Message 24063 of 39188 in General Discussion

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 I wound up shaking all my 
> martinis and manhattans simply because its the way the other 
> 'experienced' bartenders did it when I was hired 

Let me tell you something, I know tons of experienced bartenders who don't 
really know their craft.  That's a bit brutal, they're good at doing the basic 
parts of the job, they're fast, friendly and probably even make decent drinks. 
 But if they're just showing up to work and making the same drinks every day 
without any source of information to improve themselves than they're not 
really improving, they're at a plateau.  In this job you can hit that plateau 
rather easily, after a couple of years if you don't find ways to challenge 
yourself I doubt you'll be much better in another two, five, ten years.  Case 
in point, I've got the least amount of experience of eight tenders in my bar 
and I'm the goto guy when there's a question about a drink or a product.  They 
also follow my lead on these shaking/stirring dilemmas as well as many other 
things.  My point is to not be too impressed just because someone has been 
doing this for several years, that doesn't mean that they've been doing things 
correctly or have steadily improved over that time.  

> I originally asked this question because I was about to go to a 
> tryout at a true high volume martini bar and wanted to make sure I 
> knew the proper way to do this. Would simply asking the guest if they 
> want it shaken or stirred be considered good service (assuming the 
> bar is not slammed), or does this imply that I'm not sure what the 
> hell I am doing as a bartender?

I have a feeling that even at an upscale martini bar they might not have a bar 
spoon behind the bar, at least the ones I'm familiar with in my town.  Still, 
let's be optimistic and assume that they do.  I don't think there's anything 
wrong with you asking if they'd like it shaken or stirred, just as you might 
ask if they want their martini with olives or a twist.  It shouldn't indicate 
that you don't know how to make the drink but that you're sensitive to their 
preferences.  That being said, a lot of customers won't know the difference.  
They'll assume that it's always done the way they're used to seeing (probably 
shaken) and will be a bit nonplussed by the question.  Where I'm at now I 
don't ask, I just stir.  If they see me stir they can ask to have it shaken, 
or if they're really particular they'll have the foresight to order along the 
lines of "I'd like a Ketel One Martini, extra dry, shaken and with two 
olives".