A Missouri bartender uses comedy to illustrate why she rejects customers who think photos of IDs are good enough to purchase alcohol. Spoiler alert: She’s right, and they’re wrong.
TikTok user Old Mine House (@oldminehouse) is a bar and grill located in Fredericktown, Missouri. Its staff told this story in a video posted last week that has since amassed 1.3 million views.
As the video starts off, the bartender behind the bar asks a customer for his ID. The customer replies that he has it on his phone and holds it up to show her the image. The bartender pours a drop of beer onto her phone before showing the customer a photo of a beer on her phone.
In the caption, the bar writes, “We can match the energy.”
In the comments section of the video, viewers reacted to the bar’s physical ID policy and questioned whether it is completely necessary. Others confirmed that it’s the law.
“If the police accept it, why can’t the bar??” asked one viewer.
“Everyone will have a digital ID soon,” predicted a second person.
“But then have the audacity to accept Apple Pay,” said a third viewer.
Another person said, “My local bar accepts digital IDs. It’s 2026. Get with the times.”
The commenters insisting that digital IDs are growing more and more common in the United States are correct. As of 2023, about a quarter of all states allow establishments to accept digital IDs, and Missouri is one of those states. Generally, states that adopt digital ID also make changes to the statute to allow establishments to check digital ID to confirm a patron’s age.
Last year, the Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control revealed it was looking to replace the app used by businesses to scan and verify digital IDs. The state first introduced the Show-Me ID app in the spring of 2021.
As digital ID continues to be implemented by states, it’s reasonable to expect that some establishments will opt out altogether until the process is more reliable. In this Reddit post to r/Bartenders two years ago, members of the bartending trade discussed whether they accept digital IDs and why.
One person wrote in to say they have bartended in a state that accepts digital ID. “While most places will accept them, the state still recommends carrying a physical ID as businesses do not have to accept them if they don’t want to for whatever reason,” one person wrote.
The OP revealed in the thread that the patron who originally sparked the question actually didn’t have a digital ID at all. Upon further inspection, the bartender learned that it was merely a photo of the ID.
“Oh, that’s a horse of a different Coors,” said one person. “No dice. I would not consider that person a customer.” A second person agreed. They wrote, “Someone with a picture of an ID gets a picture of a drink. It’s incredibly easy to manipulate a picture of something to show a different date of birth.”
The consequences of mistakenly selling to a minor are so severe that most bartenders won’t even consider taking a photo as proof of an ID.
AllHipHop contacted Old Mine House via TikTok comment and direct message for comment. We will update this story if they respond.
@oldminehouse We can match the energy #id ♬ Yellow – Mark
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