved all year been out and bought new speedo's, a nice pair of trendy board shorts had a hair cut, got the travelers cheques been driven to the airport in a taxi that you could have bought for the same price as the fare, flown at five hundred a fifty miles an hour while watching a movie, sipping an ok glass of red wine half way around the world.

You arrive and want to bring your own beer/whisky into a bar!!!!

Try that one in any bar in England.
1. The bar person (no gender rules) tells you politly sorry you can only consume drinks purchased on the premises.
2. The bar person tells you to F off and get a life.
3. The bar person tells you to F off get a life and then throws you out into the street.
4. The bar person and all the customers tell you to F off get a life and then beats the crap out of you.

You're not poor you're CHEAP, no wonder our Thai hosts just can't figure it out.

I went to a free buffet at the Maryiott last week I took sandwiches.

Post by **malcolminthemiddle** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 8:23 am

For your regular drinking holes, most landlords will sell you a bottle of spirit that you can leave at the bar with your name on it for when ever you visit; price subject to negotiation and may or may not include mixers.

Most local Thai restaurants have no objection to you bringing your own bottle to drink with your meal; in case of spirits they will supply ice and mixers which you pay for.

Fact is â€œBringing your Ownâ€

Post by **Norseman** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 10:03 am

[quote="malcolminthemiddle"]
Fact is â€œBringing your Ownâ€

Post by **chelsea** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 12:22 pm

In Australia, there are a lot of eating places that do not have drink licences, but BYO licence.

That allows you to take your own wine with you to enjoy with you meal and to which they charge a corkage charge to the customer either by the amount of bottles that are opened on the table or by the amount of persons that are at the table. Charges vary between $1 and $5 dollars per bottle or persons.
You are not at all permitted to take beer or spirits of anykind into these places.

An eating place that has a full drinks licence, can sell all types of beer wine and spirits on site. Some do allow you to BYO your wine only, but make the corkage charge so high that it is not worth doing it.

There is no way that you can BYO spirits into any type of bar, if you are caught, you will have your ass kicked out of bar quick sharp as described by Shadow in his previous post.

Post by **sam** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 3:59 pm

Thanks for all the replies, you will notice I said "not needed on holiday" The reason for the question was that as stated coming from uk this is not accepted, but have seen it many times in Thailand and wanted to know the ins and outs. Not a cheap charlie and quite happy to spend what I have but still like to know the local customs.

Post by **SHADOW** » Sun Dec 11, 2005 8:06 am

No worries Sam. Not a poke at you, just used the word you as a way of addressing any future backpacker types who think we are all Muppets here in LOS

Post by **lomuamart** » Sun Dec 11, 2005 10:06 am

As Malcolminthemiddle said, I think there's a big difference between buying a bottle of spirits in a bar, drinking half of it and then leaving it there to be finished some other day rather than buying it at the 7-11 and trying to take it into the bar.

Post by **chelsea** » Sun Dec 11, 2005 10:15 am

Personally, the less that I have to carry around and have to remember that I have it with me when I am out drinking, the less I will loose.
Power to fully licensed places that do not allow BYO. Never go drinking after you have been shopping, you will never get home with all that you have purchased..

Post by **carlito** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 4:57 pm

I'd only ever bring wine with me into an establishment. Anything else does seem a bit cheap.

The thing with wine is most Thai restaurants I've been too around Cha-am and Hua Hin don't have a very good selection, and the stuff they do have is average at best.

The prices are also ridiculously high for what you're buying, although I can understand the extra costs due to importing.