Can you imagine yourself standing behind a bar, pouring drinks and handing out bottles of beer, chatting up the locals, and raking in all the tips? Are you an outgoing person with the ability to keep a conversation going and entertain? Are you always the life of the party? If your answer is yes, then you should consider a career as a bartender.
The job is fun, engaging, challenging, and probably one of the most relaxed you’ll probably have. The dress code will vary depending on where you go, but rarely involves a tie or a sport coat. Many places don’t even have a dress code, as long as you don’t wear anything offensive. Your job, aside from the apparent drink slinging, is to keep your patrons entertained and relaxed. You’ll spend much of your shift, making conversation, and meeting new people, pretty much being the center of attention.
Bartender’s School
A great way to get a good start in the field is to attend a bartender’s school. These schools are designed to save you the frustration associated with the first few weeks of life as a bartender. If you’ve ever paid attention to what the bartender is doing behind the bar, you know they can get pretty busy. As more and more people come in, a whole lot is going on in the mind and hands of a bartender, and for a person who’s new to bartending, this can lead to a lot of mistakes and frustration. Bartender schools eliminate this issue by covering all the basics that you’d generally be learning those first few weeks, making it easier to manage the business and still learn the subtleties of the venue you’re working in.
Signature Drinks
All bars, restaurants, and clubs will probably have their signature drinks, and that’s to be expected. What you learn in a bartending school is all the basic stuff, the things that are almost universal among every bar.
Learn About Liquor
You can expect to learn things such as basic beer and wine knowledge – the difference between different types of beers and wines, how to correctly pour a draft beer, a glass of wine, and a bottled beer. You’ll also learn the correct way to present a bottle of wine once it’s been ordered.
You’ll learn around 100 drink recipes – a mix of the undying classics, as well as the most popular drinks currently in the bar scene. You’ll learn how they’re mixed, what glass they go in, and what garnish is used to present them correctly. Is it shaken or stirred? What, exactly, does “muddle” mean? And why would you want a drink on the rocks? This knowledge and more can be had at a bar school.
Some states require those service professionals who handle alcohol pass a “responsible service” course or something along those lines. In those states, you’ll take that course during your enrollment in the program, and it’s included in your tuition.
By the time you’ve finished bartender’s school, you’ll have the necessary knowledge down enough that you can step behind the bar with the confidence on your first shift, and concentrate all your mental faculties on the job at hand and learning the subtleties of your venue without having to worry about all the basics that frustrate most new bartenders. While you’ll still have a good bit to learn, you’ll be off to a head start that most bartenders didn’t have not too many years ago.