> On Saturday, I will be starting my first true bartending job. I have
> worked a few private parties before, but when I ran out of a certain
> alcohol I could simply reach down and get a new bottle. I don't want
> to go to the job looking unprofessional, so my question is this: how
> do you go about re-stocking a bar in the middle of your shift? Do
> you wait until the bottle is totally empty or do you get another one
> when it is almost empty? Any information and help would be greatly
> appreciated. Thank you in advance.
If I clearly see that the bottle will be emptied out in the pour I'm about to
make, I go to the cabinet where we keep our backups and grab another bottle,
keeping it ready to use when I finish up the other bottle.
We usually try to avoid, or at least minimize, mid-shift re-stocking by doing
proper requisitions beforehand, anticipating what will people will drink that
evening and making sure there are adequate backups in our cabinets behind the
bar. But almost inevitably we will run out of something.
If it happens that there's no backup bottle in the cabinet (this has happened
due to poor requisitioning on the part of previous shift, or on days when we
have a cluster of people continually ordering something we rarely pour), then
we have to get someone, usually a busser (we have no barbacks where I work),
to tell a manager to get another bottle or two for us.
We try to anticipate what will be needed for that day and prepare accordingly,
so that the managers don't have to keep unlocking the liquor room door and
delivering liquor to our bar when they have plenty of other things they have
to be doing.
The following applies to my situation, as a bartender at a country club:
Is it a wedding party? Make sure you have plenty of wine - especially Merlot,
Chardonnay and (ugh!) White Zin. Have some Cabernet, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon
Blanc and Shiraz on hand, but not as much as the others.
A party with lots of young women attending? Get prepared to make lots of
foo-foo and frozen drinks. That means stock up on juice and mixers and be
prepared to use the blender. Make sure you have plenty of Martini and
Hurricane glasses in stock. You will be making Cosmopolitans.
A party of mostly older men? That means beer, Maker's Mark, Absolut, Jack
Daniels and Dewar's. Any Martinis or Manhattans served will be on the rocks
and very light on the vermouth. Have plenty of olives and lemn twists ready.
An ordinary day with people coming in after golfing? Beers, gin-and-tonics,
vodka tonics, Madras's, Screwdrivers, Maker's & Diet, etc.). Cut lots of lime
wedges. Keep the snack mix well stocked.
Then there are your regulars, who tend to drink certain items on certain days.
Make sure you are prepared for them.
Is it Friday in the summertime? That's when the "Corona Gang" come by, so we
make sure we stock up on Coronas and have plenty of lime wedges. They tip big
when we keep them supplied with "just-in-time" service of Coronas and snack
mix.
Is it Friday or Sunday? The "Golden Girls" come in then, and they like the
non-spicy snack mix that everyone else hates. Prepare their tables with the
otherwise shunned snack mix and make sure you have plenty of Chardonnay in the
fridge.