Please settle this question for me.. does a dry martini have vermouth? I understand more dry means less vermouth vs wet means more but my bar manager claims that dry means no vermouth at all?? I was originally taught to just use less vermouth if it’s dry not NONE (unless requested). Was I taught incorrectly? What do you guys think?

I’ve been bartending for over a year now and never realized that Wild Turkey 101 was 101 proof. I always figured it was 80 proof. Makes sense and just thought that was funny so I wanted to share my dumbness.

I'm Swedish and American and I'm going to be moving to Sweden next year. I've spent a lot of my upbringing in Sweden but this will be my first time living there full time. I've bartended everywhere from dive bars to fine dining. However, I've never bartended in Sweden. Does Sweden have a lot of bars or mainly restaurant bars? What has been your experience bartending there. If you've done both is it a similar atmosphere as in US?

I've always been a fun bartender, cracking jokes and getting into deep conversations with my patrons. I guess I'm worried about the social aspect of it. If it's similarly light hearted banter or strictly professional.

I know bartending school for some is considered inadequate but I took the course anyway and learned more than I did before, so that counts in that respect.

Wondering if they would hire me based of previous work experience (healthcare) and that?

May get an offer for a new luxury (they will be aiming for Forbes five star) hotel opening on the beach in a major US metro area. Also a union job. Haven’t had experience in either so just looking for what others have experienced. I’m used to high volume craft but looking for benefits and consistency but also curious about culture and what yall have experienced .

Hello everyone! i am an aspiring bartender, always wanted to be one since i love mixology and was an employee of Starbucks so im familiar with the concept. i have no clue how to start off as one though.. should i just apply to a restaurant hiring right away? how did you guys start off? i am kinda nervous going right at it since i mean i do get some anxiety but i can overcome that. Any advice?

Hello my fellow bartenders!

Is there anyone that can help me gather information about working in Oman preferably in city of Muscat. I think that easiest way to do this is present you with my questions.

1. What type and standard of living accommodation can i expect to have while working in Oman?

2. What kind of treatment should i expect as a foreign worker from employers and Omani citizens?

3. What is salary like for bartenders with 1y work exp. as bartender in cocktail bar and one summer season work exp. in 5 star resort (Relais & Châteaux)

4. If you work/ed in Oman as a bartender is/was it worth it? (be honest please)

I'm connected to Bar Rewards. I've gone through registration when I pressed P2, and I can even see the tracker for how many check-ins there's been through the week. I haven't gotten any credits though despite us having more than enough check-ins to qualify. What did I do wrong?

The PSM is typically served with a shot glass of prosecco on the side. Customers frequently ask me what they're "supposed" to do with it; drink it as a palate cleanser/chaser (and if so before or after the main part of the drink) or pour it into the rest of the drink?

Personally I'm of the opinion that the correct way to drink something is however you enjoy it most and will usually tell them as much (though I find that pouring it into the main drink can sometimes make an otherwise balanced drink slightly too tart. Also if you don't drink it quickly it can make the passion fruit puree go a bit frothy/scummy)

Anyway, just out of curiosity, I was wondering if there was an "official" answer.

I’ve been working in pubs etc for a while and now have got more of a cocktail job; when making a sour i was told to leave the alcohol out with the ice as it inhibits egg white foam… this isn’t the norm at the new place, it all goes in apart from the ice. Feel free to weigh in.

Hello! I recently started working at a bar. Before this, my bartending experience was in a distillery where we had a set menu I could familiarize myself with easily. This new place is a typical dive bar type place. People mostly just get beer but occasionally people order shots or mixed drinks. I’m working busier and busier shifts and am nervous that it’ll look bad to my boss (who is always on site while I’m training) if I have to continually look at my phone for recipes. Does anyone know of a good reference site or book with standard shot and cocktail recipes? I know simple drinks like old fashioned, mule, long islands, etc. but I’m nervous about shots and more complex drinks

This is the first time I’ve worked at an establishment that sells food AND booze so forgive my ignorance, but I have some questions about standard practices as far as tip out goes for a bartender.

As it currently stands I get 15% of tips and any cash tips the bar gets.

I understand the 15% from the dining guests, but unfortunately, that also means if someone comes to my bar, only sits at the bar, has a drink and tips me $5 on their CC I only see $0.75 of that tip. Is that standard practice? Should I just ask everyone to tip me in cash? Seems kind of tacky but a girl’s gotta eat.

