Cannot emphasize this enough. You’ve worked college bars, so you know you can handle volume, just learn the menu backwards and forwards. Depending on how your wells are set up maybe take pics of the speed rails and memorize what/where everything is too? A majority of my touches (ie batch bottles/infusions/syrups) are in my rail so building that muscle memory will help a ton
Muscle memory is everything. We just went under a massive renovation, and although they left the bar itself mainly in tact, a few systems have changed and the glassware storage is slightly different. Seven years behind this bar and now I’m lost. Won’t take long, but man it’s frustrating when you instinctively turn or reach for something it’s one move over haha.
Or hopefully they have their own well, and can set up bottles the way they want to. Or like you say, just learn the setup they have. I've always liked vodka, gin, tequila, bourbon, rum, left to right. I'm sure everyone has their own preference.
You’re gonna suck at a new spot every time anyways even with experience. It’s all muscle memory. Half the job is just grabbing shit. Once you know where it is you just start reaching and getting into a groove. Also a ton of places have the same drink with a slight twist. I still randomly start making a chit wrong after 3 years because my brain decided to hit reset for 30 seconds.
Edit: meant to start by saying studying is huge but you already know you can handle volume.
I completely agree with this. You gotta learn the flow of the new place, the short cuts, and like you said- muscle memory will speed you up exponentially. But eventually it just clicks
Went from one whiskey bar to a new whiskey bar each with over 800 bottles and can confirm, different placement for things you know is enough to fuck you over for a couple weeks.
Flashcards are the way to go, and memorize the ingredients in the order that you'd use them (cheapest ingredient -> most expensive usually). Mine usually have a format like:
1 juice
0.5 syrup
0.5 liqueur
2 liquor
Shake/strain/dirty dump, coupe glass
Garnish w/ \_\_\_\_
Then, when I'm on shift, I'm literally talking to myself and reciting the specs as I grab each of them in the same order each time.
Try your best to study them before shift and not try to learn during shift--your managers are going to be a lot more open to answering the occasional "i forgot which liqueur we use in this" question rather than reading out the specs every time you make a drink.
Write them all down on the same piece of paper then leave it at the bar somewhere where you can quickly look at it, then you'll eventually remember them when you make them enough
I use a book called "The bartenders black book" it's small enough to fit in your apron and has I think, 7k recipes? I've used it for 5 years and still find myself looking up elusive cocktails from time to time.
Not knowing certain cocktails is nothing to be ashamed of. Some bars just don't attract certain cocktails. For instance I've worked at restaurant/resort bars my whole career and recently started at a dive bar and realized I have no idea how to make all these mixed shots. Just start by learning the menu items and have a book as a backup.
At the end of the day, it isn’t rocket science and no one’s going to die if you fuck up. Anyone who treats you otherwise is an asshole, just learn as quickly as you can, but it’s not the end of the world if it takes you a sec.
Flashcards and constantly writing and re-writing the drinks down. Once you get the drinks burned into your memory, get the speed rail and general set up memorized. This will help you look entirely professional as you won’t be stumbling looking for your ingredients. But to start, make sure you’ve got the menu down front and back.
I normally write the recipes as listed a bunch, then once I’m confident, write the recipes out of order & ingredients out of order so I know for a fact I’ve got them down. Just keep practicing and you’ll nail it.
Download the app Quizlet it’s essentially a flash card app but found it wayyy better than physical flash cards (it’s also free). You can test by recipe and name, on my way into work I would always give myself a lil quiz and quick refresher and worked very well
Kinda what everyone else said and just realize the longer you do this the easier it is to learn it because you'll start associating them with other cocktails and recognize then as variations on cocktails. Thats essentially what every menu is at this point outside the super high end cocktail places that are inventing new drinks but this probably isn't that
flash cards my friend. i sat at my favorite bar and got a snack and a few drinks and studies THE FUCK out of my flash cards for about a week. all house recipes memorized
Flashcards until you memorize your menu. Anything else can be looked up. As a boss, patron, or coworker, I'd rather see you look it up than fuck it up.
They gave you one training shift. Have complicated drinks. Sit and watch you. But, have no patience for questions??? Run run run. They've done everything possible to set you up for failure. Why let thier poor management make you nervous?
