Becoming A Bartending Genius

Creating Atmosphere

Learning how to make popular cocktails using an on-line source or a book can teach you the basic mechanics of mixing, but it won't teach you how to tend bar. There is no substitute for a hands-on experience with the sight, feel, taste and smell of beverage materials. Immersing yourself in the atmosphere and energy inside a bar is what will produce a 3-dimensional sense of bartending.

Cultivating ambience is a by-product of charisma and imagination, traits a bartender should endeavour to have. Keeping the festive atmosphere during busy times is a result of maintaining a sense of humour and respect for your co-workers. Taking your Training for Intervention Procedures (T.I.P.S.) will teach you the legal issues you need to know in order to serve alcohol and the tactical manoeuvres you can use to stop serving a guest who seems to have reached their limit. Controlling your service area will prevent disorderly behaviour from disrupting the atmosphere you create.

It takes skill and tact to listen just enough to your regular patrons who whine, brag or complain about their life without getting personally involved. Remember, after a few drinks you will look like a superhero and benefit the bigger tip. Moreover, if you are looking for field data to complete your sociology study, you are definitely working in the right place to collect it.

Managing your Station

A great bartender needs an excellent memory. The ability to remember patterns without writing them down will not only earn you better tips, but will help you to keep your cool during the happy hour. Being as fit physically as you are mentally will help you to move nimbly around your bar lifting kegs as well as memorizing your orders. Make up your own short-hand and take notes. Although you may be able to keep multiple orders straight at most times, there is no point risking a blank moment during those high volume times when one question too many could suddenly throw you off your game with costly and embarrassing consequences.

Learning the art of bartending involves sizing up your crowd, knowing how to cater to their needs, remembering their drinks and memorizing their names. Keeping current with newsworthy events will help you to communicate with your patrons. Present your drinks with a personal emphasis; know who would prefer to hear low caloric counts, (Vodka and club soda with a lemon), an additive-free brewing process, or a hearty and robust flavour.

Understanding the Components

Mixing beverages generates unique flavours and sensory experiences. Enticing the palette with specific wine and food combination creates new taste sensations. In the words of Ezra Pound, "true genius is the capacity to see ten things where the ordinary man sees one..." Know the material of your art. Understand what flavours compliment each other and how the colour and density of each mix and layer. Use the proper names of glassware and learn what style to use to compliment different cocktails. Practise the art of presentation; know how to give a drink verbal appeal and to make it visually irresistible.

Learning how to sell your product and entertain your clientele will make the difference between an average bartender and a mixology master. A true bartending genius knows the value of a professional image. Appreciate your skill and value the ambience you created; don't lose it by sitting at your own bar and drinking your tips.
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