Bartender! Yes, the guy who stands behind the bar mixing and showing his or her skills with various drinks. For others, it is just another profession like others, but only those who have been on the other side of the table know what it takes to be successful in providing each customer with what exactly he or she wants. It is an art that very few masters proficiently.
To be a bartender who satisfies each of his or her customers, there are several skills that one must possess. The very basic and the most obvious of these is that you need to be properly skilled in making drinks. Secondly, you need to have knowledge of all the various types of cocktails and how to make them. Third and the most popular that will take you a step ahead towards being a pro is being updated and well known about the popular drinks and flavors which are contemporary.
Well, there is one more thing that you need to be adept in while making a drink and that is being fast and quick behind the counter. You need to make and serve orders real quick because the guests are not there for the drink alone. They are there to have a good time and you need to keep this thing in mind throughout the time that you are working. So we have told you a lot of things that need to be done to be a top notch and high on demand bartender but you may ask us, how? What use is telling us about the destination if you cannot tell us about the path? Right? Absolutely right.
A Spruce Eats article gives some tips in mixing drinks.
We are not here just to tell you about the destination. We will also show you the way to reach there. So here we are giving some tips which you need to follow if you want to be the sole ruler of the table.
- Try and make syrups of your own
The best thing about homemade syrups is that you can add your own personalized touch and coolness in it which cannot be bought from stores by others. Moreover, making syrup at home will only cost you the price of sugar in addition to the things you may like to add into them. You can add a wide variety of things ranging from a thumb of ginger to a slice of pineapple. In addition to this, these syrups last at least a week. This will save you a lot of bucks.
You should infuse your syrup with natural ingredients such as herbs or fruits or something of that kind. It is always a wise choice to use these in place of spirits as infusing your syrup with natural ingredients and fruits will lessen the wastage of alcohol.
- The art of free pouring.
There will be a lot of people who will suggest you use a jigger, but you must always be a master of the art of free pouring. As no mastery is achieved without practice, hence you must practice pouring a half ounce or four ounces from free hands. In addition to this, you must also learn the art of bump pouring that is pouring from one glass to another glass in a continuous manner.
The one thing you need to practice to be proficient in is pouring correctly each time in the glasses. This will make sure that your drink is a consistent drink and that your guests will love it to their heart’s core. You can gain proficiency in this art by counting while pouring so that your count can be adjusted by the amount poured.
- Have your own signature shake
There is no point in doing a thing if you are not enjoying it. Same is the case with bartending. You must enjoy the process while you are in the middle of it. This is considered as one of the most important aspects of bartending as the spirit is made pretty smooth due to dilution by this and the best part is that the customers will love it.
Every single bartender has got his or her own personalized drink. So what should you do? First and foremost, do not be afraid of experimenting and trying. Secondly, remember the number of shakes that you give to your drink very well, so that you can make it the same every single time without any issue.
See this The Republic personalized drink just for you.
It is a known that the one thing that is responsible in determining the consistency of the drink is the number of times it has been shaken and it is the same time that will bring the customer back to you again and again.
- Make sure to remember your regulars
One of the most important things that you need to do in order to be popular amongst your customers is remembering the drinks that the customers who are regular to you, like to have. This one single thing will make them come back to you again and again.
In addition to this, the one thing that you need to do is ask your customer if he or she would like to have his or her regular instead of the name of the cocktail that he or she asks for regularly. This one thing makes them feel valued. They feel as if someone is listening to them. keeping in mind their likes and dislikes. This will make you establish a good relationship with your customer which in return will make them come back again and again to you.
- Just smile and be friendly
One thing that needs to do in order to keep your guests engaged is always ready with a few anecdotes or stories or jokes in your pocket so that you can develop a conversation with your customer whenever you need to get his attention.
This is one quality that women are pretty good at. They are excellent conversation generators. They have got their own personal touch and their own personal finesse. So you should be really proud and in addition to this, you should work really hard if you are a female bartender. In addition to this, there is always the one weapon which girls come handy with and that is their smile. So be sure to use it whenever you get an opportunity. It never misses.
- After each drink, clean your tins
There is one mistake that a lot of bartenders make which at a time creates a lot of ruckuses and that is dumping your tins after every drink. There are two major disadvantages that you will face if you belong to the same lot of people. First and foremost is that at some point of time you will run out of tins to serve and secondly during rush hours if you have to make two drinks at a time when it slows down the process considerably. To avoid these situations be sure to clean your tins after every single drink. s
- Practice putting in place
It might not sound as important as the other points mentioned here, along with but believe me when it comes to saving time this one trick comes handy. Be sure to organize and arrange things which you think will be required or will be useful during a particular shift. This will not just make things easily accessible, but will also save loads of time.
- Always search for time to work in the kitchen along with behind the bar
The most important thing in any profession is discipline and working in a kitchen will teach you the same. Along with discipline it will also teach you how to be fast, organized as well as tidy and neat. Many famous bartenders have admitted that before being an excellent bartender they were nice barbacks.
- Local Ingredients need to be sorted
A lot of famous bartenders believe that a good bartender should keep visiting the market of the local farmers, their gardens and maybe even florists. All the customers who stand before us for a drink, enjoy floral scents which are sweet, in the summer and unique herb flavors present in their drinks during the fall.
There may also be a case that you may not be knowing what things are available at a farmers market. In that scenario, all that you need to do is ask. Just ask the people around you and help will be at your doorsteps.
- Learn the basics and go with the trends.
Last but not least always keep yourself updated through books or videos available online about the lasted trends. Some books which you need to go through in order to master this art is a book by Jeffrey Morgenthaler which goes by the name, Bar Book: Elements of Cocktail Technique along with Mr. Boston Official Bartender’s Guide.
These two books will help you a lot in honing your skills.
Follow the points that we have mentioned above and see yourself being at the center of attention of all your customers and guests. Fame and fortune will come in handy.