Bartending

Blood Alcohol Content(BAC)

The amount of alcohol in the bloodstream. It is measured in percentages. For example, a BAC of 0.10% means that a person has 1 part alcohol per 1000 parts blood in the body.

The average BAC statistics for a typical 150 pound man

Number of drinks BAC Effect
2 0.05 release of inhibitions
about 3 0.08 DWI/DUI legal limit
4 0.10 loss of coordination, staggering, slurring speech
8 0.20 loss of emotional control
12 0.30 walking blackout or loss of consciousness as body tries to save itself
14 0.35 coma, minimum lethal level
16+ 0.40+ death

What is ONE Drink

  • Beer: one 12 oz normal strength(4% alcohol) beer. Micro-brews and malt liquor have a higher percentage of alcohol.
  • Liquor: 0.5 oz of pure alcohol.
    • 1 oz of 50% alcohol or 1.5 oz 405 or 80 proof alcohol.
    • A 1.5 oz shot of whiskey, vodka, gin, rum, or tequila equates to one drink.
  • Wine: 5oz of standard wine; 3oz of fortified wine(more than 15% alcohol content, such as brandy, cognac and sherry)

Set-up of the Bar

  • Back bar: holds top shelf items(name brands)
  • Bottom Bar: holds sweet items(brandy, cordials, liqueurs, and before and after dinner wines, port, sherry, Dubonnet, etc)
  • Beneath the bar: contains sinks for rinsing mixing tools, sinks for holding ice, a dishwasher, drying stations, and a speed rack for "well" liquors.
    • A speed rack: The most typical order of the speed rack is: Vodka, Gin, Rum, Whiskey, Bourbon, Scotch, Tequila.
    • stored on ice or in a refrigerator: white wine, Southern Comfort, baileys, and Jagermeister.

Pour Counts

  • use a jigger or a shot glass to make sure the correct amount of alcohol is going into each drink
  • use pour tops on the bottles, which control the flow of liquor from the bottle. ~1 oz in 1 second.

Garnishes

Create color contrast:

  • RED drinks take GREEN garnish
  • BLUE drinks take YELLOW garnish
  • TONIC takes LIME
  • SELTZER takes LEMON

Cutting Fruit Slice

  • Cut off both ends of the fruit with a sharp knife.
  • Cut the fruit in half
  • Turn the fruit halve flat down and cut small slices.

Substitutions

  • Orange flavor: Triple Sec, Blue Curacao, Cointreau, Grand Marnier
  • Citron Vodka = Regular Vodka with a splash of Rose's Lime Juice
  • Sweet Vermouth = a splash of marashino cherry juice
  • Rose's Lime Juice = 4 wedges of lime and a packet of sugar
  • Seltzer & Sugar(e.g. in a Mojito) = 7up
  • Cream = 2% Milk = Soy Milk

Not Interchangeable

  • Tonic Water != Club Soda/Seltzer: Tonic water is flavored with quinine. Neither Club Soda nor Seltzer have this flavor.
  • Scotch Whiskey != any other Whiskey or Bourbon

How To Chill A Glass

  1. Place glass in refrigerator or freezer
  2. Crush enough ice for our needs
  3. Take the chilled glass and fill with crushed ice, or ice water
  4. Prepare the cocktail
  5. Holding stem of glass, shake downward to remove ice and water
  6. Strain cocktail into glass and serve

OR

  1. Coat te inside of a glass with water
  2. Dump the excess water
  3. Place the glass in the freezer util it frosts
  4. Remove frosted glass from freezer, fill and serve

How To Flame A Drink

  1. Warm glass before mixing drink
  2. Mix drink
  3. Float highest proof alcohol on top of drink
  4. Ignite using a long match
  5. Extinguish before drinking

OR

  1. Warm glass before mixing drink
  2. Mix drink
  3. Pour one tablespoon of highest proof liquor into shot glass
  4. Ignite with a long match
  5. Carefully pour flaming liquid into drink
  6. Extinguish and serve