whomper Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 Just finished my first weekend of Bartending school. 10-6 Saturday and Sunday as far as the time goes it was actually pretty good. We got out 1 hour early on both days. Next weekend its 2 more 8 hour days and then 1 final saturday which is just the written test and the speed test. We did a ton of drinks this weekend. My strength is in my study habits and memory so as of right now I cant remember too many of these drinks but by the time I get back there next Saturday I will have em down as far as what the contents and amounts are. We did everything free pour and we use the count system. This is where I had some difficulty. I had a tough time counting when putting in 2 different things at the same time if 1 got 2oz and one only got a 1/4. They said eventually you wont need to count and you can just eyeball it. The school is pretty thorough. I think half the drinks I made this weekend may have killed the patron but we were moving fast and I didnt have the contents down to memory yet. My mix and speed will get better when I dont have to spend time remembering what goes in the drink. So far so good but it seems like it will take a while to get the hang of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelBunz Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Terrific Whomp! Like quite a few have said already.....learn from this class, but more often than not, any place you work will have their own idea of the perfect pour. Learn ratios moreso than actual ounces. How a drink should taste when done. (Well...not for your test.....lol. Ace the test.....then fine tune for yourself.....lol) Counting is good at first.....but they're right. Eventually it's feel and eyeballing. Thicker liquors don't pour at the same rate. Glassware may be different so a shot on ice looks different. It will all depend on where you get a job. Liquor costs are probably the most important percentages in the biz. Most restaurants offset food costs and labor costs with liquor costs (better percentage than food). Consequently most places rely heavily on bartenders to keep those costs in line and keep the drinks flowing. For example, Marriott insisted we use jiggers for every standard pour. A "shot" for them was 1 1/4 oz. So every recipe we made was based off that 1 1/4 oz shot. For other places, 1 1/2 oz may be their standard "shot". Or just 1 oz. If you can get your quick count down to 4 per ounce......then a count of 5 will equal 1 1/4.....6 = 1 1/2. I don't know how they are teaching you to count......don't want to screw you up. But this helped me out a lot at first when I freepoured. Just for fun.....Mary and I used to test ourselves once in a while......lol. Free pour into an empty glass......transfer it to the jigger......see who came closest to the drop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazinib1 Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 (edited) +1 When doing shots, those nice little lines are always handy. I've seen bartenders hit the line right on the dot and I've seen others fill the shot glass to the top. Its all about keeping your customer happy while still making sure you don't lose the bar any money by over pouring. I've seen alot of "good" bartenders lose there job because they over pour. Edited January 5, 2009 by tazinib1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinatieri Is God Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 (edited) Marriott insisted we use jiggers for every standard pour. A "shot" for them was 1 1/4 oz. So every recipe we made was based off that 1 1/4 oz shot. Note to self: Don't drink at the Marriott. Edited January 5, 2009 by Vinatieri Is God Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrobn26 Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 There was an old custom in bars around Chicago. It was called the "Spider Drink". I'll define it later, but has anyone ever heard of that? Few if any bars respect it anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i_am_the_swammi Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Next weekend its 2 more 8 hour days and then 1 final saturday which is just the written test and the speed test. Forcing you to go to school during the NFL playoffs could drive a man to drink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 Forcing you to go to school during the NFL playoffs could drive a man to drink. No doubt that has been a kick in the nuts but I want to get to work early next month if I can find a place and I am doing this with my brother so we wanted to get certified the same time. Congrats on your Birds by the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted January 12, 2009 Author Share Posted January 12, 2009 (edited) Just finished weekend 2 of school We did a mixture of theory and speed drills this weekend. Heavy emphasis on the speed drills. The theory is needed to pass the written test. Pretty basic stuff. Classifications of wines , countries of origins of liquor, fermentation and so on. I dont think I will have a problem with the written. My speed is pretty good but our speed test in order to get the certificate is 20 drinks in 6 minutes. They gave us a list of hundreds of drinks that they could potentially ask us to make. Once I have all of them to memory my speed will improve. It sounds like a lot but dont forget a good portion of them are simple and explained when ordering them like a jack and coke or gin and tonic etc. Right now what slows me down are the shots and thats because I havent studied them yet. When I get the shots to memory I think I will be OK. The shots and the drinks that have a hugh mixture of stuff are what slow you down in the test . Things like a long island Iced tea. The ingridients are right in your well and on the gun but it is a lot of stuff. We are at a slight disadvantage on the speed drills because we have a ringer in our class that is lightning fast and she is setting our pace. We get 2 drinks at a time during the speed drills and as soon as someone is finished with the 2 they say "Done" and the instructor moves on to the next 2 drinks. The ringer is done before the rest of us have our ice in the 2nd glass so we all fall behind. She is actually a cool girl. Her boyfriend owns a club and she is a cocktail waitress that works behind the bar as well . She is taking the course because she is going behind the bar full time. Next saturday is hopefully my last day. If I pass the written and speed test I get my certificate. The written should be no problem. 