BarSmarts Wired

In most states, there currently aren't any prerequisites for becoming a bartender. There aren’t any classes required for someone to take that teach about all of the spirits and cocktails that are served behind a bar. There isn’t a license or certification that one must receive before they can work behind a bar. Bartending school is always an option as long as there is a good, reputable school located close by, but it’s not required. Many people who work behind a bar have never had any sort of formal training. Traditionally, bartending has always been a profession where a person learns the hard way, by good old trial and error, in front of their customers.

What is BarSmarts Wired? Read More...

WhiskyFest Coming to SF in October

Attention all whisky lovers: America’s largest whisky celebration is coming to San Francisco. The 3rd annual WhiskyFest will be in San Francisco on October 16th at the San Francisco Marriott, from 6:30 to 9:30 pm. This event will be featuring over 70 pouring booths, allowing attendees to sample over 200 whiskies (single malt and blended scotch, Irish, bourbon, Tennessee, Japanese, Welsh and Canadian), while being able to personally chat with master distillers and distillery representatives. In addition to all the various whiskies, there will be a few vodkas and rums available for tasting as well.

The focus of WhiskyFest is education. Read More...

The Virtual Spirit Brand Experience

So what if you are a new bartender who has a charming personality, but doesn’t know a whole lot about the different brands and the products that are carried behind the bar? What if you are an experienced bartender who is just looking for a little history on the different brands stocked behind the bar? Or what if you aren’t a bartender, but are looking for information about the many different liquor products out there? The Virtual Spirit Brand Experience is just for you.

The Virtual Spirit is a free online source, sponsored by Beam Global and is open to anyone over the age of 21 who seeks the knowledge. The Virtual Spirit website is organized into five parts: Spirits Certification Program, On-Site Kiosk Program, Download Library, MIXXIT and the Virtual Mixology Guide. Read More...

How to Spot Counterfeit Money

I found a very useful article today that is a must-read for all of you bartenders out there. The article is titled, "How to Spot Counterfeit Money"

It happens more often than you think. People come into the bar (or any business for that matter), and try to pass fake bills off for real ones. It happens more so in bars because the transactions are usually fast paced and the bars are dark inside.

I wouldn't get too worried about the ones and fives, but I always check the higher denominations (pretty much anything that is a twenty or over). There are sneaky ways you can check the bill to make sure it's real without the customer even knowing. Before you put the bill in the register, give the bill a good swipe with a counterfeit pen. Make sure the ink turns the right color on the bill.

Another way is to use the light from your cash register or POS system display. Place the bill against the light and give it a good once over. It's always better to be safe than sorry. Trust me, there is a lot of counterfeit money out there. I have seen it. It isn't any fun when one of those bills comes through your register and you have to make up the difference because you didn't catch it.

Anchor Steam Brewery, SF

I don’t like to drink beer, but I have to know a lot about it. As a bartender and a bartender school instructor, I not only serve and sell beer, but I also teach people who take my class about beer. I lecture my classes each week on how to pour a proper pint of beer, what a perfect Guinness pour looks like, the differences between a lager and an ale and why Hefeweizen comes garnished with a lemon. When my customers come into the bar and ask for a beer, I have to be ready to suggest a type of beer depending on their tastes and what we have in stock.

So in an attempt to educate myself more about the world of beer and hopefully develop a healthy palate for beer, I recently went on the Anchor Steam Brewery tour on Potrero Hill. The hour and a half tour of the brewery took us on three of the four floors in the brewery showing the entire process of how Anchor Steam produces their beer all the way to the packaging and shipping room.

The best part of the tour was the two-hour tasting. In the tasting room, Anchor Steam provided four of their beers on tap. While everyone in the tour group tasted all of the different beers, the brew master described the different flavors found inside each of the beers and encouraged everyone in the group to ask questions about the Anchor Steam company, its history and beer producing in general.

The Anchor Steam Brewery is truly a beer lover’s heaven. And as a non-beer drinker educator and seller myself, I found the tour extremely interesting, informative, and invaluable.