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Scott Leopold · 12-20-2003, 10:14 PM

The best thing about the bartending school, IMO, was that they gave a lot of mnemonic devices for remembering the drinks. I can't recall them right now (it's been about 10 years) but they were pretty helpful. You'll eventually find that, unless the place you work has some specialty drinks, you're going to be making the same 10-12 drinks 90% of the time. In regards to the martini, we kept our olives soaking in vermouth. For a dry martini, I'd use the swill and dump method. For very dry, I'd just throw in the olive, no vermouth.

The most interesting drink I ever made was a double Long Island Iced Tea. I was hestitant to serve it (the lady had already been drinking when she showed up), and asked my boss her opinion. When I told her how much alcohol was in there, she told me to charge $18. I did, and the lady gladly paid. She tried to order a second, but I refused.

One good thing to keep in mind is that, by law, you can refuse service to anyone. I had a table try to pull one over on me one night. It was a guy and two ladies. The guy owned a restaurant that had just opened down the street, and the ladies were waitresses there. They all ordered alcohol, and I carded the younger waitress, who was pretty obviously underage. She refused to let me see her license, then claimed she left it at home. I refused to serve her, and she got nasty. The older waitress said she'd buy for her. I asked if they were related, and she said no. I then said I still couldn't serve her. The young one asked why I asked if they were related, and I pointed out that a parent can buy a child age 16 and over a drink. She then said the older lady was her aunt, while the older lady claimed to be her mother. I said that if they showed me some ID to prove it, I'd serve her. The young one got much nastier, said she knew the law, and said that I had to serve her. I laughed about her legal explanation, explained that I really did know the law, and refused to serve either of them. I then asked the guy if he had anything to add, and he said no. He ended up apologizing, and left a nice tip, but I told him that if he planned on trying to bring underage girls in to drink in the future, his business wasn't welcomed.

12-20-2003, 10:14 PM	#8 of 11
Scott Leopold Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Local Time: 07:32 AM Local Date: 12-05-2008 Posts: 729	The best thing about the bartending school, IMO, was that they gave a lot of mnemonic devices for remembering the drinks. I can't recall them right now (it's been about 10 years) but they were pretty helpful. You'll eventually find that, unless the place you work has some specialty drinks, you're going to be making the same 10-12 drinks 90% of the time. In regards to the martini, we kept our olives soaking in vermouth. For a dry martini, I'd use the swill and dump method. For very dry, I'd just throw in the olive, no vermouth. The most interesting drink I ever made was a double Long Island Iced Tea. I was hestitant to serve it (the lady had already been drinking when she showed up), and asked my boss her opinion. When I told her how much alcohol was in there, she told me to charge $18. I did, and the lady gladly paid. She tried to order a second, but I refused. One good thing to keep in mind is that, by law, you can refuse service to anyone. I had a table try to pull one over on me one night. It was a guy and two ladies. The guy owned a restaurant that had just opened down the street, and the ladies were waitresses there. They all ordered alcohol, and I carded the younger waitress, who was pretty obviously underage. She refused to let me see her license, then claimed she left it at home. I refused to serve her, and she got nasty. The older waitress said she'd buy for her. I asked if they were related, and she said no. I then said I still couldn't serve her. The young one asked why I asked if they were related, and I pointed out that a parent can buy a child age 16 and over a drink. She then said the older lady was her aunt, while the older lady claimed to be her mother. I said that if they showed me some ID to prove it, I'd serve her. The young one got much nastier, said she knew the law, and said that I had to serve her. I laughed about her legal explanation, explained that I really did know the law, and refused to serve either of them. I then asked the guy if he had anything to add, and he said no. He ended up apologizing, and left a nice tip, but I told him that if he planned on trying to bring underage girls in to drink in the future, his business wasn't welcomed.