A few hours ago, world renowned bartender, Tobin Ellis made an interesting post on his Facebook account, sharing exactly "58 things I learned about bartending from other bartenders (mostly) that has made all the difference in the world".
Without further ado, here is the well thought list of things:
1. Clean as you go.
2. Never discuss politics or religion behind the bar.
3. Never settle a bet.
4. Never take another person’s bet.
5. Let other people tell the punchlines.
6. Never bring up a guest's previous visit unless they do.
7. They are called guests not customers. Always. (Language is powerful)
8. F-cking smile. You have the second best job on the planet. And let's face it, you're never going to be an astronaut anyway.
9. Listen more than you speak. (“Never miss an opportunity to shut up”)
10. Learn and respect the classics. No matter where you work. They are called classics for a reason.
11. The weeds always start with one drink.
12. Stop looking at your shoes when you shake, there's no information on the floor. Get your head up, smile, and scan the room.
13. Find the pony. Feed the right wolf.
14. Fresh breath, clean fingernails, ironed shirt, warm hands, big smile, bigger laugh.
15. Never, ever scoop ice with a glass. Ever. Ever.
16. Acknowledge every guest, somehow. I recommend “the smile.”
17. Make every drink like you were making it for the most important person in your life. Because you are. Every single time.
18. When in doubt, make it red, and send it out. (No longer applicable, but this definitely helped me out in the 90s)
19. One part sour, two parts sweet, three parts strong, four parts weak.
20. St. Germain fixes any drink. Bartender’s ketchup.
21. Great bartenders make every single guest feel like they are the most important person in the room. Simultaneously and genuinely.
22. Never underestimate or belittle the power of the high-five.
23. Service is nothing more than empathy paired with common sense.
24. Keep the women happy. The rest will take care of itself. This is also life advice.
25. There is no such thing as 'half mis en place.' You either have an exact par and place for absolutely everything or you’re a bit of a hot, sloppy mess who runs out of things all the time.
26. Speed isn't about moving fast, it's about economy of motion.
27. If service is the vehicle, hospitality is the ride. Make sure people enjoy the ride.
28. Working order. The fastest bartenders know what it is and use it. The rest are googling this.
29. Be right or be rich.
30. There is only one way to make a drink properly: the way the guest wants it. (Except Manhattans. Sod off if you want your Manhattan shaken. Unless you're over 50 years old. Then you get whatever you want. Even a frothy, over-diluted Manhattan with ice floaties.)
31. The most important and useful tool behind a bar is a bevnap. Until you understand the wisdom in this, you will ignore it or mock it. And that’s okay. Now pick up that blood. You're a good egg, Noonan.
32. Find the lemon.
33. Service is in the eyes and the mind. (Alfred Kao)
34. It's not how much you make at night, it's how much you wake up with in the morning. (Joe Baum, I believe)
35. Learn the drinks so you can forget them.
36. Make people laugh. Repeat.
37. If you cannot work both quietly and cleanly at full speed, slow down.
38. Love it all. Shine your light. Turn up the music.
39. Perfection is not when there is nothing left to add, but rather when there is nothing left to take away. (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
40. No matter how fast you can make drinks, if you’re slow in and out of your drawer, you’re not a fast bartender.
41. Fluffy orange juice is actually brilliant once you understand why.
42. Shake hands heartily, smile recklessly, thank people deeply. Because you could be a ditchdigger instead. Or a manager.
43. The hardest part about being a bartender is figuring out who is drunk and who is just an asshole.
44. Mind your washlines (collars).
45. Show up to work one hour early. This will change your entire life.
46. The bar is a stage. Own it or be owned. And don’t break the 4th wall. Unless you’re Deadpool.
47. If you get upset when someone stiffs you, they screwed you twice. Don't let another human ruin your day or control your emotions for a dollar.
48. There is an artform to absolutely everything behind a bar. Learn them all. Master a few. Start with hospitality.
49. Good is the enemy of great. (Voltaire, Bill Birnbaum)
50. There is only one measure of whether or not you are good in the well (service bar): when you come on shift, several servers say "thank g-d you're in the well tonight." When they stop saying that, you've lost your touch. If they never say that, well… you figure it out.
51. Forgive quickly, because we’ve all been there.
52. Freepour or die.
53. If you are not sure whether or not you're good at sharing a well with another bartender, you're not. Because sharing a well is a non-stop conscious effort.
54. Every human has a story. Find it.
55. Make the party. That is your job.
56. If you're not having fun behind the bar, you're not taking your job seriously enough.
57. Make people feel great. That is it. (lifted from Maya Angelou)
58. Rules are what the artist breaks.
I think it got everything all covered, don't you?
Thank you Tobin!
