As a bartender, you are often the most important face of the establishment for which you work, the person who comes into the most personal contact with the customer. So if one word sums up what your attitude should be, it's "professional".
No matter how bad you may be feeling, no matter if you had a fight with your partner before you left home, or your feet hurt, or your child is giving trouble at school, you have to put all that behind you, put a genuine smile of welcome on your face, and look forward to making everybody who comes up to your bar feel happy and special.
Wear clean, appropriate, smart clothes; it's particularly important to wear comfortable shoes as you are going to be on your feet for hours at a time. Make sure that you present a clean well groomed appearance, especially your hands, which will be the focus of attention as you mix and serve drinks and snacks. Hair should be neat and tidy, not flopping around, people with long hair may want to tie it back in a pony tail or barrette, this makes it easier to work and is more hygienic. Your employer will probably have a dress code which you should stick to.
It's very important that the bar is kept clean and well organized with supplies of cocktail makings fresh and ready to hand. Whenever there is a quiet moment, you should be cleaning, tidying preparing and polishing. This will carry you through those hectic times when the orders are coming at you one after the other like bullets flying in a shoot out! A gleaming, well presented bar encourages the customers to buy, and that is your job of course.
Of course, you need to offer a sympathetic ear to those people who think the bartender is their personal psychiatrist, but never get too involved in a conversation. Non committal sympathy is really all that's required; it's not a good idea to give your opinions on what a fool they have been!
It's important to give correct measures, and to pay attention to what the customer asks for. If he asks for a splash of soda, then a splash, not a deluge, is what he should get. And of course, it's vitally important to pay attention to giving correct change, if you are handling cash, and to keeping the account straight, if you are making up a tab. You should also work on cultivating your memory, so that when someone comes in and asks for"My usual" you know what that is!
You need to pay attention to the law. You should have a very responsible attitude to underage drinking, and don't be afraid to ask for and examine i.d. if you think someone is underage. Making a mistake or being neglectful in this area might get both you and your employer into serious trouble. And you should understand and apply both the law and your employer's policy on serving people who are clearly seriously drunk.
It's also your job to make sure that customers are not harassed, especially women on their own who aren't looking for company. The bartender should be that lady's protector.
If you see someone hesitating over the cocktail menu, don't be afraid to make a suggestion. Keep up to date with the latest trends in mixology (the art of mixing cocktails), but memorize the recipes of the old tried and true favorites like the Screwdriver, the Rusty Nail, and the Manhattan, the Pina Colada, the Bloody Mary and more, which customers will ask for again and again.
If you suggest something interesting and delicious, especially to younger women, who may not be experienced drinkers, the customer will feel that you are paying special attention to them, and hopefully a good tip will result. On the important subject of tips, they will of course form a large part of your income. Customers who haven't yet tipped you will notice your reaction to what other guests are tipping, so always look pleased and grateful even if someone leaves you a stingy, mean little amount. Never angle for tips, this just embarrasses everyone and makes you look bad. If you do a great job, the tips will flow.
Altogether, the attitude of a bartender should be service and customer oriented, highly professional, kind, responsible and hard working. Bartending may be just a temporary job between other jobs or when working your way through college, or it may be a serious long term career. Either way, your attitude to the job can make it a very enjoyable and rewarding experience.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Cocktail Mixing for the Beginner
Everybody enjoys sipping a cocktail, and there are literally thousands to choose from. Most bartenders have their own secret recipe that has the customers coming back for more. So how do you start as a beginner cocktail maker?
First, gather your equipment together. You need a good cocktail shaker, large but not too large to handle comfortably, stainless steel is generally the preferred material. You need a jigger, with which to measure ingredients, a muddler, for crushing sugar, a juicer, for extracting juice from citrus fruits, a long handled mixing spoon and last of all a fine mesh strainer. Of course, you will also need a sharp knife for cutting the fruit which so often features in tropical inspired cocktail offerings. As you get more experienced you will want to add to this collection, for example more than one size of strainer, a grater for nutmeg and chocolate toppings and so on.
The ideal cocktail is a balance between strong and weak alcohol, for example gin and martini, and sweet and sour flavors, for example sugar and lemon. Getting the right proportions is absolutely essential, as is consistency from drink to drink.
Start with a simple yet challenging cocktail, the Martini made with gin. Everyone has their own idea of the perfect Martini, personally I love a Dirty Martini (made with a little olive juice). Find a friend who likes Martinis, and practice making the most authentic offering. You will have no shortage of volunteers to be testers! Get a few classics like the Martini, the Highball, the Daiquiri, the Mojito, the Bloody Mary, the Margarita, the Pina Colada, and whatever you notice is a favorite in the better bars around your area, under your belt to give you confidence.
