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Crafting Better, Smarter, Stronger, Beverage Professionals

Better Bartending 

Method

WELCOMING – First impressions are the key. Try to make the welcome appropriate, warm and personal. A well-expressed welcome will put the customer at ease and is the initial foundation to how you will generate a rappour.

 

PERSONALITY –This is the single most crucial element that will continue to distinguish our team. You have been chosen because you offer character. Customers love personality and will continue to embrace a service with warmth and charm. Promote your positive personality on the bar at all times and leave any personal problems at home. Your personality is infectious and will compliment the ambience around you. It is you most powerful tool and it is what will make you a success within the individual restaurant company.

 

UNDERSTANDING – The ability to assess your guest will allow you to provide them with a highly personalised service. Use your initiative to promote positive service. For example, when a group arrives at the bar, pre-empt their next moves by offering seating if available, and coordinate drinks service with floor staff. This understanding will give your guests a feeling of genuine importance and is crucial to form long- term relationships with you guest and gain tips. Try to always remember guest’s names to make them feel extra special.

 

KNOWLEDGE- It is vital that you have a good knowledge and understanding of your job. This can be anything from how to create drinks to brand and product knowledge as well as Menu knowledge specific to the company. If you have good knowledge and understanding of what you are doing then your guests will feel confident and relaxed during their visit.

 

TIME MANAGEMENT- Time management is key with multi-serving. You can develop your multiservice skills by taking large orders and preparing all of your drinks at once. This will help you to learn to take two or more orders from guests at once and prepare the drinks as one order.

In order to develop this skill you need to get into the habit of firstly preparing your glassware. Making drink in the most efficient order in terms of preparation, time scale and making similar or the same drinks in one go.

 

For example -

A guest orders; 1 Guinness
1 Cosmopolitan

1 Gin and Tonic
1 Gin and Orange

 

  • Get all glassware and chill martini glass

  • Start pint of Guinness and leave to stand

  • Prepare ingredients in Boston glass for the cosmopolitan

  • Pour gin into glasses

  • Ice up glasses and Boston glass

  • Shake and pour cosmopolitan

  • Add tonic and orange to the gin

  • Top up the Guinness

  • Serve all drinks together

 

SHOWMANSHIP- a bartender at work is on stage. How you present yourself, the way you speak, and even how you move are all attributes of showmanship. Your style behind the bar can create an impressive spectacle. Guests will be entertained by your conduct, how to produce your drinks and how much pride you take in your work.

 

CUSTOMER AWARENESS- This is being conscious of the physical moves of your customers at all times, enabling you to offer extra ordinary service, it is a bartender’s sixth sense. Being aware of your customers helps you manage your time and increases the fluency and quality of service.

 

FOLLOW UP- after sales service demonstrates the time, effort and care that you have taken in producing a guest’s drink. Simply enquiring to whether or not the drink has been well received will often exceed expectations. This helps to cement customer satisfaction and will further enhance your professionalism and relationship with the guest.

 

FAREWELL – A well-expressed farewell will serve to compliment and complete your guest’s experience. It will also highlight that their custom has been appreciated. Always leave a lasting impression and remember, “A happy customer = a happy tip jar!”

 

 

Tips and Tricks

BEER, WINE AND CHAMPAGNE COCKTAILS

Naturally, when mixing carbonated cocktails, you will always have the battle of dealing with foam.  When pouring champagne cocktails, in order to reduce the amount of bubbles, let the champagne roll down the side of the glass.  This will ease the problem with foam but the cocktail will have to be mixed naturally with the carbonation.  However, you can always use a stir stick.

 

CREAM DRINKS

Cream drinks are typically reserved for after dinner drinks rather than an aperitif.  Remember, when mixing creamed cocktails always pour the cream first then the liqueur to reassure your cocktail is mixed properly.

 

EXOTICS

Exotic drinks can be prepared in several ways.  Exotic drinks are usually blended however; several people prefer them on the rocks.  Now, people have begun ordering them as martini’s so please ask, how they would like them prepared.

 

JUICE COCKTAILS

This type of cocktail is basically a liquor of some sort that is mixed with fruit and or vegetable juice.

 

HIGHBALL COCKTAILS

Highball refers to a category of cocktails that are mixed with a non-alcoholic liquid.  These drinks are typically your basic two-part drink.  The guest will request liquor with a soft drink or water.

 

MARGARITAS

Three questions should be asked when preparing a margarita.  1) On the rocks, frozen or up? 2) Salt or no salt? 3) What type of Margarita; Cointreau, Grand Mariner or Triple Sec?  What type of Tequila?  These questions are getting more and more important because everyone has a different idea of a margarita.  

 

MARTINIS

When pouring clear liquors, the best suggestion is to stir the cocktail instead of shaking it.  By stirring clear liquors this offers a creamier, more textured cocktail.  Nevertheless, if asked for a martini three questions need to be asked; 1) Gin or Vodka, 2) Shaken or stirred, 3) Olive or onion.  

 

MIXED MARTINIS

When mixing a martini with juices or cream shaking the drink offers the best result.  By shaking the drink serves two purposes; 1) dilutes the additional ingredients, and 2) mixes the ingredients more thoroughly.

 

TWO LIQUOR DRINKS

When pouring two liquor drinks make sure the lighter liquor is poured first.  If a liqueur is involved, pour the liqueur last.  In most cases, the guest will prefer that the drink is not stirred.

The simplest of all cocktails can be a work of art, if done properly.  There are several techniques to mix a cocktail; building, stirring, shaking, layering, and blending.  There are some extra techniques that may be needed in order to mix a certain cocktail.  These extra techniques would be flaming, and muddling.  However, the most important ingredient of Mixology is the presentation of the cocktail. 

 

The six main mixing methods Mixologists use:

  • Building

  • Stirring

  • Shaking

  • Rolling

  • Dry Shaking

  • Muddling

  • Layering

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