Whats a good place to get experience when starting bartending?!
Whats a good place to get experience when starting bartending?
thanks
Answers:
I started as a cocktail waitress. I never, ever served a drink without knowing what was in it. No matter how busy I'd make the bartenders tell me. During slow shifts I'd ask the bartender to "train" me. Just, while there was nothing else to do (don't wanna piss off the manager), I'd hang out behind the bar and learn how to pour (we did free-pouring there, no measured shots), learn the differences between liquors/brands/mixers, etc... The restaurant I worked at also had a banquet room. I begged and pleaded to be allowed to bartend on parties that needed 2 bartenders but weren't too big that my inexperience would get in the way. When the time came to hire a new bartender everyone knew that I knew what I was doing and I got the position.
I know a lot of people who have taken classes but I also know a lot of managers and owners who prefer experience over some course. If I were you I'd try to get a position at a busy bar/restaurant with a busy bar as a waitress (and beg for cocktail and/or lounge shifts) or as a barback. The barbacks are the people who do the grunt work behind the bar: filling ice, changing kegs, replacing bottles, taking out trash, etc... That, too, puts you in a really good position to learn how to bartend. Most barbacks I worked with were in prime positions to become bartenders.
Source(s):
3 years as a waitress (starting in HS), 2 as a manager (too much responsibility ;-) ), and 7 as a bartender
Cleaning glasses,wiping down tables,cleaning astrays,mopping down walkways all this plus taking drink orders.
Most restaurants won't hire in a bartender without experience. You may have to start out as a server or a barback. Let them know that you want to move up into bartending. Learn what is in the drinks, especially common ones like Long Islands and Margaritas, and understand the differences between well and call brands and their prices. See if you can get a job as a banquet bartender. A lot of times they don't need experience, and it's a good place to start.
There are places that have bartending classes, but most places don't take them as actual experience, just as a tool to help you learn. There are a lot of great bartending books available that will give you the recipes of more common drinks.