Bartending help?!
Bartending help?
i want advice on how i can become a bartender without spending money on bartending school. like what are the most common drinks and where can i learn to make them? any advice is greatly appreciated. Also once i learn all this stuff what is the best way to go about finding the job? thanks!
Answers:
It depends on what state you live in if you need a bartending license or not. Google your state laws to find out. Also you probably need to be 21.
Other than that buy yourself a Bartender's Black Book and start studying up on drinks and practicing your pour.
The best way to get a job is to frequent the place you want to work a couple nights a week. Get to know the owners and other bartenders and casually start dropping the fact that you know how to make drinks and you want to start bartending. Hopefully you will get a job. Also fill out applications at busy places, (like hotels, casinos, and chain-bars). They go through lots of different bartenders. But at those kind of places you would have to start as a barback first I am sure.
The one key to being good at bartending (other than pouring drinks), is to be able to listen and talk to people. Know current events, current sporting news, the best (whatevers food, hotel, entertainment) in town, and maybe a few good jokes. Also be sure to learn the regulars drinks and know them by name.
Source(s):
Current Bartender in MO and avid drinker.
Hope this helps!
to start buy a bartender's book or something like the complete idiots guide to bar tending. Also it's a 3 count when you are pouring a shot, that equals 1 1/4 shot Example is like a jack daniels and coke would require a 3 count for the alcohol. Martini's are big right now and most martini's are double shots of a main liquor, so it would be a 6 count. don't go to a school they'll just take your money, but the do offer knowledge and history about alcohol. but that wont get you a job. It's experience, so lie and say you have experience. Start at a restaurant first then go to a club. Or a bar will work as long as it's busy.
I was a bartending instructor before hurricane katrina. Just watch the bartenders around you and memorize the drinks. If you dont know how to make the drink, ask the person ordering the drink, believe me they will not get mad and they want their drink made right. and if all else fails, make the drink red.
get the book bartending for dumbies
Don't go to bartending school it is a waste of money. The easiest way to start is to apply at a big chain restaurant. They will fully train you like they would a server and you will be able to start after you have completed. Everything you had learned at a school will have to be re-taught how the restaurant specifically wants you to do things. Right down to shaking or spindle mixing drinks. After you have gotten your basic experience you can apply to the club scene if that is where you want to go. It is a faster paced job and you will be happy you had the restaurant experience to figure things out. Always know who your regular customers are, and get a bar bible. Good Luck to you!
I totally agree with Yug, but if you are going to be drinking at a place you wish to be employed at, be careful to keep the drinking to a minimum, tip heavy, be nice to everyone you come in contact with, including the person that cleans the bathrooms all the way to the owner. Most bartending jobs are found through word of mouth. Someone could leave or be fired on a Saturday, and the establishment may need a body to fill shifts by Wednesday.
The single most important thing to being a great bartender is attitude. You need to be positive and upbeat no matter what is happening around you, with a "can do" air about you. .... and yes, get a new edition of the Bartender's Black Book, and have a veteran bartender tell you which drinks to memorise, and which would also be good to learn. That will probably the wisest $10. you will ever invest in your life.
Now pour me Guinness, and find out if that young lady is waiting for someone.