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 Message 22422 of 22774 in Behind the Bar
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Subject: Really Want to Bartend...
From: Renorei
Posted: Wed Jan 26. 2011, 20:14 UTC
Hi, I'm really hoping to get a bartending job.  I have over a year of 
experience as a server but no bartending experience.  I currently work at a 
chain restaurant (Outback) and they are about to put some servers behind the 
bar but they have already chosen the people they are going to use and I am not 
one of them.  At the chain restaurants I've worked at so far, being the 
bartender is treated like some kind of Holy Grail; you have to work at the 
restaurant for a long time to even be considered (I've been at this restaurant 
nearly a year).  I have heard that at many local places and hotels, this is 
not the case.  I have heard that you can get bartending jobs at other places 
in a relatively short amount of time compared to a chain restaurant.  

So I'm thinking I might blow this coop and see if I can get a job barbacking 
or get a job as a server somewhere else with the understanding that I'll be 
trained for bartending when an opening becomes available.  I don't expect 
anyone to just put me behind the bar with no bartending experience.  I 
understand they need to test me first and see if I'm trustworthy and a hard 
worker, and if I have a good personality and the aptitude to learn everything 
I'll need to know.  

I have now assembled a collection of basic bartools including a shaker, 
strainer, muddler, some pourers, a bar spoon, and I'll have some jiggers soon. 
 I've also got some empty liquor bottles and I'm hoping to practice pouring 
and making imaginary drinks with just colored water.  I want to intuitively 
know what 1.5 ounces of something looks like and feels like coming out of the 
bottle so I won't even need the jigger.  I want to get really fast.  

What I'd like is suggestions as to where I should start when it comes to 
brushing up on my liquor/drink knowledge.  I'd like to memorize standard 
recipes for the most common/popular cocktails.  Something like a webpage 
entitled "100 Drinks that Every Bartender Should Know By Heart" would be 
perfect.  I intend to start practicing making drinks, especially ones I 
haven't had before.  

I would also like suggestions of what to buy to start stocking a basic bar at 
my house.  I'd like to have one decent quality liquor of each type (not top 
shelf, but not rot gut crap either) along with some mixers and liqueurs with 
decent shelf life that will allow me to make a wide variety of drinks.  What 
ingredients should someone in my position purchase?  


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