Recognizing Intoxication and Preventing Over-Service
This domain tests your ability to estimate how much alcohol a guest has consumed, read behavioral cues, and intervene before the guest becomes a danger to themselves or others. Expect questions that combine a drink count with observed behavior.
The arithmetic of alcohol
A standard drink - 12 oz of regular beer at about 5% ABV, 5 oz of wine at about 12%, or 1.5 oz of distilled spirits at 80 proof - delivers roughly the same ethanol. The body eliminates about 0.015 BAC per hour, and nothing accelerates that. Food and water slow absorption and soften the curve; they do not sober anyone up. A 1.5 oz pour of 80-proof spirits is one standard drink, so a "double" is two.
Behavioral cues
Slurred or unusually loud speech; bloodshot or watery eyes; fumbling with cash, cards, or a phone; unsteady walking or leaning on the bar; mood swings - suddenly overly friendly or hostile; repeating stories; losing count of drinks. Count drinks yourself; never rely on the guest's tally.
Service controls
Pace the rounds, offer water and food, slow the final round, refuse the next drink plainly, notify your manager and coworkers, and arrange transportation. Never serve a guest you believe is intoxicated, even when a sober driver is present - the driver is not the person being served.
Worked example
A guest drinks three doubles in 90 minutes, then becomes loud, repeats a story, and knocks the bar rail. Three doubles equal six standard drinks in 1.5 hours - far above the elimination rate for most body weights. The count plus the cues justify refusal: offer water, close the tab, call the manager, and offer a cab. Do not pour a fourth.
Traps
Judging by appearance alone ("she doesn't look drunk"); treating alcohol odor as proof of impairment level; believing coffee, a cold shower, or food restores sobriety; assuming high tolerance means low BAC; and accepting a companion's order "for a friend" who has already been cut off.