5 Best Online Bartending Schools & Mixology Courses For Beginners

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If you are the type of person who thrives on socializing and wants to pursue an exciting career, bartending and mixology can be just the right thing for you. Mix up delicious drinks, meet new people daily, and get paid for it – that's what you'll be in for.

What's even better is that the money isn't bad at all. The average salary for a bartender in the U.S. is around 38K per year plus tips. If you are good at it and land a great job, your yearly income can reach 50K. Not to mention that the bartender job market has seen an increase and is expected to grow furthermore.

But to begin a lucrative and fun career as a bartender or mixologist, you first need to attain the right skills. There is no need for you to spend money on the commute or pay rent in another city when you can find valuable bartending courses for beginners online.

Get your certification while still in your PJs with these best bartending school and mixology courses.

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The Best Online Bartending Schools & Mixology Schools

1. BarSmarts - Leading Online Bartending School

The second-largest wine and spirits distillery in the whole world is responsible for creating this online learning platform. The comprehensive and detailed courses are the reason why new bartenders keep navigating towards this school.

On top of that, you’ll be instructed by some of the leading experts. One of the teachers is David Wondrich, a famous authority in terms of cocktails and cocktail history and contributing editor at Esquire.

What can you expect to cover within BarSmarts school is:

• Cocktail history
• Classic cocktails
• Every spirits category
• Serving techniques
• Service management

You'll have multiple tests during your learning journey that will assess your applied skills and knowledge. Upon successfully passing all the tests, you'll have a bartending certificate in your hands.

Don’t be surprised if some bar owners ask for BarSmarts certification or give an upper hand to beginners who have it. That's how high esteemed this school is.

2. Bartending 101: Seven Simple and Delicious Drinks - Free Online Bartending School

If you want to start with something easy and maybe test out your desire for bartending, here is a course that can be perfect for you.

It is a free online course that introduces you to some simple steps of bartending. The course is hosted by Michael Rego, an experienced bartender and mixologist, also known as “local celebrity bartender” of North Conway, NH.

Michael will teach you all the basics, such as:

• How to shake, strain, and blend cocktails
• Kinds of liquors (when and how to use them)
• How to make seven delicious award-winning drinks

Just because the course is free doesn't mean it won't be as helpful as paid online bartending classes. You'll be able to learn to shake, mix, and blend like a pro. Not to mention that Michael will teach you how to make some of the most popular and delicious drinks.

3. TIPS - Responsible Alcohol Consumption Training & Education

TIPS or “Training for Intervention Procedures” is a licensing program that every bartender can benefit from significantly.

Besides knowing how to mix and serve drinks, there is another necessary quality that bartenders should have – knowing how to handle the guests. What TIPS can help you with is to shape you into a responsible and attentive bartender.

Learn how to:

• Detect the beginning of intoxication
• Prevent issues created by agitated and potentially violent guests
• Improve your service and approach to guests
• Notice when guests have reached their drinking limit

TIPS was even awarded the Intercontinental Hotel’s Group Award for responsible bartending by The National Restaurant Association.

Jeremy Sully, a mixologist and contributor writer at BestEssaysEducation.com and ClassyEssay, said that:

"Maintaining the guests happy and keeping the atmosphere light and breezy can sometimes be harder than mixing the drinks. I can safely say that getting a TDI certification is one of the smartest decisions I have ever made.”

4. Cocktail Training and Menu Creation - Online Mixology Course

Bartender Barista is an online bartending school that aims to deliver more comprehensive and elaborate knowledge in bartending. Their goal is to shape you into an expert bartender and mixologist, and that’s what this course will do.

Take the course at your own pace and set your schedule. The class will be available to you 24/7.

What you can expect to learn from “Cocktail Training and Menu Creation” is:

• The history of mixology
• Different kinds of liquor and cocktails
• Bar preparation
• Pouring techniques
• How different flavors mix
• Most popular cocktails around the world
• How to match the cocktail with food, events, and weather
• How to be an amiable bartender and provide excellent service

5. Bartend Like a Mad Man - Online Mixology Classes

Katrina Rodzon, the instructor for this course, will ensure that you learn the basic tips and tricks of bartending and mixing drinks while having fun along the way. She has a unique and creative method of teaching, which massively attracts thriving bartenders to this course.

With over 10 years of experience as a mixologist, Katrina knows the importance of originality. That’s why she’ll also teach you how to mix various liquors and make different color combos to create unique drinks for your guests.

Taking a “Bartend Like a Mad Man” course will introduce you to:

• History of bartending
• Tools you need for bartending and how to use them
• How to make top modern cocktails
• When you need to shake and when to stir
• How to make to customize drinks and make unique cocktails

Final Thoughts

What these online bartending schools and mixology courses bring to the table is a cost-saving yet high-quality platform for aspiring bartenders.

Bartending is more than just a job. It is a creative, skillful, and artistic career that can bring life into your daily routine.

You won’t have to worry about repetitive tasks or seeing the same people every day. Once you pass the course and hone the skills, you can venture into a career that can promise you that you'll never have a boring workday in your life.

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