Cultural exchange – Irish Pub Culture (rounds system)
You may well ask what a rounds system is and fair enough because it’s an alien ritual to most Hong Kong pub-goers. It’s popular in Irish pub culture and while every Irish person has an intimate knowledge of Irish pub etiquette by instinct owing to the fact that most people’s social life revolves around drinking in pubs, they are naturally well-versed when it comes to ordering and paying for drink. 
So what’s a rounds system I hear you ask? It’s the simple process of buying a drink for everyone in your group. So, if you’re out with two friends and you decide to buy the first ‘round’ or ‘round of drinks’, you’re the one who ‘orders’ and ‘pays’ for the drinks – all three of them including one for yourself. Table service is available in many places nowadays but the more traditional way is to walk up to the bar to order a ‘round of drinks’. You place your order by speaking directly to the barman/bar-lady and you wait and then you pay after he or she hands over your drinks. Pints of Guinness require a longer wait because of the nature of the brew – more details on that famous dark beer in a later article. The second round is exactly the same as the first in that the next person in your group repeats the process. People generally stick to the same drink for the whole evening but as a courtesy a friend might stand up and say, ‘same again?, expecting a yes or an affirmative nod of the head. It’s more a gesture than a question and in Irish drinking culture almost taken for granted that the drink you start out with is the one you’ll stick with for the night. The round ordering ritual continues all the way back to the first person again. You may wonder what happens if people go to a pub for just one drink – well this rarely happens mainly because Irish people find it impossible to have just one drink and who could blame them? One is a mere warm up by Irish standards.
The rounds system is simple, well organised and ingrained in all Irish pub goers – but there are pitfalls. In a slightly larger group you could end up buying a second round if you bought in early – even Irish people get their fill after several pints of beer, believe it or not. This isn’t the end of the world but you will end up spending twice as much as your friends. And, nobody will keep an account of who spent what so the next time you’re out together the slate starts from scratch all over again. One thing to be very careful of, either as an Irish person or a non-Irish foreigner – don’t try to skip your round hoping that others won’t notice – delay tactics, or making a bee-line to the bog (toilet) or taking a cigarette break or walking off to make a timely phone call just before your turn arrives – everyone is very aware of the rounds system and will automatically know when his/her or your turn has arrived, no matter how much drink has been consumed. Don’t try to avoid your round, it is embarrassing behaviour and the people you’re with won’t respect you for it; they definitely won’t actively pursue your company in the near future. This is a big social faux pax in Irish culture. If you accidentally forget, don’t worry, you’ll be reminded, nicely.
One rather peculiar thing with Irish drinking culture and the rounds system in general is that everyone in the group will buy at least one round of drinks; then without any hesitation someone might order another round nearing the end of the night or when closing time has been announced – even though everyone still has a drink in front of them and clearly had enough. It’s as much generosity as obligatory and wasteful, beyond hospitality. It never feels good to walk away from a table of fresh pints!
Oh, and a little trinket that you might not be aware of is the ‘one for the road’ scenario. What’s that I hear you howl? If there’s a particularly good atmosphere in a pub the most enthusiastic person might ask his mates a question – ‘One for the road?, literally enquiring if everyone would like to have one more drink before they make their way home. You’d be amazed how many people don’t leave and stick around for one more!
And the one who pays is the one whose round is next!!
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