Basics

Customer Service

A common trope is comparing bartenders to therapists. While most every bartender has a story about coaching a patron through an awkward life situation, or just listening to a bar guest's complaints and philosophies, the most important customer service skill for bartenders is simply making sure their guests have the best experience possible at there bar.

Here are some customer service skills to that will help in everyday situations:

Ask Questions: Find out your guests likes and dislikes when it comes to drinks. If you're asked for a recommendation, your initial response should be a question that finds out what they really want in a drink order.

Be Patient: Patience is a virtue for bartenders and saints. Having patience with your customers and co-workers will reduce the stress of tending bar. This is especially true for well educated bartenders who know a lot about their craft and must translate their expertise to customers who can't speak so knowledgeably about drinks.

Be Attentive: This is a great skill for young or novice bartenders. What you may lack in mixology chops or French wine knowledge can always be made up for with attentive service that makes guests feel special.

Organization and Time Management

These two skills go hand in hand. Working in a busy bar requires detailed organization and developing habits that save time and allow you to tend to all the duties required of a bartender.

Simple steps like putting a bottle back on the shelf in the right spot when you're done using it, or keeping your service well or bar tools organized and clean will stop you from wasting your time and your co-workers time.

Communication

One of the most important interpersonal skills that any worker needs, but especially a bartender in a chaotic workplace, is strong communication. Being able to communicate your needs to co-workers, to understand your customers needs, and to perform good customer service is crucial for becoming a good bartender.

Calm

Bars can be a hectic work environment. Tight spaces, loud music, drunk customers that are rude or impatient; these factors can all lead to becoming overwhelmed by stress and cratering behind the bar.

Being "in the weeds," an industry term that means falling behind in crap you need to get done, will happen to. the even the most seasoned bartenders. But remaining calm and working through the stress will do wonders to save your sanity.

The 6 Basic Liquors

There are six types of liquor that you will use most often in the bar. These are the "base distilled spirits" because they are the foundation for many mixed drinks and used to produce many liqueurs. Each type has its own primary characteristics, a few styles and variations, and many brands to choose from:

• Brandy: Distilled from fruits (most commonly grapes), the name derives from brandewijn, the Dutch word meaning "burnt wine."

• Gin: Often distilled from grains, gin includes the flavorings of botanicals. Juniper is the trademark flavor.

• Rum: Made by distilling sugar or molasses, rum is a sweeter liquor that is produced throughout the world.

• Tequila: Strictly a product of Mexico, tequila is distilled from the agave plant and has a distinct earthy flavor.

• Vodka: The most used liquor, vodka can be distilled from any number of ingredients, though grains and potatoes are most common.

• Whiskey: Whiskey is a complex category with a variety of styles, though they all begin with a distillate of fermented grains. Whiskies are almost always aged; moonshine is the primary exception.

Liqueurs Add Flavor

Liqueurs are just as vital to a well-stocked bar because these distilled spirits give drinks flavor. Liqueurs come in almost every flavor imaginable, from sweetened fruits and chocolate or coffee to snappy spices and proprietary blends, like Bénédictine and Chartreuse, that are truly unique.

Crème vs. Cream Liqueurs

Many liqueurs use the word "crème." Although crème translates from French to mean "cream," these are not creamy:

• Liqueurs like crème de cassis (black currant) and crème de fraises (strawberry) are typically made with more sugar than the average liqueur. They are more syrupy, but they are not creamy. Quite often, crème liqueurs use the French word for the flavor; for example, crème de banane (banana).

• Cream liqueurs are those like Irish cream and RumChata that have a dairy base. These are actually creamy.

Other Spirits and Alcoholic Beverages

There are a number of distilled spirits that do not fall into the category of the six basic liquors and they are also not liqueurs. Some do not even go through the distillation process, yet they are vital in the bar.

• Some "spirits" are simply unique and can be difficult to categorize. Among those are brand names like Veev Acai Spirit and Square One Botanical Spirit.

• Absinthe is unsweetened though it is often misclassified as a liqueur.

• Fortified wines like vermouth are not distilled but a small amount of distilled spirit is often added to "fortify" an aromatized wine.

