Coffee, please. Hold the tipsiness.
Non-alcoholic drinks are coming to the bartender: a lower chip price, no added buzz, and a way to join in while keeping a clear head.
Need to stay sharp tonight? Or just don't drink at all? This update's for you!
An upcoming late.sh change will let @bartender pour non-intoxicating drinks. Coffee, water, juice, milk, or an explicitly non-alcoholic order will get you a drink without adding to your in-game tipsiness.
PR #682, “Add support for non-intoxicating drinks,” is open as of October 8. Here's what's in it.
A smaller tab
The bartender will be instructed to price non-intoxicating drinks at 50 chips. The server's minimum accepted price for these drinks drops from 100 to 50 chips, so that coffee can actually be bought and recorded. Intoxicating drinks keep their 100–1,000-chip price range.
You still need enough spendable chips for your order. The existing 100-chip balance floor stays in place.
No extra buzz. No timer tricks.
A non-intoxicating pour won't add intoxication points or reset the timer that lets your existing buzz wear off.
That second part matters. If you're already tipsy, a coffee won't instantly sober you up, and it won't postpone your return to a clear head either. Your existing tipsiness keeps wearing off on its usual schedule.
If you're sober, you can join in without picking up the tipsy chat effects in the first place.
Your drink still counts
Non-intoxicating drinks will still be recorded in your drink count and, when you pay for them, your spending tally. They contribute zero intoxication points, so a coffee-only tab won't put you on the Top Drinkers leaderboard or earn its monthly badge.
An already-bought drink credit can also cover a non-intoxicating order from @bartender. It uses the credit without charging you chips or adding buzz.
What to ask for
Once the change is merged and deployed, you can ask the bartender for an ordinary non-alcoholic drink, or make the preference explicit:
@bartender a coffee, please
@bartender something non-alcoholic
@bartender a Shirley Temple
These are example requests, not a fixed menu. The bartender still invents the pour. The update gives it an explicit way to classify that pour as non-intoxicating, including when it cuts someone off and switches them to water.
Something to sip, a smaller tab, and a clear head for the next game. Sounds good to me.
Sources: The pull request, the bartender changes, and the drink accounting. Reviewed October 8, 2026.