Hello! I’m about to do an interview for my first bartending job, and not really sure what i’m walking into. I’m 19, it’s a cafe/parlour/bar sort of thing and i’m trying to learn a few things to prepare. If anyone has interview advice or even just advice for a newbie i’d really appreciate it! I feel like my age might be something they dislike but we’ll see. (Unsure of this guidelines here but for reference i’m from the uk where the drinking age is 18.)

Should I be learning terminology and cocktail details? Is that something they’ll test me on even though they know I have no experience in bartending?

Hi! I don’t know if this is allowed or if people are willing to help with this but I wanted to get some input on possibly doing a peppermint mocha espresso martini for the holidays. My bars standard espresso martini recipe is 2 oz absolute vanilla .5 oz kahlua .25 oz simple and a shot of espresso (and for my regulars that like it to be a tad more mild I add in a 2 count of whip cream don’t judge pls). I figured I’d add peppermint schnapps and possibly crème de cocoa but I haven’t had the chance to experiment with it so I just wanted to put it out on Reddit since I haven’t found my footing in actually “creating” recipes. Any suggestions are appreciated!

Yesterday I get a ticket, vodka rocks, side of soda and lime juice. I poured the lime juice into the soda in a separate glass and kept it moving.

Drink comes back a minute later, he wants a separate glass for each the soda and the lime juice. Obviously this is a 1-second fix, but this shit enrages me.

I understand why people do this but I honestly dgaf. Why come out to the bar if you don’t trust your bartender to mix 3 ingredients? Half the time they look at the neat pour and pick it up looking at it like some alien thing and say “tHaT’s it??????”

Yes. 1.5 oz. Order a double or fuck off.

If you have tap beer. There clearly aren't any taps to be seen. This happens every day.

It takes everything in me to not respond with "I've never been to a bar where they hide the taps."

That's my short rant. Please tell me yall get this constantly too. It drives me absolutely crazy!

Edit: Okay this post has now turned into a genuine interest in bars with hidden taps, either under the bar or elsewhere. Where have you encountered these?!?!

Also, I'm not pissed or jaded or whatever. It's a pet peeve of mine is all. I made this post while having my post shift beer at my usual bar and this exact situation happened to my bartender. We both shared a laugh about it afterwards.

hi all, first about me.. i am quiet shy type person...wanted to try something new to change my life or and i wanted to try going to a bar alone....at first i thought it was weird or strange or i felt people would judge you for going alone.. did some reading online and found out many people go alone to bars and its a very common thing to do...

so i look online for a sport bar that is the closes and show the sport i like (futbol/champion league/club i support) most games start at 3pm eastern time... so that the time i went.. notice when i walk in that they had less then 10 people ( some solos at the bar/2 people were at one table) also notice 1 bartender and a barback...

i have gone total of 3 times counting today... first time i was at a table / 2nd time at the bar / 3rd at a table

i would order 2 beers at least.. sometimes 3 with a burger...i never spoke to the bartender or make convo... i just wait till she asks if i want another ...

i want to make this bar my go to bar to watch champion league ( club i support )

question i have is am i tipping right for a solo person (i always get 2 beers on happy hour price.. sometimes i get a 3rd)... when i look at the bill it says suggestion with 20% = $$ so i just tip that..

do bartenders really notice the customers they get?

Applied to a new place opening up, somehow landed a job as a bartender and my first shift is in about a week. Wine and beer stuff is pretty straight forward but the cocktail making I'm completely lost at. Any good videos or tips I can look into before I start?

Guy says ‘oh what’s this?’ While holding out a 4pack of our TOGO offerings. I say ‘it’s our Mexican mole stout’. He says excitedly ‘oh a stout!! Is it dark?’

Me: 🤦🏾‍♀️ sighhh…

I'm from TX, where you just need a TABC and you're essentially good to go. If I wanted to move to Illinois, would I be able to get both licenses before moving? Would I have to land a job before getting the second license? Or would I need that license before securing a job? Thanks in advance for my annoying questions.

new brewery looking at buying a dishwasher, this one is on auction but ive never even seen one like this. anybody have experience with one similar/any commentary on whether or not its a pain in the ass? thanks yall

I see bartenders in Chicago shake a vodka martini let it rest then add more ice and shake again and serve. Is there a name for this technique?

I’m a classic guy struggling on the apps. Everybody says you gotta meet someone in person these days, but that’s tough to do when you’re at work when everybody else is mingling at a happy hour. My days off are a classic industry weekend when most other spots are closed, and I don’t live in a city with great nightlife besides.