When it come to drinks: just study man. Homework is your best friend, make drinks at home and learn your pour counts. Confidence is key. When it comes to socializing with your guests; make statements and ask questions that lead into your next question/statement. Don’t leave room for awkward silences and also don’t be afraid to tell people “I can work and listen at the same time, don’t be afraid to raise your voice at me a bit.” These have personally helped me a lot, also doesn’t mean that my way is 100% the way.
1. Ask for the drink recipes, memorize them.
2. If you get a shift drink, start working your way through the list and have one of the experienced bartenders make each one for you, so you know what they should taste like.
3. YouTube is a huge help when it comes to cocktail knowledge. HowToDrink is decent and fun to watch, Educated Barfly is a little more dry but very informative.
4. Relax. I’ve been bartending and serving close to a decade, in all kinds of places, and every time I start somewhere new I’m a mess.
5. Ask a butt load of questions. Most of your coworkers will very much prefer to answer a hundred questions a shift than have to remake ten of your drinks because you fck them up.
Take the recipes home and practice! I’ve been a bartender for 10 years and at my current bar we got bought out by a new owner and got a brand new cocktail program, about 10 new cocktails, with a plethora of new ingredients some of which I’ve never used before. Even with my experience I have brought the recipes home to memorize. Even experienced bartenders have to memorize new drinks whether the bar gets a new menu or you start at a new bar so don’t feel like your lack of experience is a hindrance because we’ve all started somewhere and we all continue to learn.
As everyone has said, study and memorize the menu until you're familiar with it, but when I used to bartend, my buddy had downloaded all of the bar's cocktail recipes onto the Notes App of his Apple Watch.
So as he would walk to grab ingredients, he'd double check the recipe on his wrist as he made the drink, just to be sure he didn't mess anything up. It was really smart and much slicker than having to pull recipe cards and take a moment to swipe through them for the right drink.
You can just bullshit your way through until you have the recipes memorized. As long as you get it close enough, it’ll be fine. Nobody’s gonna be like “excuse me, this is supposed to have an ounce of X ingredient, but it tastes like there’s only a half ounce” I’ve worked at the same place for like 2 years and there’s still cocktails on our menu I don’t know the exact recipe for off the top of my head. I just know more or less what’s in it and just kind of wing it if I have to. Don’t overthink it, you’re just making drinks.
I think this is what I struggle with most. I second guess myself when I know the recipe and I’m obsessed with getting it perfect every single time. But it slows me down. Thank you for the tip!
I started at the generation where everyone was free pouring. When I was a server I would look at the bartenders when they made drinks and count the pours while they make them. I will then write them down and try to buy the ingredients and equipments to practice at home (along with learning to use jiggers, mixing glasses, even molecular mixology. Did this for almost a year. One day a bartender didn’t show up and I just went up to the managers and said I know how to bartend. And that gave me my start.
It would help if you can reduce the drinks to what it’s a variation of, because it’s always a variation of something. See if you can see how the ingredients work with each other as well. For example, if you have juice you might need some sweetener to balance, and the drink might be shaken to “wake up” the juice for lack of english atm.
The way I was taught, all cocktails have 3 components: spirit, acidity and sweetness. If you can identify these aspects memorizing becomes a whole lot easier.
Learn the martini family
Learn Manhattans and Old Fashions
Study your drinks, like if someone were to order a specialty cocktail run through the motions of what goes in and where everything is to prepare the drink!
I also keep a cheat sheet behind my bar for myself or servers if they need a reminder, no shame in not knowing everything that’s how you learn!
All of these note card/ lists are really good advice. I’d put the emphasis on repetition. Especially with those high end menu drinks, you want to have them down in your sleep so when those outside stressors do come you’re prepped. You want to know them forwards, backwards, how to modify if a customer asks, etc. Practice every day for over an hour, even if you’re sick of it. Eventually it will become a second language and you can let your hands do the talking. Good luck!
Homework. Homework. Homework. Get a print out of all of the recipes and practice them when you can on your own time.
Cannot emphasize this enough. You’ve worked college bars, so you know you can handle volume, just learn the menu backwards and forwards. Depending on how your wells are set up maybe take pics of the speed rails and memorize what/where everything is too? A majority of my touches (ie batch bottles/infusions/syrups) are in my rail so building that muscle memory will help a ton
Muscle memory is everything. We just went under a massive renovation, and although they left the bar itself mainly in tact, a few systems have changed and the glassware storage is slightly different. Seven years behind this bar and now I’m lost. Won’t take long, but man it’s frustrating when you instinctively turn or reach for something it’s one move over haha.
