GiveReal- Send real drinks to people.

We’ve all received the notifications — “[Insert name here] has sent you a drink!!” on Facebook.

But come on, where’s my drink? A “pint-sized” gift isn’t actually a pint.

Luckily for us, two Princeton grads with a background in online payments and social media partnered with VC and Facebook to produce GiveReal… a real life solution to a digital problem.

it’s a simple four step process:

1. 1. Give: Buy a drink credit for a friend, in any amount from $1-99.  Choose from tons of options, from non-alcoholic milkshake to a martini or even call their customer support line for help.
2. Accept: Your friend will immediately receive a gift notification via email, with instructions on how to redeem their Real Drink!
3. Go Out Use the  card at any bar or restaurant.
4. Credit Automatically receive your drink credit on your credit card, after registering your card online.

Give Real uses the same financial service provider as Mint, allowing it to pull in a credit card’s purchase history and get a rough sense of where each transaction was made. Those transactions that qualify will be paid using any Give Real credits that are tied to the user’s account.

Founder Adam Ludwig says that the database is comprehensive and covers most restaurants and bars in the United States (though it doesn’t yet include any abroad), and that any transactions that aren’t correctly applied can be corrected by contacting customer service. (via TechCruch)

You can also buy “real” drinks via their facebook application. My two cents on this is that it might confuse people at first… but when people say “hey I’d love to buy you a drink for your birthday,” now they actually can.