• Popular apéritifs and digestifs like Campari, Cynar, and amaros are used in a number of cocktails. Many of these ingredients include a distilled spirit or are considered a liqueur, but this is not always the case.

• There are also many drinks that use beer or wine. If you're going to bartend professionally, understanding the basic styles of each is extremely helpful.

GLASSWARE TYPES

All the recipes in this book indicate the type of glass that is recommended for each drink. In the last several years, there has been a trend toward using multipurpose glassware. The advantage is that you can avoid having a lot of different styles of glasses, some of which you may use only occasionally. You can get by with as few as four different styles and they will easily accommodate every drink recipe. “House Policy” generally determines the style of glass used.

TYPES OF BEER

Ale

Ale is a general category of beer: You'll find sub-categories like brown ales or pale ales. This is the oldest style of beer, which dates back to antiquity. What distinguishes an ale - and also makes this category of beer accessible for home brewers - is a warm-temperature fermentation for a relatively short period of time. In the brewing process, brewers introduce top-fermenting yeasts which, as the name suggests, ferment on the top of the brew. The fermentation process turns what would otherwise be a barley and malt tea into a boozy beverage.

Lager

Lagers are a newer style of beer with two key differences from ales. Lagers ferment for a long time at a low temperature, and they rely on bottom-fermenting yeasts, which sink to the bottom of the fermenting tank to do their magic.

Lagers are common among European countries, including Czechia, Germany, and the Netherlands, as well as in Canada, where they make up more than half of all beer sales.

Porter

A type of ale, porter beers are known for their dark black color and roasted malt aroma and notes. Porters may be fruity or dry in flavor, which is determined by the variety of roasted malt used in the brewing process.

Stout

Like porters, stouts are dark, roasted ales. Stouts taste less sweet than porters and often feature a bitter coffee taste, which comes from unmalted roasted barley that is added to the wort. They are characterized by a thick, creamy head. Ireland's Guinness may be one of the world's best-known stouts.

Blonde Ale

This easy drinking ale is a summer favorite, thanks to its light malt sweetness and trace of hops, which add aroma. As the name suggests, blonde ales have a pale color and a clear body. They tend to be crisp and dry, with few traces of bitterness, rather than hop-heavy or dank.

Brown Ales

Brown ales range in color from amber to brown, with chocolate, caramel, citrus, or nut notes. Brown ales are a bit of a mixed bag, since the different malts used and the country of origin can greatly affect the flavor and scent of this underrated beer style.

Pale Ale

An English style of ale, pale ales and known for their copper color and fruity scent. Don't let the name fool you: these beers are strong enough to pair well with spicy foods.

Related to the pale is the APA, or American Pale Ale, which is somewhat of a hybrid between the traditional English pale ale and the IPA style. American pale ales are hoppier and usually feature American two row malt.

India Pale Ale

Originally, India Pale Ale or IPA was a British pale ale brewed with extra hops. High levels of this bittering agent made the beer stable enough to survive the long boat trip to India without spoiling. The extra dose of hops gives IPA beers their bitter taste. Depending on the style of hops used, IPAs may have fruit-forward citrus flavors or taste of resin and pine.

American brewers have taken the IPA style and run with it, introducing unusual flavors and ingredients to satisfy U.S. beer drinkers' love for the brew style.

Wheat

An easy-drinking, light style of beer, wheat beers are known for a soft, smooth flavor and a hazy body. Wheat beers tend to taste like spices or citrus, with the hefeweizen or unfiltered wheat beer being one of the more common styles.

Pilsner

A subspecies of lager, pilsner beers are distinguished by their water, which varies from neutral too hard. Pilsners are among the hoppiest lagers and generally have a dry, slightly bitter flavor. Their light golden color, clear body, and crisp finish make Pilsners a popular summer beer.

Sour Ale

An ancient style of beer that's taken off in popularity in recent years, sour ales are crafted from wild yeasts, much like sourdough bread. These beers are known for a tart tang that pairs well with tropical fruit and spices. Within sour beers, you'll find lambics, which are Belgian sour beers mixed with fruit, goses, a German sour beer made with coriander and sea salt, and Flanders, a Belgian sour beer fermented in wood tanks.