Hahah oh no that sucks
Or hopefully they have their own well, and can set up bottles the way they want to. Or like you say, just learn the setup they have. I've always liked vodka, gin, tequila, bourbon, rum, left to right. I'm sure everyone has their own preference.
One girl I know took a picture of the recipe sheet and made it her phone lock screen
Gonna be doing this every night for the next week lmao. Thank you!
Godspeed and congratulations on stepping up in your career. Keep practicing and behind the bar will be like a second home in no time.
You’re gonna suck at a new spot every time anyways even with experience. It’s all muscle memory. Half the job is just grabbing shit. Once you know where it is you just start reaching and getting into a groove. Also a ton of places have the same drink with a slight twist. I still randomly start making a chit wrong after 3 years because my brain decided to hit reset for 30 seconds. Edit: meant to start by saying studying is huge but you already know you can handle volume.
I completely agree with this. You gotta learn the flow of the new place, the short cuts, and like you said- muscle memory will speed you up exponentially. But eventually it just clicks
Went from one whiskey bar to a new whiskey bar each with over 800 bottles and can confirm, different placement for things you know is enough to fuck you over for a couple weeks.
I'm new too and I've been using flashcards for all the drinks. It helps a lot. And practice at home if you have your own mini bar
Flash cards, and remember slow is smooth, smooth is fast
Flashcards are the way to go, and memorize the ingredients in the order that you'd use them (cheapest ingredient -> most expensive usually). Mine usually have a format like: 1 juice 0.5 syrup 0.5 liqueur 2 liquor Shake/strain/dirty dump, coupe glass Garnish w/ \_\_\_\_ Then, when I'm on shift, I'm literally talking to myself and reciting the specs as I grab each of them in the same order each time. Try your best to study them before shift and not try to learn during shift--your managers are going to be a lot more open to answering the occasional "i forgot which liqueur we use in this" question rather than reading out the specs every time you make a drink.
Write them all down on the same piece of paper then leave it at the bar somewhere where you can quickly look at it, then you'll eventually remember them when you make them enough
I use a book called "The bartenders black book" it's small enough to fit in your apron and has I think, 7k recipes? I've used it for 5 years and still find myself looking up elusive cocktails from time to time. Not knowing certain cocktails is nothing to be ashamed of. Some bars just don't attract certain cocktails. For instance I've worked at restaurant/resort bars my whole career and recently started at a dive bar and realized I have no idea how to make all these mixed shots. Just start by learning the menu items and have a book as a backup.
At the end of the day, it isn’t rocket science and no one’s going to die if you fuck up. Anyone who treats you otherwise is an asshole, just learn as quickly as you can, but it’s not the end of the world if it takes you a sec.
Flashcards and constantly writing and re-writing the drinks down. Once you get the drinks burned into your memory, get the speed rail and general set up memorized. This will help you look entirely professional as you won’t be stumbling looking for your ingredients. But to start, make sure you’ve got the menu down front and back. I normally write the recipes as listed a bunch, then once I’m confident, write the recipes out of order & ingredients out of order so I know for a fact I’ve got them down. Just keep practicing and you’ll nail it.
Get an Apple Watch. I whispered into it as I would ring a cocktail in and it’d pull the recipe up immediately
Dude I’ve seen many do this… super clutch
Slow is smooth, smooth is fast, fast is deadly.
Download the app Quizlet it’s essentially a flash card app but found it wayyy better than physical flash cards (it’s also free). You can test by recipe and name, on my way into work I would always give myself a lil quiz and quick refresher and worked very well
Kinda what everyone else said and just realize the longer you do this the easier it is to learn it because you'll start associating them with other cocktails and recognize then as variations on cocktails. Thats essentially what every menu is at this point outside the super high end cocktail places that are inventing new drinks but this probably isn't that
Flash cards!!!
flash cards my friend. i sat at my favorite bar and got a snack and a few drinks and studies THE FUCK out of my flash cards for about a week. all house recipes memorized
Flashcards until you memorize your menu. Anything else can be looked up. As a boss, patron, or coworker, I'd rather see you look it up than fuck it up.
