Mixing Drinks with Responsibility - Bartending

Bartending is what bartenders do! Whether you work at a bar, pub, or similar business, when you mix and serve drinks, usually of the alcoholic variety, you are a bartender. You can also be called a barkeeper, a barmaid, or a “mixologist,” among many other names. Your duties might also include taking payment and making sure the bar is stocked with liquor, drink garnishes and of courses, glasses. As a bartender, you will need to know how to mix a variety of drinks. Therefore, if you are considering a career in this field, you might need to go to a bartending class.

In the United States, bartending began in the mid-1800s when inns and saloons were allowed to serve alcoholic beverages to all guests at their establishments. Before the 1832 “Pioneer Inn and Tavern Law,” inns could only serve guests who were staying overnight. While the prohibition from 1920-1933 outlawed alcoholic beverages altogether, bartending continued in speakeasies and other illegal locations. Nowadays, bartending at popular hotspots not only pays well but also has the added revenue of tips.

A bartender’s job description usually reads as “someone who prepares alcoholic drinks for customers of bars, cocktail lounges, restaurants, and other places where drinks are served.” Other duties include collecting money and making sure the bar is well-stocked with liquor, barware, wash glasses, and other supplies. They must also make sure the bar is clean. However, a bartender’s main duty is to mix standard drinks accurately and fast. In order to do this, a bartender might need to go to bartending class.

Bartending class will usually take two to three weeks. At bartending class, a prospective bartender will learn to make the standard drink recipes. They will also learn:

-  How to setup a bar and equipment

-  How to mix drinks accurately and fast with some speed techniques

-  How to cut fruit and garnishes

-  How to increase sales and tips

Bartending class will even teach the prospective bartender one of the most important things they need to know. This is how to be aware of their customers’ alcohol consumption and know when enough is enough. Many states now require this training to receive a license.