20 drinks in 6 minutes Edited January 12, 2009 by whomper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T_bone65 Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 Just finished weekend 2 of school We did a mixture of theory and speed drills this weekend. Heavy emphasis on the speed drills. The theory is needed to pass the written test. Pretty basic stuff. Classifications of wines , countries of origins of liquor, fermentation and so on. I dont think I will have a problem with the written. My speed is pretty good but our speed test in order to get the certificate is 20 drinks in 6 minutes. They gave us a list of hundreds of drinks that they could potentially ask us to make. Once I have all of them to memory my speed will improve. It sounds like a lot but dont forget a good portion of them are simple and explained when ordering them like a jack and coke or gin and tonic etc. Right now what slows me down are the shots and thats because I havent studied them yet. When I get the shots to memory I think I will be OK. The shots and the drinks that have a hugh mixture of stuff are what slow you down in the test . Things like a long island Iced tea. The ingridients are right in your well and on the gun but it is a lot of stuff. We are at a slight disadvantage on the speed drills because we have a ringer in our class that is lightning fast and she is setting our pace. We get 2 drinks at a time during the speed drills and as soon as someone is finished with the 2 they say "Done" and the instructor moves on to the next 2 drinks. The ringer is done before the rest of us have our ice in the 2nd glass so we all fall behind. She is actually a cool girl. Her boyfriend owns a club and she is a cocktail waitress that works behind the bar as well . She is taking the course because she is going behind the bar full time. Next saturday is hopefully my last day. If I pass the written and speed test I get my certificate. The written should be no problem. 20 drinks in 6 minutes Captain and coke for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chester Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 Just finished weekend 2 of school We did a mixture of theory and speed drills this weekend. Heavy emphasis on the speed drills. The theory is needed to pass the written test. Pretty basic stuff. Classifications of wines , countries of origins of liquor, fermentation and so on. I dont think I will have a problem with the written. My speed is pretty good but our speed test in order to get the certificate is 20 drinks in 6 minutes. They gave us a list of hundreds of drinks that they could potentially ask us to make. Once I have all of them to memory my speed will improve. It sounds like a lot but dont forget a good portion of them are simple and explained when ordering them like a jack and coke or gin and tonic etc. Right now what slows me down are the shots and thats because I havent studied them yet. When I get the shots to memory I think I will be OK. The shots and the drinks that have a hugh mixture of stuff are what slow you down in the test . Things like a long island Iced tea. The ingridients are right in your well and on the gun but it is a lot of stuff. We are at a slight disadvantage on the speed drills because we have a ringer in our class that is lightning fast and she is setting our pace. We get 2 drinks at a time during the speed drills and as soon as someone is finished with the 2 they say "Done" and the instructor moves on to the next 2 drinks. The ringer is done before the rest of us have our ice in the 2nd glass so we all fall behind. She is actually a cool girl. Her boyfriend owns a club and she is a cocktail waitress that works behind the bar as well . She is taking the course because she is going behind the bar full time. Next saturday is hopefully my last day. If I pass the written and speed test I get my certificate. The written should be no problem. 20 drinks in 6 minutes And I got my job by sitting in a bar drunk and asking the owner is he needed another bartender. But this is Wisconsin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted January 12, 2009 Author Share Posted January 12, 2009 And I got my job by sitting in a bar drunk and asking the owner is he needed another bartender. But this is Wisconsin. You can really do that here as well as you dont need to be certified but I have always been a beer drinker and didnt have much mixed drink knowledge at all so I think I would have been too green for anyone to hang in with. Plus I wanted to take advantage of this schools placement program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted January 12, 2009 Author Share Posted January 12, 2009 Captain and coke for me Highball glass filled with ice 1.5 oz capt fill with coke. I think of you every time I make one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin3 Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 Highball glass filled with ice 1.5 oz capt fill with coke. I think of you every time I make one Don't forget his cherry. Jack n' diet for me, please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T_bone65 Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 Highball glass filled with ice 10.5 oz capt fill with coke. I think of you every time I make one fixed Don't forget his cherry. Jack n' diet for me, please. It's lime biotch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted January 12, 2009 Author Share Posted January 12, 2009 fixed It's lime biotch Ill just hand you the bottle. It will be easier that way . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 Besides one of those friggin' awesome little umbrellas, what can I put in my cranberry juice and vodka to "kick it up a notch"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furd Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 Next saturday is hopefully my last day. If I pass the written and speed test I get my certificate. Whomp, I'd say that you have nothing to worry about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted January 12, 2009 Author Share Posted January 12, 2009 Besides one of those friggin' awesome little umbrellas, what can I put in my cranberry juice and vodka to "kick it up a notch"? also know as a cape cod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted January 12, 2009 Author Share Posted January 12, 2009 Whomp, I'd say that you have nothing to worry about. Me and my brother are taking the class. I just sent this to him. He is cracking up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 I officially got certified today. I got a 99 on the written test and did 20 drinks in 5 minutes and 40 seconds. Some girl in my class did it in 3:45 :wow: Drinks are on me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isleseeya Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 I officially got certified today. I got a 99 on the written test and did 20 drinks in 5 minutes and 40 seconds. Some girl in my class did it in 3:45 :wow: Drinks are on me Congrats Whomp How about some Sex on the Beach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 congrats. Just a simple for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewer Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Congrats whomp. Didn't have to make a Gorilla Fart did you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazinib1 Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 I officially got certified today. I got a 99 on the written test and did 20 drinks in 5 minutes and 40 seconds. Some girl in my class did it in 3:45 :wow: Drinks are on me Congrats!! I'll pop your layered drink cherry and take a duck fart please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin3 Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 (edited) I officially got certified today. I got a 99 on the written test and did 20 drinks in 5 minutes and 40 seconds. Some girl in my class did it in 3:45 :wow: Drinks are on me Congrats whomp. Didn't have to make a Gorilla Fart did you? Edit: I had one of those bad boys once.......... once. Edited January 18, 2009 by darin3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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