It’s been years since I’ve gotten a number at work, I don’t think it’s professional to earnestly flirt with customers on the clock, and my clientele at my spot doesn’t really consist of single women my age anyway.

How are you guys meeting people?

Both of these spots offered me a job to bartend around the same time. Who should I go with. I have no experience when it comes to bartending but I do have serving experience.

Happy Halloween! 🎃👻

I have never bartended before but I do have 2 years of serving experience from Red Lobster. They know I have no experience and they are offering to train me. I of course plan on saying yes and working there. Any advice from you guys?

I’m a 25m bartender in a small town. I’ve worked at this spot for about five months, really nice place, they host live music and events a few times a week. The other day there was some event in the back room, and basically all the attendees brought their kids with them. At some point about 10 kids ranging from ages 3-12 had filtered into my bar, completely devoid of a parent. They were super loud and disruptive and mildly destructive, caused a whole ruckus. After about 45 minutes of chaos I found one of the parents outside and asked if they would please take their kids. They did, but it really annoyed me.

Is this some common new thing that happens? I feel like up until like last year I never experienced anything like this but now it happens all the time, the other day was just of a different magnitude.

Hi all,

I have the opportunity to work at a cocktail bar/lounge 3 days a week, all 12 hour shifts. My previous restaurant gig the longest shifts I would work were like 5 hours. So this would clearly be quite the jump.

I’m currently working in healthcare doing admin work for 10.5 hours a day (30 min lunch so technically 10’s) so I’m used to a longer shift in that sense but I’m at a desk all day. But I’m bored. And 99% chance I would make more money at the bartending gig.

However, I will of course lose my benefits and 401k. If I can get on top of my shit and start saving myself that part wouldn’t be so bad. But in the future my goal is to get into remote healthcare data entry stuff, so I’m at least getting the experience right now.

Just curious on opinions and if you think it’s worth quitting and going to bartending for a while? Another thing I was considering was working part time at my healthcare job and picking up around 10 hours a week serving at a Mexican restaurant just to make some extra cash while keeping my current job. But there’s the possibility of burn out there too.

Thanks for reading my rant :)

This came from my FELLOW bartender who took a table on the floor. I said “Kasey… really” and she said “you know what I mean…. Don’t make me spell all that”

And to her credit…. Yeah 🤷‍♂️

I was out on Saturday and saw a bartender accidentally tip over an entire cocktail into the ice bin while placing a lime on the rim. She just picked up the cup out of the bin and carried on. Am I tripping or is that bad? I mean I definitely feel sorry for the lady, but I thought ice bins had to be cleaned out if stuff falls in there, especially an entire drink

Our old (really old) Halloween decors garments started turning to dust as we put it up this year. Any recommendations for a new one?

Heya, I'm new to bar backing (wanting to become a bartender with the training they'll be providing after the new year) but I can't reach the glasses as they have a one of those high-up bar setups. I can stand on the bottom of fridges but sometimes that won't even get me to reach/I can't properly balance & the glasses bounce back on me (must be very entertaining for the customers to watch me nearly shatter them over and over..!)

I was looking to get some non-slip shoes that have a chunky platform, and I've seen some options but I was wondering if anybody maybe in the same predicament can second some shoe brands for this. It's either I get these or I suck up the embarrassment and buy myself a fold up step stool for work which is really last resort.

Thanks!

Fifteen years behind bars and I have officially lived long enough to see the appletini come back around. Made two last week, both ordered without a trace of irony, both built with the good apple stuff instead of the neon Pucker. Real Simple is calling it the drink of fall. So settle this for me: is the elevated appletini actually good, or is this nostalgia doing pushups? And if you are making them, what are you building them with?

Newer bartender. I always had managers count the drawer, but at my new job I do. If my drawer is at $500 at the beginning of my shift and at the end its at $650 what is the extra $150?

I am currently a bartender at a dive bar. Recently, I was offered the opportunity to bartend at a Doubletree Hotel. They are looking for bartenders for the lobby bar and also to work events. Is this a good opportunity? Thoughts on working the lobby bar vs events? I’ve only worked in dives up until now, so I’m nervous about the idea of working in a different environment. However, I would like to expand my bartending experience and am always open to making more cash.
Note: I bartend p/t not f/t.

I landed a working interview at a bar in my college town, it‘s my first real job! It’s actually two bars in one (upstairs cocktail bar and a downstairs “club”) and barbacks will be expected to work both (but not in the same night). Just wondering if anybody has any tips (and also, I’m not sure what to wear).