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Tom Rakewell posted:My guess is that's also tied into the size of the specific market too. In other words, in most of the large cities I've visted have bars with exclusively Hispanic or immigrant support staff, whereas smaller-medium cities, like college towns, will hire non-immigrant barbacks with the intent of promotion. I had a somewhat similar experience in my downward spiral into the industry, but I'm glad to have had the opportunity to stick it out working with hispanic barbacks for as long as I did. I feel bad for the guys, they certainly work hard/er than anyone, but I was hired, sight unseen, to be the white barback; reversing several years of policy dictating the opposite. Just trying to keep up with these guys got me into the best shape I'd been in ten years, and since there was no language barrier between me, the staff, and the customers, everyone was quick to teach me everything. Early on, a bartender asked me to fetch a white whisky, and I asked what the deal was with that, and since it was slow, he basically told me everything about whisky and aging. That stuff happened a lot. Barbacks work closer to the rest of the staff than the rest of the staff work with eachother (the space between each staff positions seems to be filled by the barback), and there's a lot to learn about the how the bar, and booze, works. I learned more in six months of barbacking than most servers ever learned, and it made me a better server and bartender, and has allowed me to train better barbacks, servers, and bartenders who haven't had as good of an experience as I had. I owe a lot to starting out in an asskicking barback position with tough Central American dudes, and when I've barbacked at places without them, the job has been much easier, and less challenging. I'm sure that there's a profound regional variation to things, but that's how it worked for me in the DC area. I'm less than a year out from no experience, but I do pretty good work at a really great bar. Also, on the bartender/mixologist thing: The people I know who are called mixologists, refer to themselves as bartenders, and I work almost exclusively in cocktails. Mixologist is more a term that I see used in reviews and advertising where the intent is to differentiate one bar's style from the general idea of bars. The pity is that it doesn't work. People just assume that mixology means "good bar" and that if the bar is any good, then surely, they'll have Bud, Grey Goose, and a cucumber draft line for whatever thing they saw on food and dining television. A lot of people never seem to find themselves at the bar they think they're at. doginapot - Craft Cocktails, Spirits, and Volume moonlighting.
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Aug 12, 2012 15:44
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irohol15 posted:I've been to said speakeasy's and have received the "what the gently caress are you on" look before. That's one reason behind the question. I do understand that context is key, so thank you for covering all aspects of it. As a guy who works in a speakeasy type bar, I'll try and field what might have happened to you. This seems to happen most in the kind of place that's known for their originals, where they maybe have one person who is responsible for house cocktails, and they make all the unique ingredients and probably batch the drinks every week. The servers and bartenders are trained to the menu, but they don't have to know much outside of it. Also, sometimes you get a person who is just unaware of some esoteric thing, and when it's cocktails, it's all esoteric. I've got poo poo for not knowing what a New Orleans French 75 was, in my opinion it was retconned variation of the retconned drink, and should probably contain bourbon (right?), but to the customer it was brandy. That makes just as much sense as a gin based French 75. Basically, you either got the new person, or the place isn't exactly a cocktail bar, but it is a bar that has a cocktail menu.
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Nov 21, 2012 23:11
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You might also want to tell a bartender what your desired cocktail is like. I've made a ton of drinks I didn't know with a description, but deciphering is a large part of that equation, and bar that can do that will know what a corpse reviver or a last word is.
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Nov 22, 2012 07:37
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What's you guys opinions on barsmarts. I found some codes for their smaller class, and am thinking about signing up. However, I do know spirits and "mixology" very well, but beer and wine, less so. Is it worth it, has anyone done it?
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Apr 10, 2013 23:31
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Fire Safety Doug posted:I just ran into this and wondered if I could get your take on it: Wow, cocktail bartender registering his opinion. That robot better have some good patent work, because it'll never be worthwhile in a bar. I have hundreds of bottles, recipes, and variations, and still work for peanuts to the house. Gimmicks come cheaper than this, but not as cheap as people.
