Bartender HQ Podcast : Bar Culture, Cocktails and Flair Bartending for Everyone.

Q&A: Cutting off your guest and Bartender perception

Vano from Bartender Journey asked about techniques used for managing guests who have had too much.

Some Key points:

* Restaurants/Bars with a kitchen: Sell food – slows alcohol absorption rates.

* Talk about preventing hangovers and give free waters with drinks – slows their drinking and WILL reduce the hangover!

* Recruit their friends – Get them on your side and they’ll manage them out the door

* Using security the right way – too often they try to be intimidating – at the club I work they’re more like hosts, take photos for guests etc but are there when you need them.

Why is Bartending seen as an entry level job in the UK?

Jo From Reflex

* Comparatively low expectations of Guests.

* Prioritisation of price over quality, so cheap drinks often win out over quality mixed drinks.

* Low skill requirement for the production and serving of 90% of drinks.

How we can change it:

* Educating your guests every day

* Why we use ice the way we do.

* Which premium spirits are really worth the extra cash

* Serving faster than anyone else

* Creating a buzz around your bar

Favour: Please share the podcast with one person who you think would benefit from it – email a link, tell your colleagues,

The Bartender Gift Guide has been updated, check out our choices of items from Amazon for yourself or a bartender friend!

Drink of the Week: The Godfather

On this week’s podcast I was lucky enough to speak to Tom Dyer. Tom Dyer is the Roadhouse World Flair Champion for 2014, Gradings Co-ordinator for the World Flair Association, creator of the TD105-30 pour spout and all round great guy.

We talk about Tom’s first steps in flair bartending, how he first got involved and what it means to him now. We talk about some of his favourite bars, he mentions the true beauty of the Pina Colada, and discuss some of his influences.

Find more from Tom at the following links:

Twitter: @TomDyerBar10der

Instagram: tomdyerbartender

Facebook: www.dangerousdyer.co.uk

Welcome back – You’ve survived Christmas!

January can be very quiet, but you should have been plenty busy over Christmas and New Year so its the perfect time to invest in yourself and your career to make 2015 even better!

On this week’s show:

ABarAbove’s Cocktail Design Courses

ABarAbove’s excellent courses on Understanding Cocktail Components and Mixology 101 – Get more information on these great courses here.

Adding Value

While the bar is quiet you have lots of time to learn and practice some value adds for your guests:

Magic

David Penn’s Street Magic Secrets 2 DVD set is a great starting point for even the complete beginner, but contains magic strong enough that working professionals use some of these effects even today! (Full disclosure, I work in the retail department at World Magic Shop, but I don’t earn a commission on these sales). Ships worldwide. If you’re a little more advanced, check out Doc Eason’s Bar Magic set, available for instant download, also at World Magic Shop. This is the gold standard for bar magic but assumes a little more knowledge.

Flair

If you’ve never flaired before, now is  a great time to start! It might be cold outside for practice, but you can practice a lot of the skills you’ll need indoors without the risk of breaking or damaging anything your home. Check out this Flair 101 post from earlier in the year and get this down, and I’ll be bringing way more flair lessons this year!

Bar Bets

YouTube is full of bar bets that you can use to make the most of quiet nights at the bar. You can give these puzzles to your guests at the bar to solve, safe in the knowledge that 99% of them will fail, and if someone actually does win? Buy them a beer and see if they have one for you! If they know the solution to one they most likely know a lot, and you can learn too! Check out Scam School on YouTube for a great selection, including this one we featured last year.

Mixology

If you’re not one for the show and you’re all about the quality, that’s great too. Spend some time looking through some great books and educate yourself on some of the latest techniques in bartending. I just got my copy of Liquid Intelligence from Amazon yesterday and I’m already inspired from a quick flick through the pages. I have some new equipment on the way, but more on that later. If you’ve not read this book yet, I suggest you add it to your wish list, or treat yourself today!

Drink of the Week

Blushin’ Russian, a variation on the White Russian:

* 1oz (30ml) Vodka

* 1oz (30ml) Kahlua Coffee Liquor

* 1oz (30ml) Double (heavy) Cream

* 1oz (30ml) Milk

* ½oz (15ml) Amaretto Float

Shake and double strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Taken from SauceGuide to cocktails Vol4 – get the latest Diffords Guide to Cocktails (its successor) here.

On this week’s podcast I interview Brian Weber from the Bartender Journey podcast.

Bartender Journey

We talk about Tales of the Cocktail, making drinks for Dale  DeGroff, how Brian became a podcasting bartender and his job as a food & beverage manager in New York.

You should check out Brian’s podcast and website over at BartenderJourney.net

Bartender Journey is the official podcast of Tales of the Cocktail!

