Applebee's $1 margaritas -- all day, every day, all October long -- are getting customers buzzed.
People have been eagerly awaiting Dollaritas and turned to Twitter to express their excitement. One user tweeted that he was never excited about living within walking distance of an Applebee's, until now.
But, a recent Snapchat story revealed a sobering "late night confession" from an Applebee's bartender (video below) that have customers second-guessing a trip to Applebee's.
A Facebook user posted a series of snaps by the unidentified bartender detailing Applebee's "Dollarita" recipe, which was made in five-gallon buckets: 1 part margarita mix, 1 part cheap tequila, 3 parts water. The bartender claims the unknown Applebee's location makes 12 gallons of this "swill" every day and captioned one Snapchat photo, "If the dollarita is your life, you're an animal who can't taste things."
Facebook commenters were less than divisive, only mildly ruffled; one user wrote "It's a dollar who cares! I've been to restaurants where a margarita is $15 and it tastes like tap water." And others were turned off: "I'll pass!" another person wrote.
Free Times wrote a detailed commentary on Applebee's Dollaritas on Oct. 11, just a few days after the viral video. "Taste resembles the remnants of a Sour Patch bag poured into sugar water with 'tequila' added."
But, let's be clear: As with many, if not all, bang-for-your-buck deals, there is always some hidden (or not-so-hidden) fine print; watered-down booze is one of them.
When drinks are priced for dirt cheap, you typically enter in an unstated but shared agreement that we're here for the booze only -- taste and technique are secondary. In other words: you get what you pay for.
The Neighborhood Grill & Bar has been struggling to keep up, in spite of declining visits to eat-in restaurants, which have resulted in restaurant closures, according to Food and Wine. And offering bargain booze is a tried-and-true method to get more people through the doors.
Dollaritas have worked in the past, and according to Applebee's Texas, the cheap, watered-down drinks are still holding well on social media.