The 10 Essential Skills You Need To Master As A Bartender
January 07, 2022Becoming a bartender requires knowing lots of things and mastering those. You need to be aware of the significant types of alcohol, techniques for mixing those—which liquors should and shouldn’t be combined, and for some, enhancing communication skills.
Here are the life skills and bartending techniques you need to learn to become the best in your profession!
Bartending Life Skills
1. Have a good mood
Be positive about your job and set aside all other things not associated with it. Think optimistic about it and make all things easier. You create an atmosphere while serving drinks , making an unforgettable experience for your customers.
And even if you are bored with a job you have now, try to make things differently and learn something new!
2. Be attentive to the other person – your client
It is imperative to communicate and feel what’s going on with the person who sits in front of you. Sometimes it is better not to ask any questions, and sometimes it is better to chat.
This is one of the most endearing habits among all bartending skills. Who knows, maybe this person may share exciting info that can positively impact your life. Life is full of surprises, especially in good company and well-made drinks .
3. Know your liquids
To prevent failures and mistakes where possible, study and familiarize all liquids you are working with. Create your research paper for that purpose, too. This is a useful bartending habit that will increase your chances of success.
It will work perfectly when you need some info to gather and remember later. It is necessary to know all the titles perfectly. Also, you would need to know the specifics of drinks to mix and apply a specific cocktail technique well.
4. Learn memorizing
Understanding and memorizing techniques is essential if you want to improve your effectiveness. In this way, you will know more cocktail recipes and prepare those without any mistakes.
To help yourself, imagine the process of preparing cocktails step-by-step, like arranging and getting EssayWritingHelp , to move from the unknown to a new piece of valuable knowledge you will apply soon.
5. Train yourself physically
Bartending is a physically exhausting job that needs lots of effort. Emphasize that and pay special attention to your hands, back, knees, and joints. You will need to do exercises to stay alert longer. And never forget about your posture while working for your health and better impression.
Trainable Bartending Techniques
6. Muddling
Muddling appears to be easy to do. But, if not done correctly, this can distort the drink’s flavor profile. Do you like amazing mojitos ? It can only be made if the mint is intensively and appropriately muddled.
You can do correct muddling by using a muddler to push the ingredient on the base of the glass until you feel that the components have passed their intensive flavors to the drink. Most commonly muddled ingredients are fruits, herbs, and even sugar.
7. Shaking
Shaking is a simple action that should be done more professionally. It is vital to mix all liquids properly to ensure that the new taste emerges due to combining previous different ingredients. Technically, this should be made within 10-12 seconds at least. This process may take even longer, depending on the liquids.
For instance, dry shaking of eggs or cream may require at least 20-30 seconds. By default, it is necessary to close your cocktail shaker well before applying this technique for making cocktails.
And after you have gained and enhanced this skill, try to make some kind of performance from shaking. Think from the perspective of your future customers—what kind of performance can impress them?
8. Stirring
This technique is essential for chilling cocktails and preventing aeration of drinks simultaneously. It is necessary for creating a good and even silky texture. Stirring is quite the opposite of shaking, where the air adds to the mixture of drinks. The long bar spoon prevents aeration when stirring.
9. Flaming
This bartending skill is one of the most impressive. A pyrotechnic effect is achieved thanks to the oils of fresh citruses, most often oranges. You will need to flame the external layer of your cocktail and do this attentively, in most cases by approaching its sides.
10. Floating
A bartending technique that adds an ingredient at the top of a cocktail. In most cases, liquors are most frequently used. In the end, you should get a layered drink . Bartenders usually use a bar spoon or a knife for this purpose.
Conclusion
Becoming a bartender is not an easy feat. To be successful, you need to know how to mix drinks and what types of alcohol are popular in each region where your bar may serve patrons. And that doesn’t even include how to socialize with customers!
Let us know if you have mastered any of these skills lately or are just getting started on this journey into bartending excellence. We would love to hear from other professionals who share our passion for creating memorable beverages.
Rebecca Carter is a content writer. She works for an essay writing company and is always eager to help students with their assignments. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and enjoys writing about her life and experience.