Is it rude to ask people to join me in a drink at a bar to celebrate my birthday but not pay for everyone's drink?

dave said:
The Dutch I know don't go Dutch.

It can be considered a slur. "Dutch treat" is not a treat, "Dutch door" is not a full door, "Dutch uncle" isn't an uncle... What did the Dutch ever do to deserve that?

But to answer the OP, I think if you get an invitation to celebrate at a bar, you should expect that you will be paying for at least your own drinks...

marylago said:
But to answer the OP, I think if you get an invitation to celebrate at a bar, you should expect that you will be paying for at least your own drinks...

 I wouldn’t use the word expect.   I would go thinking that I may have to pay for myself but unsure. 

h4daniel: Many posters have indicated that they would not assume that you are picking up the tab. A couple of us see it a bit differently. I say, go with the majority and enjoy your birthday.

What do we think about h4daniel getting to the bar early and having a word with the bartender to avoid any misunderstanding? That would put a stop to anybody who tried to charge drinks to a tab.

Thanks everyone. I am an artist and many of my NYC friends are also artists so I know to them they never expected that I would pay for everyone, but now I have friends outside this circle in NJ and I am aware that they have different lifestyles/realities/incomes. I will have a friend send out a reminder and make it very clear what the situation is without hopefully being rude. 

Sounds like a good plan. I don't think anyone will find the clarification to be rude. Enjoy your birthday!