No Bars Offer Wine and Shot Specials. Here’s Why They Should.

Whiskey connoisseur? Tequila fanatic? Crazy about gin? Learn all about the latest and greatest spirits by signing up for our drinks newsletter, The Spill.

Last year during the NHL playoffs (Go Cats!) I went to my local sports bar, Lou’s Athletic Club, for one of the games. As I was perusing the menu, the typical beer and shot combo taunted me, which all of my friends proceeded to order. So I asked the bartender, “Do you have any wine and shot specials?” She looked at me with a little sense of surprise and delight, chuckled and said, “No, but we should.”

I stopped drinking beer about 10 years ago because it makes me feel awful. And with each passing year, my gluten intolerance gets worse, something that’s hard to admit because as a food and drink writer, I hate having dietary restrictions. But it’s a fact, and I finally realized I’d rather be honest about it than miserable for a week (sometimes more) after eating and drinking things I shouldn’t.

Yes, You Can Still Get a Great $12 Cocktail

How Manhattan’s Back Bar crafts its affordably high-end drinks menu

Yes, I miss real pasta and farro and pastries, but if I’m being honest, what I’m really sad about is not being able to order a Boilermaker (which is a beer with a shot sidecar, if you’re not familiar with the lingo). I love a good cocktail and a neat whiskey and a dive bar pinot grigio, but sometimes I want a little less, or a little more, and there’s really no Goldilocks happy medium for me without the beer and shot combo.

A glass of wine is great, but sometimes I want the zing of a shot. And drinking is expensive these days, meaning I’d love for bars to cut me a deal just like they do for the beer drinkers. I know it’s going to cost a bit more than a beer and a shot because wine is more expensive, but if you’re pouring me a $15 glass of Cavit pinot grigio (a 1.5L bottle is the same price), maybe you can throw in a shot of Wild Turkey 101 or Evan Williams for a couple of bucks more. Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but that won’t really fuck with your bottom line, right? And in return, you’ll have a very happy drinks editor who wants a sip of whiskey and a glass of wine and doesn’t have to pay $30 for the pair.

There are no doubt other people who feel the same way as me, who miss the joy of toasting with a shot and then nursing a larger, lower ABV drink for the remainder of the hour. So please, bars, hear my plea: consider putting a wine and shot special on the menu. Give it a test run at happy hour, try it for a month to see if it sells, whatever. I’m 99% sure you’ll have a huge hit on your hands.