I have a lot of friends that want to get into the world of bartending, but where exactly can you learn bartending for beginners? Actually I read a book the other day, and go figure, the name of it was bartending for beginners, and I must say that it was an excellent read. It is not going to teach you everything that you need to know about bartending, but it will definitely point you in the right direction so you are not clueless.
The book bartending for beginners is actually all over the internet. It can be purchased from many sellers and the price of the bartenders guide ranges from about 7 dollars all the way up to 30 or more, depending on who it is that you buy it from. Let me go over some of the things that the book covers. First off it will teach you how to make the basic drinks. The ones that you should never have to look at a cheat sheet to learn how to make. [click to continue…]
Bartending schools are a great way to be on your path to becoming a bartender. While not essential it is probably the easiest way to get the training that you are going to need to become successful. Lets go over some of the things that you can expect learn while obtaining a bartending school, while all schools are different, they all teach the same basic stuff, some may be more detailed then others of course.
Some schools may only be a week long, while others may last a couple weeks. Tuition can be anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to a couple thousand, and like everything else in this world, when it comes to bartending training, you usually get what you pay for. [click to continue…]
You have more than likely heard this before but just in case you have not, just because you graduate from a bartending school does not make you a great bartender, nor does it guarantee that you are going to get a job as a bartender. Not only that, you may have to start out at the bottom and work your way up to become a bartender even if you have the schooling on your resume.
What makes a great bartender is class. You must be a people person, you must also be able to remember your customers names. This is a big thing, as you are working for tips mostly you want to make sure that you can get their name right. This gives the customer a sense of trust and appreciation. Also learn what you can from the customer about them. Make sure that you know what their drink of choice is. [click to continue…]
There are literally thousands if not hundreds of thousands of bartending guides that are out there. So how do you know which one you should choose or not? A good bartenders guide should go over everything that a bartender is going to need to know to get a job and become successful. Some people choose to learn the art of mixology and bartending through a bartenders guide over going to a school.
One of the reasons for this is it’s a lot cheaper than paying for a bartending school, and just because you go to school for bartending does not guarantee that you get the job anyway. Bars and restaurants that hire on bartenders really want someone that knows what they are doing and knows the duties of bartending. You may not be able to get a job as a bartender right away even if you memorize everything in the bartenders guide you chose to learn from. [click to continue…]
Let me go over some of the great reasons that you should become a bartender.
1. For one is the money, you are going to get paid cash every shift that you work, granted that you are working at an established bar that has lots of customers. A bartenders main income is tips, and at an average of a dollar tip for every drink that you make, that can add up pretty quickly, especially on a busy night. Remember the prior articles on becoming a bartender I wrote, your number one job is to make the customer happy. [click to continue…]
Every bar should have a certain amount of tools for the bartender. For instance you do not want to be serving a customer a bottled beer and not have a bottle opener to open it for them. So lets begin with that one for our first bartending tool.
The Bottle Opener – you should have many of these within reach at the bar. Most bartenders or bar maids keep one in their back pocket, if you are sharp, you will keep two of them on you at all times as you will be using it a lot throughout your shift. [click to continue…]
One of the first things that you are going to learn if you go to bartending school is the art of mixing drinks. Different drinks call for different measures when it comes to mixing them. For instance there are some drinks that are designed to be made in layers, while others would be mixed together thoroughly, so lets get started on some of the techniques that are out there.
Ok bartender, when serving cocktails through a strainer, make sure that you are using whole ice cubes, not crushed, as crushed ice cubes could potentially block the strainer, which will make a mess or make it to where you are unable to serve the drinks properly. [click to continue…]
Basically a bartender is someone that serves drinks to customers, but really they are much more than that. Some of the drinks that they may be serving are beer, wine, liquor, soda, water, and even at some places like Chilis or Applebees, they will be serving food too. Bartenders are found all over the world. They are in nightclubs, bars, pubs, taverns, and usually in most restaurants.
Some bars, such as ones that serve food, will allow minors in them. So the bartender will have to make sure that they are of the legal drinking age if they come to the bar wanting to buy alcohol. This is really important that they get the proper identification or they could lose their license and definitely their job too. [click to continue…]
Now when it comes to the bar scene of the most popular drinks that are ordered, tell me why Scotch is never really ordered that much throughout the night? It is understandable that most people find scotch to harsh to drink while dancing the night away, but could definitely be introduced in some mild cocktails. Generally it is assumed that the sweeter drinks tend to give you the staying power on the dance floor as it is usually packed with sugar. [click to continue…]