Hello!

I so far am finding this to only have gray area at best, but here’s the situation.

-Currently the bar manager at a recently opened restaurant. I am the only person to have been bar manager here.

-The menu is comprised of 90% my cocktails, whether boozey or NA, including things like house tonic and a house flavored and kegged soda, the rest by one of the owners (who according to local media, created the entire bar program, but that’s another story…)

-Things are not going well, and my exit seems iminent.

-I did not sign anything that said “…anything created while employed by {restaurant} becomes property of {restaurant}.” I mention this because I have had to sign something like that in the past with different employers.

-If I leave, am I allowed to ask that my cocktails be removed from the menu? I understand anyone can make anything and call it whatever they want. And I’m fine if they continue serving them if guests ask for them by name, but I do not want them appearing on the menu, online or used for any media or promotion.

I would love to hear experiences folks have had around this issue. Thanks y’all!

Recently I found myself in need of new shakers. I've always worked with the "47 ronin" tin tin shakers. I love those and I'v seen alot of other bars work with them as well. But Alot of people seem to be a big fan of the Koriko shakers from cocktailkingdom.

Anyone who has used both and give me some factual insight on the pro's and cons of both?

Apriciate it!

I got inform of a negative review where the person said that over a week ago i served them a beer while they were waiting for either a Togo order or to be sat to dine in a beer. And when asked if its ok if they take it outside while they wait, I said “Sure, as long as you bring it back in” he took this as rude and condescending and said I assumed then if theft, and complained on yelp. How do we create a 2-way rating system like Uber for the industry to point out the other side of the equation and how easy going the other side of this equation is?

This is the catch phrase of someone who is frickin annoying to serve and annoying to other customers, but not quite bad enough to 86. I got at least two guys who say this all the fucking time 🙄

Hey! I’ve spent the last two years in Australia, where I pretty much got hired at any bar I walked into. Recently moved back to Orange County CA and damn! Can’t believe the difficulty in finding a job behind the bar!

I’m young (24) but I’ve got three years bartending experience at a variety of different venues, (8 in hospo as a whole) I interview well, and I thought I could pretty easily find something.

12 bars later, pretty much every place I walk into either has a fully staffed bar, or only promotes from within. There’s a job for me at an upscale hotel if I want it, but that doesn’t become available for another two months.

Anyways, just whiniging a bit and would love some advice on getting hired in a more competitive landscape in the US.

Cheers

EDIT: just got a job! Just took a bit of persistence and applying pretty much everywhere. Woohoo

Hey there,

25 yo female. Just moved here from suburbs of Atlanta with family.

I’m thinking about looking for work at a beach bar or tiki bar. I don’t know the area well at all, going to explore and check out a bunch of spots for a while and get my lay of the land first.

If anyone works or has worked in the area and has any info/advice on “where the moneys at” and what the scene is like here it would be much appreciated. :)

Hi bar friends,

I’ve been in the industry for quite a bit and I’ve read all (or at least most) of the top books about build and flavors and methods (think Cocktail Codex, Flavor Bible, etc—done read those years ago)

I’m looking for book recommendations on history!! Preference for spirit oriented reads but open to cocktail history too, or a combination.

Give me culture, place, creation, trade, evolution!!!!!

extra up-vote for rum/rhum specific books (my least studied and used spirit)

Thank you :)

So I've reached the conclusion I'm done with bar work. I've being doing this job 19 years since I was 16 and I absolutely love it but my body can't handle it anymore, started getting recurring back injuries a few years ago and now I feel crippled, every time I've to bend to pick up stock or a glass it's a whole ordeal. I made the change to management about 5 years ago but it's still not fixing things.

My question is what to do next? I'm finding it hard to write down the experience I have into a satisfying cv. What careers have some of you moved into after bar work? I'm looking for some ideas on what to apply for.

i took a gap year and ended up working at a jazz/music club which was incredibly helpful for me. i am friends with most of my coworkers and i’ve gotten to many genuine invites to be at exhibitions and music projects which for me as an artist was very helpful. i now have the contacts to get almost any kind of musician or artist i need in a matter of hours

i also got seriously invited (while everyone was sober) to contribute to a science paper even before i started working on my degree.

the job isn’t easy but it’s so helpful for me by getting to meet and befriend so many people