There are a few customs surrounding drinking in pubs that visitors to Edinburgh - particularly those from North America - take a bit of time adjusting to. A "server" doesn't bring your drinks to the table, rather you have to go to the bar and order.
We like to buy rounds - each person taking turn to buy present company a drink. We don't tip the barman or woman, although you might occasionally buy him or her a drink (for now or later).
More recently, all pubs in Scotland became smoke-free, so it's also customary for puffers to huddle together at the entrance to the bar or in the little beer garden round the back of the pub.
With drinking in pubs getting ever more expensive you should also know that you can ask the barman to top your beer up if it's got too big a head on it or it's not been filled to the pint mark (that's 568 millilitres to those of you on the metric system). So long as you haven't already drunk from the glass, the barman will happily do this for you.
This may sound strange to anyone who's habituated to receiving poorly poured beverages that don't measure up. But while in some parts of the world you still have to pay for the air in your glass, in Britain measures are protected by law and it's quite normal to request that you get the advertised amount.
Under the Weights and Measures Act 1985, responsibility lies with both the bar person and the licensee to ensure accurate measures are dispensed, and therefore both parties are liable for prosecution by the Procurator Fiscal.
What's more, the City of Edinburgh Council’s Trading Standards officers are carrying out test purchases at various licensed premises in the city to make sure they are selling the correct measures of spirits. These visits started last weekend and will continue over the Christmas period, until New Year. Insert joke here.
Drinkers will be cheered by the council's firmness on this issue. "It is important that, during this time of celebration, consumers can expect to get what they pay for," says Cllr Robert Aldridge, Leader for Environment.
"It is important that the legislation in this area is rigorously enforced, to ensure that consumer confidence remains high. It is a criminal offence to serve short measures and licensees are encouraged to ensure that employees have received thorough training regarding delivery of the drinks they serve."
Getting your fair measure
- Licensed premises must sell prescribed spirits (gin, rum, vodka and whisky) in 25ml or 35ml measures, or multiples thereof, and must also clearly indicate the quantities they sell. Licensed premises should also indicate quantities by which wine by the glass is sold - these can be 125ml, 175ml, both, and multiples of each.
- In general, if licensed premises are found to have served short measure of up to 2.5% during the test purchase then Trading Standards will issue a verbal warning. In the region of 2.5% to 5% then a written warning will be issued. Over 5% discrepancy will lead to the submission of a report to the Procurator Fiscal with a view to prosecution of the licensee, the bar person or both.
- It is an offence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 to supply intoxicating liquor of a nature different to that demanded or advertised.