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Apr 15, 2013 18:59
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Dirnok posted:You are in a good place, man. Don't let anyone tell you different. You've got what all of us wish we had, seriously. A friend is opening a USBG chapter where I'm at. What's the ins and outs of it? Does it have any value, or is it more of an "Absolut presents: A Social Club"?
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May 8, 2013 13:19
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Kaizoku posted:"I'd like to speak to your manager!" I do a full 360 literally and say, "Sir, I am the general manager here, my name is Kaizoku Lastname One of my favorite routines, but only for special occasions. Although, it gets a lot more use at the door. Still at a swanky cocktail bar, and there's nothing we can do when you don't have any ID at all.
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Jul 8, 2013 15:50
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Oh my, crowd sourced bartending. What a terrible idea.
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Aug 1, 2013 18:58
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Mr. Tibbs posted:My absolute favorite G&T is Hendrick's with Fever Tree tonic water. I highly highly recommend trying out some tonic waters besides Schweppes. I find that it makes a huge difference, especially if you are splurging on some nicer gin. You won't look back. Also, Old Tom, and while it lasts, Malacca.
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Sep 2, 2013 03:19
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MC Eating Disorder posted:Holy gently caress yesterday we opened up to capacity numbers of people in formal ware who had booked us out for 150 people for some pre reception wedding drinks while the bride/groom took photos, and for the first time in my living memory, a booking was not loving around with their numbers and actually bought 150 people, we actually opened early because the line out front was getting way too loving long (I'm not sure if this is even legal under our licence) Just reading that made me smile. Hopefully you'll have most of them back in smaller groups to reintroduce themselves in the coming months.
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Sep 15, 2013 22:57
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blowingupcasinos posted:I happened to score a gig bartending at a new farm to table restaurant here in Madison, WI. I've dabbled in doing craft cocktailing at one of my other jobs, but that job was pretty cake and never got really busy. My only other bartending experience is at a college/towney/divey/PBRhipster bar. I'm trying to figure out the best way to get up to speed doing this stuff fast and doing it well. The eventual goal at the restaurant is to serve higher end late night food till midnight and keep the bar open till bartime, but I'm not really sure how to go about doing this. Most of the work has been done for me (getting all the bartenders in this city excited about the restaurant), but I still need to make awesome drinks. Welp, for cocktailing, read old bartending books, get the flavor bible, stir spirits, shake juice, make classics, then swap ingredients (like a mezcal Martinez), and get to know the odd bottles. Eventually it shouldn't matter what a cocktail is, and you'll just make awesome drinks however they need to be made.
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Sep 24, 2013 19:27
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Perdido posted:Anyone have recommendations on reading material for cocktail stuff? Get Degroff's book, it'll cover tools techniques, and most basics. Art of the Cocktail, I believe it's called. Also, I think the barsmarts curriculum is online somewhere, too. It's not as tough to make cocktails as some would make it out to be; a good workspace and proper tools make a world of difference.
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Oct 8, 2013 09:24
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20% has been standard for most places I know. However, some places have a better barback wage, and the tipout is less. In any case, if 20% is higher than normal, it won't kill a bartender to set a better precedent, and for the whole time I was a barback, a better tipout was an effective way of saying thank you (especially after hectic nights) and encouraging you to continue, and look out for everyone. The minimum says other things.
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Sep 4, 2014 02:37
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Schmitty42 posted:Hi bartenders! I'm not in the industry and am a 38-year-old corporate woman who is a regular at a couple of bars in SF. My questions are about how you see regulars in general and women specifically. DC, similar kind of bar. As a bartender, I value someone who values the house and whatever we're working for. Ideally, a regular who tips the difference of the promo, but we do think about how someone interacts with the guests around them, as well. It's nothing set in stone. You're probably just fine, but be mindful of bartenders idiosyncrasies. I tend to value guests who know the difference between being weeded and being lazy. As far as solo women goes, let your bartender know if someone is bothering you. Guys really like to hit on women without men, they rarely tip well in a cocktail environment, and we're more than happy to keep them moving along.
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Dec 22, 2015 04:53
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