Alcademics

great take on the experience, Camper. you were very natural and comfortable at the bar (or so it seemed from the outside). it was a pleasure and honor to work by your side on your very first bar gig. hope there's more to come! :) (working with us this Saturday?)

Five years ago, my partner convinced me to leave my job as a social worker and open a bar with her. On our opening night, when Felicia's Atomic Lounge was packed with patrons waiting for drinks, I stood behind the bar, mortified, as I realized I didn't even know how to make a gin and tonic.

I had a great time bartending with you at the event. This Saturday's event should also be a lot of fun. When I tend bar on busy nights I like to give people the nod or tell them I'll be with you in one second. It really makes me people or content that they have been acknowledged and they will be more patient while waiting. It keeps them from saying that they've been there for 20 minutes when in actuality they've been there for 2 minutes. I also love the idea of not handling fruit and using tongs. I've been practicing it the days I work. I will say though, it's hard not to touch garnish on a Saturday night when it's 5 deep and you get an order for 2 horse's necks, 3 gin and tonics, 2 draft beers and a singapore sling. Plus, how do you feel about slapping herbs?

It is the most lovely thing in the world, to be in the weeds, when i am in my space, and I know where my tools are, and I can reach without looking, and think by touching. The roar of the beady-eyed crowd, breathing heavy for liquor turns into a low hum, and I revel in the most minute and mundane movements of my own body. The way the last drop of gin falls from the jigger, the cadence of a proper shake: as if I could feel and visualize each cube of ice inside, like we were old friends.

behind the stick, such a peaceful place. I hope you get the chance on many more occasions.

-Ian M.

Don't forget that you are 50% better looking when you are behind a bar or on stage.

Great blog Camper.

In response to loving the smell of good hooch and enjoying every bottle you open: most of us real bartenders unfortunately are hungover somethin fierce and the smell of opening 7 bottles of jack daniels throughout a shift is a nightmare.

Not to mention when youre in a hurry and opening several bottles per night, you know it only increases your odds of getting one of those lovely little inevitable cuts you mentioned (grey goose bottle and casadores bottle, im lookin at YOU).

thanks for giving us all some cred Camper!

What a beautiful comment, Ian! Lovely stuff and exactly the trance state that makes sitting at the bar watching a good bartender work such a pleasure.

Great post, Camper! Looking forward to a drink from you sometime. :)

- Dinah
http://bibulo.us

just bartending, me and my bartending tools

i dont usually say much on threads, but this one i had to chime in on,.. i have been a bartender for 10 years, give or take a few months,.. i did take a bar-tending class before dropping myself behind a bar,.. but,. judging from the long list of classes that some of you have mentioned, my comments might seem a bit foolish, but,.. here it goes,..
as far as the tongs,.. that may be really nice and fancy for a country club, or a private party,.. but,.. in a real world application,. it just wouldn't fly, the precious seconds that would be lost reaching for them would be a bit pointless, not to mention if they were dropped and needed to be washed,. i myself have never worked in a "nice" place like that,. i tend to stick to the more "blue collar" or "hole in the wall" places,.. and in doing so, i don't have or have never had a bar-back,.. i make the drinks, deal with the trash, cut the fruit and stock the bar, break up the fights, tend to the issues in the bathroom (no ned to go to far on that) so,.. in doing all of those things, my hands are washed just about every 4 min while i am working so if by some slim change that a germ would get passed the bombardment of soaps and sanitizers, the alcohol in the glass "in theory" would take care of it,.. ,.. in these types of places, you (the bartender) is a one man show, you don't have anyone to help you or to call when you need something done, so every second can be the one that keeps you afloat, or can be the one that starts your rapid demise,

all of the classes and information they teach is great, but, if you don't know how or can't put it to use when behind the bar when there is really no point to it, other then just the enjoyment of learning it, i mean,. a customer really does not care what you know, or don't know, all they care about is that they get their drinks fast and properly,

I like number 16..its so true but they can get annoying after a while. Overall great article!

yeah, maybe you passed the training or your certification but doesn't assure you that you always have the situation under control. You'll never know until you finish your very 1st shift, 2nd, 3rd and so on..

