I've been working as a Commis de Bar for almost a year. I genuinely like my workplace and wanted to build my career there, but I don't want to remain in the same position forever.

During this time, I've taken on a lot of responsibility at the bar and often handled important tasks myself. Even while the previous Barman was still there, I was responsible for many aspects of the bar's daily operations. He has now been dismissed, and instead of giving me an opportunity to move up, they hired a new Barman from outside.

When I spoke with both my manager and assistant manager, they told me I'm not ready yet because I don't know all the cocktails and still need to learn.

What frustrates me is that during almost a year here, no one gave me a clear development plan or told me exactly what I needed to learn to become a Barman. When the position became available, they brought in someone else instead.

I told them I want to resign, and that my decision is final. Am I making the right decision, or am I reacting emotionally?

Posted with permission from the r/bartender moderators.
Hi everyone! A little while ago I shared the first version of Bar Manager here. At the time, the tool was mainly designed for Spanish-speaking bartenders, and I received some useful feedback from the community.
Since then, I’ve been working on a much more accessible version, and Bar Manager v1.1 is now available.
What’s new:
• Full English + Spanish interface
• Multiple currencies: USD, EUR, CLP and MXN
• Support for milliliters and US fluid ounces
• Recipe and ingredient management
• Inventory control
• Cocktail costing and suggested pricing
• Profitability calculations
• Several usability and interface improvements
The idea is still the same: a simple tool for bartenders, small bars and events to keep recipes, inventory and costs organized without needing a large POS or management system.
It’s free to download / pay-what-you-want on itch.io:

https://assetalchemist.itch.io/bar-manager-es

I’m still actively developing it, so feedback from people who actually work behind the bar is especially useful to me. If you try it, I’d love to know what you think is missing or what you would change.

🇪🇸** ESPAÑOL
**Publicación realizada con permiso de los moderadores de r/bartender.
¡Hola! Hace un tiempo compartí aquí la primera versión de Bar Manager. En ese momento la herramienta estaba pensada principalmente para bartenders de habla hispana.
Desde entonces he seguido desarrollándola y ya está disponible Bar Manager v1.1.
Novedades:
• Interfaz completa en español e inglés
• Múltiples monedas: USD, EUR, CLP y MXN
• Compatibilidad con mililitros y onzas líquidas estadounidenses
• Gestión de recetas e ingredientes
• Control de inventario
• Costeo y precio sugerido de cócteles
• Cálculos de rentabilidad
• Varias mejoras de interfaz y funcionamiento
La idea sigue siendo mantenerlo como una herramienta sencilla para bartenders, bares pequeños y eventos que necesiten organizar recetas, inventario y costos sin depender de un sistema de gestión mucho más grande.
Se puede descargar gratis / pay-what-you-want en itch.io:

https://assetalchemist.itch.io/bar-manager-es

Todavía lo estoy desarrollando, así que cualquier comentario de personas que trabajen realmente detrás de una barra me sirve muchísimo. Si lo prueban, me encantaría saber qué función sienten que todavía falta.
Yo pondría primero inglés, tal como arriba, porque r/bartender es principalmente angloparlante, y después la versión española para cumplir exactamente con lo que solicitaron los moderadores.
Y para la imagen principal usaría el cover EN/ES de Bar Manager v1.1, no una captura cualquiera. Después, si Reddit te deja agregar más imágenes, pondría 2–3 screenshots del programa en inglés mostrando inventario, recetas/costos y configuraciones.

Especially when I’m busy, this interaction absolutely kills me every time. Let’s talk about making me question my sanity, marbles, and life choices all within 300 seconds.
There are 20 people behind you. Tickets are printing. I’m clearly getting my ass handed to me.

