HELP BARTENDER SPEED TEST 12 Drinks in 7 MINUTES!?!
HELP BARTENDER SPEED TEST 12 Drinks in 7 MINUTES!?
Ok I need help desperately! I live in Oklahoma, attending bartending school and I am at the end of my two weeks. I passed my Mid term and Final all written of course. NOW I have to take a speed final of 12 drinks in 7 minutes. I have studied my *** off and I have done quite a few practice speed finals. But it seems that either the drinks I am iffy on get called or I get them all perfect but missing the mark by just a bit timewise. I am a firm believer that bartending is not just about speed. Its about quality and taste. Who cares if you can pump out 12 drinks in 7 minutes?! Does it taste good? Are they coming back for more cause it does? I just need help. I don't want to label it as cheating, maybe just assisting or helping. But is there a particular list of drinks that is used for this speed final that I can get from you and / or anyone else so that the drinks can be narrowed down? I have literally been taught over 225 drinks in 10 days! And I need a job asap, my bills are so far behind and I want to start working and learning first hand as soon as possible. But I can't seem to get by the speed final. The association that I am under is ABLE, and the school I believe is associated with Texas school of bartenders ( I dont know if that helps) so if you have any info you can give me on this I would so greatly appreciate it.
Thank you so much!
2 months ago
Yes the let me do free pouring. I am not sure anyone understands. I guess I am being lazy but honestly I dont want to overload my brain with recipes that I am never going to use or that are wrong.
WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR:
I have seen my instructor give a few of these speed tests and I even took two practice ones. All of which we read off of this one sheet. So I am guessing it is the cuiriculum speed test sheet. It has like 5-6 groupings of drinks. I rather memorize 60-72 drinks that I most likely will not use than over 200!! That is my problem.
Answers:
2 months ago
Yes the let me do free pouring. I am not sure anyone understands. I guess I am being lazy but honestly I dont want to overload my brain with recipes that I am never going to use or that are wrong.
WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR:
I have seen my instructor give a few of these speed tests and I even took two practice ones. All of which we read off of this one sheet. So I am guessing it is the cuiriculum speed test sheet. It has like 5-6 groupings of drinks. I rather memorize 60-72 drinks that I most likely will not use than over 200!! That is my problem.
bartending school is good because it trained you on how to pour, count, make drinks, etc. Now that you have that knowledge you can go find a job at a bar. Most bars don't care if you can make 12 drinks in 7 min. All they care about is if you know what the hell you're doing and if you have a pretty face. If you're attractive and have even a little knowledge of how to bartend you should have no problem. Also all bars should have a drink book somewhere behind the bar in case someone orders something funky like a Harvey Wallbanger (thats a screwdriver with a floater of Galliano). Get out there and find a job and make some money.
Source(s):
experience
Since you live in Oklahoma, you only need to pay the $30 ABLE license fee to get a license. The school is training you in the way they think you need to be trained, and not according to any state requirements, so the test will be whatever they think is appropriate. As far as speed/taste, you're right to some extent. However, with experience you shouldn't have to sacrifice one for the other. What you'll find with bartending is that most drinks are pretty simple, and only occasionally do you really have to whip out the drink knowledge. Thus, knowing how to make 12 Crown and Cokes, Jager blasters, margaritas, long island teas, etc is actually useful. The biggest issue on a busy night isn't "how many drinks do you know" it's "how fast can you get these simple drinks into the hands of the customer." Also, just about any list they have is going to specific to an area, or even single bar. Walk up and down Brookside (in Tulsa) or around Bricktown (in OKC) and ask bartenders to make the same drink and you'll likely get different versions. Ask them to name the top ten drinks they make and you will definitely get different answers. For sure, I'd know long island and margarita, anything beyond that would be a guess. But, if for some reason you fail (which I doubt, since they are not in business to flunk people, they'll help you until you get it right.) but if you do, go pay the 30 bucks and start putting in aps. I don't know three bar managers in Oklahoma who are going to care that you didn't pass the speed test. Actually, when I've hired, my thinking on bartending schools was "great, I'm going to have to deprogram this person of all the bad habits they have and teach them some recipes that aren't from 1986."
On my speed test, the instructor kind of spaced out and gave me 100%. Expect yours to give you lots of freedom as well- they're bartending instructors, not chemistry professors! ;)
Say your instructor wants a vodka red bull, a tequila sunrise, a brandy alexander, and a sex on the beach.
The best thing you can do is put your glasses as close together as possible so you can do your ice in two or three passes. Then pour your vodka drinks first so you don't reach for your vodka twice and waste time. Get that orange juice out into the sex on the beach and the tequila sunrise at the same time, etc. etc. The more doubling up you can do, the better. Make your shaken drink (the alexander) last so it's nice and chilled for service (you can freeze the glass with ice and a little water while you're making the other three drinks).
Memorize your well. Know where everything is so you're not fumbling for it. Have a bottle in each hand for each pour, and don't stress out too much! It sounds like you've practiced a lot and will do just fine. :)