Nice work. As a guy who spent much of his late teens and early- to mid-20's a server, server trainer/manager, and then bar manager/occasional bartender, and then moved to playing acoustic cover gigs in bars 6-7 nights a week in my mid/late 20's (Jeez, has it really been TEN YEARS???), I've been around the service industry so much that the habits of a good server or bartender have crept into my daily life. And, I constantly find myself sort of assessing/reviewing every server & bartender I come into contact with and unfortunately always seem to have the urge to point out when something is being handled in a manner which could be easily improved, be it how long a server or bartender took to greet a customer to the cleanliness/sanitation practices of a particular joint.

That being said, I think the best thing any bartender can do in terms of their garnishes & garnish trays is to keep them out of the customers' reach, as patrons often notice when another patron reaches in there, and it always seems to gross them out more when a patron does it versus a bartender or server. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because they just assume an employee touching their garnish is somewhat unavoidable. Also, not actually dropping the fruit into the drink after it has been squeezed is a definite plus, as most patrons now realize that restaurants categorically do not wash the fruits before they're cut; I see this all the time, especially where water & lemons are concerned. Lastly (this goes 100-fold to servers, as they're definitely the worst offenders), do NOT serve a glass by gripping it along the rim with the tips of your fingers. Biggest bozo-no-no any server or bartender can make, and trust me, it WILL affect yer tips.

Thanks for the great list. I agree wholeheartedly with it. And I completely feel ya on the standing issue: I stand for at least 4 hours in a row in a single spot without the benefit of being able to walk back and forth behind a bar, playing cover songs for bars & restaurants full of patrons who aren't listening to me. ;)

Bartending can be a lot of things, for some people it’s a temporary job where they earn the income needed to survive, while others turn it into a solid career and earn quite a lot of money from it. Just like any other job however, bartending might come with its dull moments, but on the other hand it allows you to meet a plethora of new people, sometimes very influential, and through that you can make great connections. Bartenders can gain a good income that ranges from $10000 per year up to $20000. And this doesn’t even take the tips into account, which might double the revenues.

As a bartender, how old can you work? Where are the old bartenders? I'm picking up side money setting up and serving for banquets. They occasionally need bartenders. It looks easier than running, serving from large trays, refiling drinks, and bussing all in one night. I don't drink much, but I've always appreciated a good bar tender and tipped well.

I know that this Is from 2009, but as a bar tender (bar maid if you prefer) I agree with your list. The pub I work in is full of polite customers so I don't usually have to worry about anything. As the winter is fast approaching we are starting to become less busy.

One thing I love about working behind a bar is that it has improved my confidence significantly over the past few months of working. My friends, family and class mates have noticed the increase of confidence and that I can pretty much talk to anyone now, even to people I don't know.

Having had a rude customer throughout my shift this evening, it's been great to see that most of the regulars are willing to stand up for me.

I'm not sure how long I will be working as a part time bar maid for, but I don't see it as a full time job. I know that eventually I'll have to move on and it'll be difficult as I'm loving working there part time whilst studying.

To say you were " one of the most over-trained bartenders who had never really tended bar" is total rubbish. You can't call yourself a bartender, let alone an over-trained one, without ever having actually tended bar. I don't care how many DVDs you've watched or how many little classes you've attended, if you haven't spent several years, or at least several summer seasons, working long and late busy shifts when the place is thronged constantly and there are messy drunken situations to sort out, tapping heads on kegs to replace/repair, unhappy customers to placate, toilets to unblock etc.etc. then you are simply not any kind of bar tender yet. Regardless of what you think your 'qualifications' are, I wouldn't hire you, firstly, because you had zero of the above experience and secondly, the very fact that you think you were 'over-trained' means you haven't got a clue. To anyone reading this guy's blog and thinking you want to be a bartender, get a job as a bar tender first.

Where are you now?