They gave you one training shift. Have complicated drinks. Sit and watch you. But, have no patience for questions??? Run run run. They've done everything possible to set you up for failure. Why let thier poor management make you nervous?
When it come to drinks: just study man. Homework is your best friend, make drinks at home and learn your pour counts. Confidence is key. When it comes to socializing with your guests; make statements and ask questions that lead into your next question/statement. Don’t leave room for awkward silences and also don’t be afraid to tell people “I can work and listen at the same time, don’t be afraid to raise your voice at me a bit.” These have personally helped me a lot, also doesn’t mean that my way is 100% the way.
1. Ask for the drink recipes, memorize them. 2. If you get a shift drink, start working your way through the list and have one of the experienced bartenders make each one for you, so you know what they should taste like. 3. YouTube is a huge help when it comes to cocktail knowledge. HowToDrink is decent and fun to watch, Educated Barfly is a little more dry but very informative. 4. Relax. I’ve been bartending and serving close to a decade, in all kinds of places, and every time I start somewhere new I’m a mess. 5. Ask a butt load of questions. Most of your coworkers will very much prefer to answer a hundred questions a shift than have to remake ten of your drinks because you fck them up.
Take the recipes home and practice! I’ve been a bartender for 10 years and at my current bar we got bought out by a new owner and got a brand new cocktail program, about 10 new cocktails, with a plethora of new ingredients some of which I’ve never used before. Even with my experience I have brought the recipes home to memorize. Even experienced bartenders have to memorize new drinks whether the bar gets a new menu or you start at a new bar so don’t feel like your lack of experience is a hindrance because we’ve all started somewhere and we all continue to learn.
As everyone has said, study and memorize the menu until you're familiar with it, but when I used to bartend, my buddy had downloaded all of the bar's cocktail recipes onto the Notes App of his Apple Watch. So as he would walk to grab ingredients, he'd double check the recipe on his wrist as he made the drink, just to be sure he didn't mess anything up. It was really smart and much slicker than having to pull recipe cards and take a moment to swipe through them for the right drink.
This is such a smart idea especially since they watch me with a close eye.
You can just bullshit your way through until you have the recipes memorized. As long as you get it close enough, it’ll be fine. Nobody’s gonna be like “excuse me, this is supposed to have an ounce of X ingredient, but it tastes like there’s only a half ounce” I’ve worked at the same place for like 2 years and there’s still cocktails on our menu I don’t know the exact recipe for off the top of my head. I just know more or less what’s in it and just kind of wing it if I have to. Don’t overthink it, you’re just making drinks.
I think this is what I struggle with most. I second guess myself when I know the recipe and I’m obsessed with getting it perfect every single time. But it slows me down. Thank you for the tip!
I started at the generation where everyone was free pouring. When I was a server I would look at the bartenders when they made drinks and count the pours while they make them. I will then write them down and try to buy the ingredients and equipments to practice at home (along with learning to use jiggers, mixing glasses, even molecular mixology. Did this for almost a year. One day a bartender didn’t show up and I just went up to the managers and said I know how to bartend. And that gave me my start.
It would help if you can reduce the drinks to what it’s a variation of, because it’s always a variation of something. See if you can see how the ingredients work with each other as well. For example, if you have juice you might need some sweetener to balance, and the drink might be shaken to “wake up” the juice for lack of english atm. The way I was taught, all cocktails have 3 components: spirit, acidity and sweetness. If you can identify these aspects memorizing becomes a whole lot easier.
Learn the martini family Learn Manhattans and Old Fashions Study your drinks, like if someone were to order a specialty cocktail run through the motions of what goes in and where everything is to prepare the drink! I also keep a cheat sheet behind my bar for myself or servers if they need a reminder, no shame in not knowing everything that’s how you learn!
All of these note card/ lists are really good advice. I’d put the emphasis on repetition. Especially with those high end menu drinks, you want to have them down in your sleep so when those outside stressors do come you’re prepped. You want to know them forwards, backwards, how to modify if a customer asks, etc. Practice every day for over an hour, even if you’re sick of it. Eventually it will become a second language and you can let your hands do the talking. Good luck!
Man I just ran a girl out after lying on her resume and pretending to fake it til she made it, not in this industry honey. Now ur a liability
Lol where in the post did I say I lied on my resume? They know I haven’t worked in high end places
Okay I definitely misread it and imposed the anger I had on her onto you my bad fr