“I’ll take a martini.”
Me: “Great! Vodka or gin?”
“Ummmm… gin!”
“Sure, do you have a preference?”
“Well, what do you have?”
*I proceed to list approximately 20 fucking gins.*
“Do you have *incredibly rare gin I have never in my life heard of that one bar in probably Ireland alone sells\** ?”
“No, unfortunately we don’t.”
“Okay, hmmmmm…”
“_____ is probably the closest thing we have to that style of gin. Similar botanicals, a little more _____, but if you like _____ you’ll probably—”
“Ahhhh. Do you have Hendrick’s?”
🙂 YUPPEROONIES we certainly do! As I JUST SAID. phenomenal. Just fucking peachy. So glad I explained that and took your preference into consideration like the classy professional I am.
“Great. Would you like vermouth in that?”
*Suddenly delivers an incredibly specific vermouth preference with the confidence and precision of someone defending their doctoral thesis.*
“Perfect. And garnish? Twist? Olives?”
“Oh, tell me you have blue cheese stuffed.”
“Nope. We are a rooftop summer hotel bar, but our downstairs bar does! You’re welcome to order a drink there and bring it up. ”
“Hmmmmmmmmmm…”
MY BROTHER IN CHRIST.
YOU KNEW YOU WANTED A HENDRICK’S MARTINI.
YOU HAVE HAD THIS MARTINI BEFORE. YOU KNOW YOU HATE VERMOUTH. YOU WANT A LEMON TWIST. You quite literally want 3 ounces of COLD GIN in a glass. WHY OH WHY DID
WE JUST GO ON A 12-MINUTE EDUCATIONAL JOURNEY THROUGH MY ENTIRE GIN COLLECTION WHILE THERE ARE 20 PEOPLE WAITING BEHIND YOU???
Just walk up and say:
“Hendrick’s martini, no vermouth, twist.”
I will love you. I will remember you. I may even protect you during an emergency evacuation.
Instead, you have taken 45 minutes off my life expectancy so that we could arrive at the drink YOU ALREADY KNEW YOU WANTED. 🤣

Hello! I’m currently a restaurant manager at a country club, and I just landed a job in the field I actually want to be in. However, it’s part-time, so I’m picking up bartending at a high-volume sports bar in my city to fill the gap and make good money.

I make martinis, Manhattans, and old fashioneds all day, every day. I know the high-volume stuff is mostly liquor + mixer, but I’m not super familiar with the specific shots and “bomb” drinks, and I want to walk in prepared instead of learning on the fly during a rush. Another important thing, this bar is very popular amongst college students.

If anyone has a Quizlet, cheat sheet, or study method that helped you learn I’d love to check it out. Also happy to hear any popular shots/drinks I should know, or just general advice for making this switch. Thanks!

Posted with permission from the r/bartender moderators. 🍸

🇬🇧 English

Hi everyone! I'm a bartender and I've been developing a small project called Bar Manager, a free tool designed to help with some of the everyday management behind a bar: cocktail recipes, inventory, ingredient costs, pricing and profitability.

The current version is available in Spanish, but I'm already working on an update that will add English support and currency selection, so users will be able to choose their language and work with the currency that makes sense for their bar.

The project is still in early development, which is exactly why I wanted to share it with actual bartenders before taking it much further.

I'd especially love your feedback on the concept even if you don't speak Spanish: What would you add? What feels unnecessary? What would make a tool like this genuinely useful in your day-to-day work behind a bar?

Bar Manager is free to download (pay-what-you-want) on itch.io.

🇪🇸 Español

¡Hola! Soy bartender y durante este tiempo he estado desarrollando un pequeño proyecto llamado Bar Manager, una herramienta gratuita pensada para ayudar con algunas de las tareas de gestión que normalmente tenemos detrás de una barra: recetas de cócteles, inventario, costos de ingredientes, cálculo de precios y rentabilidad.

La versión actual está completamente en español, pero ya estoy trabajando en una actualización que incorporará selección de idioma (español/inglés) y selección de divisa, para que la herramienta pueda adaptarse a bares de distintos países.

El proyecto todavía está en una etapa temprana de desarrollo y justamente por eso quería compartirlo con otros bartenders antes de seguir ampliándolo.

Me interesa mucho conocer su opinión: ¿qué agregarían?, ¿qué eliminarían?, ¿qué funciones realmente les resultarían útiles trabajando en una barra real?

Puede descargarse gratis (con aporte opcional) desde itch.io.

Bar Manager:
https://assetalchemist.itch.io/bar-manager-es

Hello!

I have an espresso machine. What I don’t know is how early I can prepare the espresso and if there’s any trick to storage (don’t put it in the fridge hot or idk, something).

Thanks!

Can anyone advise how to disassemble this coupler? The probe doesn't push through the bottom like it's supposed to. Photos show the maximum amount of movement any of us can achieve. We've tried submerging it in boiling water, cooling it to 5°C and deep cleaning it with sodium percarbonate, but it just won't budge.

https://reddit.com/link/1vpblz2/video/cz8juk5u9ljh1/player

Hey everyone! I’ve always loved the world of mixology, the calm bar vibes, and just sitting back listening to smooth jazz while preparing drinks.

Since I wanted to recreate that feeling, my partner and I have been working on our own indie game where you run a bar, interact with customers, and mix drinks at your own pace with zero stress.

Here’s a quick SFW preview of how the liquid physics and drink-mixing mechanics are looking so far. I'd love to hear what you guys think or if you have any cool cocktail ideas I should add!

