The (Almost Literally) Complete Guide to Bartending and Serving

Whether you are starting a restaurant, or thinking of becoming a bartender or server, the following guide will show you the way to success in the service industry. For those who are in the industry, but struggling, this guide should help you become better.

I have studied the bartending practices in four different countries and many different styles of bars, clubs and restaurants. The one and only mark of consistency that I have drawn from these different countries and establishments, is that there truly is no standard; every country, owner, manager, bartender and bar has its own way of doing things.

Even within many bars, there is little by way of set standards and drink recipes, leaving the question of how a drink is made to the given bartender at the time. Different bartenders pour bigger or smaller shots, shake with their own style, add more or less mix, scoop different amounts of ice in the glass or mixing tin and interpret recipes in their own way.

The inherent problem with a lack of set recipes, standards of mixology and service is that there is a distinct lack of consistency in the product that a customer is served. While this may not matter if the liquors, liqueurs and mixers are of foul 'off-the-gun' grade, as the quality of the ingredients increases, so too should the quality of the service and the bartending.

In a fine-dining restaurant, the head chef creates the menu and it is the skill of the sous-chef that consistently creates the meal. Time after time, that dish should come out the same way. A customer who falls in love with a particular entree should be able to come back and get the same dish every time, regardless of who is making itin the kitchen. That same customer should also be able to tell their friends about it and know that when they bring those friends in, the food will be exactly what they recommended. While we take that for granted in a kitchen and might complain if it wasn't so, very few bartenders make that distinction.