Also called Bartender, the barman is the person who serves customers behind a bar in a cocktail bar, a bar, a tavern…
With a pleasant smile, he is in charge of serving you, listening to you and advising you on the cocktail that is to your liking at all times.
Each artist that we find behind the bar has their ideas when it comes to mixing the different ingredients to obtain as a result a combination with a pleasant taste on the palate: the cocktail.
There is a wide variety of cocktails that we can categorize as appetizers, digestifs, after meals, nutritious and refreshing.
Cocktails such as the Martini, the Margarita, the Mojito or the Caipirinha, the Cosmopolitan, the Manhattan or the Bloody Mary are some of the best known to everyone.
And it is that to achieve a good cocktail, three of the most important factors that the bartender has to keep in mind at all times are the flavor, the decoration and the name.
Flavor: All the aromas that are mixed in the combination must harmonize with each other, in order to achieve a homogeneous and perfect mixture.
The decoration: will determine if the cocktail is appetizing or not. The glass or the glass with its decorations or the ingredients that are not mixed in the flavor but that give it this special touch are as important as the flavor of the cocktail.
Name: it is very important to draw the consumer’s attention with a name that arouses some curiosity, that catches their attention.
A good combination of these three elements is what will determine the success of the bartender.
If you want to become a Bartender, we recommend this course: Cursos de Bartender
What is a bartender? Is it the same as being a Barman?
As a bartender, I have to say that this profession is like classical music that is timeless, elegant and subtle; one feels that he directs the “opera” that is the service and is not looking for applause but a regular clientele and being happy to share moments of leisure generation after generation.
There are many attributes that we bartenders share with our successors, determined, self-reliant, hard-working, intuitive acuity, outspoken, emotional, passionate, philosophical, and committed to our craft, perhaps with a certain roguish quality.
We are proud non-conformists, we passionately believe in our profession, in its authenticity, its origin and we try to offer the most natural, stimulating and pleasant recipes possible in the glass.
Being a bartender is a way of life and, if you really have it inside, no matter how many ups and downs you may suffer, you will always return to it.
Requirements to be a Bartender
Take responsibility for our work by being creative, non-conformist and efficient.
Being orderly, organized and clean to be able to work with the efficiency and fluidity that this profession entails, being skillful with our hands and our minds.
We cannot put aside the importance of interactions with customers in which we must seek the best possible service with kindness and education.
It must be kept in mind that the hours can be, and almost always are, those in which our clientele has already left their day and, therefore, we work at unusual hours, almost always when it is a holiday.
If all these guidelines fit with your way of being, perhaps, you are about to discover that bartender that you carry inside.
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What is the Salary of a Bartender?
As in most jobs, depending on the location in the national territory or the workplace, the salary band will vary.
The type of establishment and the position will also be significant, since there are differences between assistant or bar manager. In the hospitality agreement, we find ourselves in the second professional group and in the third personal area.
The salary range is 14,000 euros per year plus bonuses for hours, seniority, hours, etc.; The price per hour is at least 11 euros per hour. Always with the possibility of substantially increasing this salary with tips.
Functions of a Bartender
Carry out the sale, distribution and service of drinks at the bar, as well as the preparation of cocktails, in a qualified, autonomous and responsible manner.
If it is necessary and we do not have adequate table service support, receive, dismiss, locate and advise our clients.
Prepare all kinds of drinks, cocktails and mixed drinks that we have on the menu and, if possible, outside of it.
Place orders, distribute and serve drinks and their accompaniments if necessary.
Control and daily examination of the stock of beverages and merchandise.
Sometimes billing and collection from the customer.
Bartender Job Opportunities
We live in a country of tourism, therefore, the demand for this profession is increasing.
In Spain, being a bartender is thinking about a profession with future expectations.
We have in our favor that we are a country with a multitude of possible work centers: restaurants, hotels, specialized bars, nightclubs, cocktail bars or events such as private parties, weddings, banquets.
The most common way to get promoted is to start as a bartender and become head bartender, but we can also consider starting and opening our own business.
Tips to train as a Barman
If you meet all these requirements and want to be part of the beautiful cocktail profession, the most useful advice I can give you is that patience is priceless and feeling that you achieve your work goals day by day, either. I already said it, being a bartender is a lifestyle.