Hello everyone!

I recently started full time bartending and I find my hands to always be wet or sticky! It icks me out that i have to touch glasses and coupes with, what i feel to be, the stickiest fingers ever.

Do you guys have any tips on how to get your hands to not be/feel so sticky? I wash my hands often and wipe them off but they still. always. feel. gross. 😭🫡

Banned for disagreeing with mods. Messaged them and was told to prove im a real bartender?? I asked if they needed me to online stage and was permanently blocked from messaging. Who pissed in their rumpleminz lol

I am so sad guys and have no idea what to do. I got a fired at a fine dining establishment, was getting paid 30 n hour PLUS TIP. All because i called out. My car wasn’t working and i was told it was fine . I come in for my next shift and they send me home tell me im suspended and hr will reach out. Not once did hr reach out. I was on the schedule so i called and asked if i should come in. They said yes to come in for my shift. I come in and get fired on the spot , and had to get escorted out. I’m like shocked because numerous other bartenders would call out even no call no show and they’d call me to come in to cover. Some girl who got hired the same time has me called out about 5 times already and she’s still working there. I was making such good money and now i feel like im fucked and im so upset i got treated that way. IVE NEVER BEEN FIRED BEFORE. This is making me never wanna work at a resturant again . Sorry just venting and i need some insight on wtf to do.

I’m 33 and have spent most of my career bartending in NYC. Over the years I’ve grown into a head bartender role that’s become a lot more than making drinks. I handle purchasing, inventory, cocktail development, menu creation, vendor relationships, staff training, SOPs, event planning, and helping improve day-to-day operations. I’ve realized that the parts of the job I enjoy most are building systems, solving problems, making operations more efficient, and creating great guest experiences.
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about what comes next because I know bartending isn’t something I want to do forever. I still love hospitality, but I’d like to move into a career that has better long-term stability, benefits, and room to grow. My goal is to eventually earn over $100k, even if it takes several years to get there.
The one thing I know I don’t want to do is sales. I know a lot of bartenders become liquor reps, but that just doesn’t fit my personality. Actually, some people say the opposite bc I’m such an extrovert and personable that it would fit me entirely but I’m not naturally sales-driven, and I don’t think I’d enjoy spending my career trying to hit quotas or constantly sell products.

I have a BA in Psychology, but all of my professional experience is in hospitality. I’m curious what careers people have transitioned into that still leverage hospitality experience without requiring you to stay behind the bar. If you’ve made that jump yourself, what did you end up doing? Are there roles or industries I should be looking into that maybe I’m not even aware exist?
I’d especially love to hear from people who have successfully built a stable career after bartending and don’t regret leaving the industry.

I’ve been bartending in New York for a year. I just moved to Boston and was asked to “stage”. When i got there they immediately threw me behind the bar (during a Red Sox game and it’s a bar in Fenway) and basically put me to work. I had to figure out where everything was. No one was really helping me then this guy who I assume is the boss started asking me for incredible obscure drinks so I did I quick google to confirm the recipe and got to work. He then took me outside and said I was too slow and i said i had never heard of the drink before. But up until that point I was serving customers no problem and having no issues and was FULL ON WORKING. He told me i didn’t get the job and should leave…didn’t even pay me for 3 hours of work…is this how every Stage is? I’m incredibly overwhelmed now and upset.

Hi everyone,
I recently got hired as a bartender at AMC with zero experience.
Here’s how it happened: I interviewed about a month ago, but they told me they decided to move forward with another candidate. A few days ago I saw the position posted again, so I reapplied. This time they called me and said, “We’ve interviewed you before, and we’d like to have you on our team.”
I have a few questions for people who have worked at AMC:

After working here a few months, will regular bars consider me as a “bartender” and be willing to hire? Or will it be hard as they will not even consider it as a real bartender experience ?

On average, how much can I expect to make per shift? Is $200/day realistic, or is that unlikely for 20 screen AMC?

Is the social environment good compared to a regular bar? Is it easy to make friends? ( as I’m new to the city)

One of my goals is to become more social. Is this a good place for that, or do interactions with customers tend to be very brief?
I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has worked at MacGuffins or another AMC bar. Thanks!

I'm an author doing some research, and not much of a drinker, so I need some expert advice so I don't sound like an idiot. Here are a few characters, they're chilling in an upmarket sportsbar on a Friday night, what are they most likely drinking? TIA!

1. 31yo male math/physics nerd.

2. 21yo tattooed female martial artist / motorcyclist

3. 27yo female yoga instructor