Once you have mastered these, check out some of the fancier cocktails, there are many recipe books and online recipes. It makes sense to use local ingredients where you can, for example, in the tropics, major on coconut, pineapple and mango, in colder climes, focus on warming brandy and chocolate concoctions and spicy mulled wines.
In general when you are building your own recipe, start out with the sweet element, then add the sour, then the weaker alcohol, for example curacao, and finally the strong alcohol. That way you can ensure you are getting the right balance. Don't forget the function of ice; crushed ice and whole cubes behave very differently, and the amount of ice you use will have a big influence on the way the drink tastes, especially as the customer gets down to the bottom of the glass. Too much ice can make the end of the drink insipid, you want to leave him looking forward to the next one, not feeling as if the drink was pretty weak and not worth the money.
Whatever you do, don't neglect presentation, try to match the glass and the decorations with the drink. A Martini definitely doesn't need a parasol and a couple of cherries, it should however be served in a good Martini glass. Pay attention to the temperature of the glass, nothing is worse than a chilled cocktail served in a warm glass fresh from the wash! A rim of salt or sugar, a twist of lime, properly crushed ice, all these are the finishing touches. Spend time working to make sure that you have mastered the art of presentation. Tropical cocktails look especially lovely if presented with a flower, but make sure the flower are washed, you don't want an ant running out onto your beautiful creation.
Mint and other herbs are currently very popular as finishing touches on many cocktails. Ask around local gardening friends to see if you can source small supplies of unusual things like lemon thyme and dill, which can be sensational taste enhancers and will really make your name as an expert. Remember these cocktail mixing techniques and you will be on your way to becoming a cocktail master.
First, gather your equipment together. You need a good cocktail shaker, large but not too large to handle comfortably, stainless steel is generally the preferred material. You need a jigger, with which to measure ingredients, a muddler, for crushing sugar, a juicer, for extracting juice from citrus fruits, a long handled mixing spoon and last of all a fine mesh strainer. Of course, you will also need a sharp knife for cutting the fruit which so often features in tropical inspired cocktail offerings. As you get more experienced you will want to add to this collection, for example more than one size of strainer, a grater for nutmeg and chocolate toppings and so on.
The ideal cocktail is a balance between strong and weak alcohol, for example gin and martini, and sweet and sour flavors, for example sugar and lemon. Getting the right proportions is absolutely essential, as is consistency from drink to drink.
Start with a simple yet challenging cocktail, the Martini made with gin. Everyone has their own idea of the perfect Martini, personally I love a Dirty Martini (made with a little olive juice). Find a friend who likes Martinis, and practice making the most authentic offering. You will have no shortage of volunteers to be testers! Get a few classics like the Martini, the Highball, the Daiquiri, the Mojito, the Bloody Mary, the Margarita, the Pina Colada, and whatever you notice is a favorite in the better bars around your area, under your belt to give you confidence.
Once you have mastered these, check out some of the fancier cocktails, there are many recipe books and online recipes. It makes sense to use local ingredients where you can, for example, in the tropics, major on coconut, pineapple and mango, in colder climes, focus on warming brandy and chocolate concoctions and spicy mulled wines.
In general when you are building your own recipe, start out with the sweet element, then add the sour, then the weaker alcohol, for example curacao, and finally the strong alcohol. That way you can ensure you are getting the right balance. Don't forget the function of ice; crushed ice and whole cubes behave very differently, and the amount of ice you use will have a big influence on the way the drink tastes, especially as the customer gets down to the bottom of the glass. Too much ice can make the end of the drink insipid, you want to leave him looking forward to the next one, not feeling as if the drink was pretty weak and not worth the money.
Whatever you do, don't neglect presentation, try to match the glass and the decorations with the drink. A Martini definitely doesn't need a parasol and a couple of cherries, it should however be served in a good Martini glass. Pay attention to the temperature of the glass, nothing is worse than a chilled cocktail served in a warm glass fresh from the wash! A rim of salt or sugar, a twist of lime, properly crushed ice, all these are the finishing touches. Spend time working to make sure that you have mastered the art of presentation. Tropical cocktails look especially lovely if presented with a flower, but make sure the flower are washed, you don't want an ant running out onto your beautiful creation.
Mint and other herbs are currently very popular as finishing touches on many cocktails. Ask around local gardening friends to see if you can source small supplies of unusual things like lemon thyme and dill, which can be sensational taste enhancers and will really make your name as an expert. Remember these cocktail mixing techniques and you will be on your way to becoming a cocktail master.
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