Find BartenderJourney on iTunes and on Stitcher Radio

Wetherspoons end contract with Heineken

Thanks to Stuart Aitken for the additional information – find the post with the full details on our Facebook page.

Bartender Journey Podcast teaser

Brian Webber from the Bartender Journey Podcast will be joining me in the near future, check out his podcast at BartenderJourney.net

Surviving the holiday season behind the bar

Christmas is just around the corner which means working longer hours, later closes and busier shifts. I share my top 10 tips to survive the busy shifts and stay out of the weeds.

Creating your Flair Practice Zone

Grab yourself anti-fatigue floor matting from any hardware store for a fraction of the price of bar bounce mats and create your own practice zone. The article on a Free Flair Training Kit is here.

Drink of the Week – Rusty Nail

* 1½oz (45ml) Scotch Whisky

* ¾oz (22.5ml) Drambuie

Serve in a rocks glass with ice and garnish with a lemon twist.

Tips for Tips

Choosing one mixed shooter per shift and actively selling it to everyone you can. It’ll improve your sales and if you sell a few cement the recipe in your mind forever!

Best Bar None Birmingham

See the competitors here – We Won! Reflex Arcadian is Birmingham’s Best Nightclub – It’s official!

Non-alcoholic Drinks

Are you neglecting the needs of those who choose not to drink alcohol? With drinker numbers falling, what are you doing to make your bar a destination regardless of people’s personal preference about drinking? Full article on Non-Alcoholic Drinks Here.

Roadhouse & Tom Dyer

The Roadhouse World Flair is still the premier flair bartending competition in the UK and one of the best in the world, and this year, Tom Dyer has taken the top spot for the UK! Check out his website DangerousDyer.co.uk and The Roadhouse’s online home here. See the Tom Dyer Roadhouse Final winning routine below!

Thyme of Innocence Mocktail Recipe

Check out the full recipe here and the syrup sub-recipe here

Tips for Tips

Recommending the next cocktail, listen to the audio for the full tips!

On the BartenderHQ Podcast this week:

Manchester Flair Social:

If you’re a flair bartender in Manchester, get in touch with Ryan Clayton via the Fresh Flair page on Facebook for full details, and share moves with bartenders from across the city.

In the news this week: Calorie content of drinks

(BBC Article) What are your thoughts while this could make sense for packaged drinks, will we soon need to add nutritional information to our Cocktail menus? Would this benefit your customers?

Ageing spirits on the fly

3 year old Whiskey in 24 hours. How does it work? Check out the podcast for details. See the Kickstarter here (Now closed)

Cocktail Masterclasses

Missed in episode 7 from the headline! This is how you can make more money as a bartender or a bar owner from your bar earlier in the evening – Do you want to know more than I covered in the podcast? Just ask!

Pisco Sour

A modern classic. Full recipe is here.

Tips 4 tips

Keeping the bartop tidy to maximise your tips and why it works!

On this week’s podcast I talk to Chris & Julia Tunstall from the Mixology Talk Podcast and ABarAbove.com. 

Mixology Talk

We talk about how they came to talk about bartending, what they cover on their show and what they choose to order when they find a new bar to drink in! Find them on Twitter @abarabove and on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ABarAboveMixology

Also on the show, the Liquid Bubblegum shooter (find the recipe for this and 5 more in my Shooters you must know article)

Tips 4 Tips – How to keep your regulars happy and coming back time and time again.

Don’t forget to leave us a review in iTunes to help other people find the podcast, I really appreciate it if you can find the time to do that!

On this week’s BartenderHQ.com Podcast:

Back in the Office

…and Back to work – using Magic behind the bar. – Doc Eason Bar Magic Set, Review coming soon!

Improve your Score in Flair Bartending Competition

I go through some of the main points that will improve your score at a flair competition without learning new crazy moves to do it see the full article here.

Flair Vs Juggling

What defines flair bartending from juggling, what is workable behind the bar and what can you do to walk the line.

Home brew project -Update – Preparation

Cocktail masterclasses

Tips 4 tips

Offering the next drink early – ¼ to ⅓ full

Sour Apple Pie

* 1oz Green Apple Liquer

* 1oz Bols Natural Yoghurt

* top w/ lemonade

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On this week’s Bartender HQ Podcast

Rich’s Cider Farm museum

Free flair bartender kit from Bartender HQ.com. You’re welcome!

Coming Soon: Home brew project – we discover hands on how beers, wines and cider are made by doing it ourselves!

Family bars, and how to be awesome if you work in one!

Tips 4 tips: Embracing your brand

Why you should be the true embodiment of the brand you work for, and how it will make you more money!

Drink Recipe

Green eyes

* 1 ¼oz Vodka

* ¾oz Blue Curaçao

* 3oz Orange juice