If you ever thought one of your cocktails tasted just like soda, this TikTok bartender is here to tell you you're not imagining it

• TikTok bartender @benjispears went viral for showing a bartender's sleight-of-hand for too-drunk customers.
• The creator showed viewers how he discreetly makes a cocktail with very little to no alcohol.

If you've ever ordered one too many drinks at a bar and thought the last one tasted like juice — sans any alcohol — you it may have been intentional.

TikToker @Benjispears, who posts videos about bartending, let fans in on a little secret in an April 27 TikTok. "When your drunk bestie is insisting on another drink, but you know they have to work in the morning," he captioned the video as he filmed himself pretending to make an alcoholic drink by holding a liquor bottle over a glass without pouring in any of its contents. The video has since been viewed 8.5 million times.

"Alright, honey, a strong one coming right up," he's heard saying as a gesture to the "drunk bestie."

In the comments, @benjispears clarified for concerned commenters that he didn't charge customers for the non-alcoholic drink.

Top comments were positive and called him a hero for looking out for his customers.

"Good friend. All gotta cut our friends off at one point," one person wrote; ""I need a friend like this," another added.

Some expressed self-awareness and gratitude: "I caught one bartender do this to ME," one person wrote. "And when I did, I just stayed quiet because I thought, 'No, he right.'"

Users who identified themselves as bartenders also confessed to using similar strategies, including pouring a tiny drop of liquor into the straw so the first sip tasted passingly of alcohol.

@BenjiSpearsi is one of dozens who've garnered a huge following by sharing behind-the-scenes clips of everyday jobs, but especially in the drink services space. The hashtag #bartendersoftiktok has accumulated 1.4 billion views on the app.

Insider has reached out to the creator to learn more.