Bartender

"Barman" redirects here. For other uses, see Barman (disambiguation).

For other uses, see Bartender (disambiguation).

A bartender pouring some vodka in to the metal cup of a cocktail shaker

A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barkeeper, barperson, barman, barmaid, bar attendant, or taberneiro) is a person who serves usually alcoholic beverages behind the bar in a licensed establishment. Bartenders also usually maintain the supplies and inventory for the bar. A bartender can generally mix classic cocktails such as a Cosmopolitan, Manhattan, Old Fashioned, and Mojito. A professional bartender has developed a palate to distinguish different flavors, which in turn gives him or her an ability to mix those flavors in such harmony that it results in a very palatable cocktail. Where tipping is a local custom, bartenders depend on tips for most of their income. Bartenders are also usually responsible for confirming that customers meet the legal drinking age before serving them alcohol. In certain countries, such as Sweden, bartenders are legally required to refuse more alcohol to drunk customers. Bartending can be a very rewarding job but one must enjoy the company of people.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, bar work is often not regarded as a long-term profession, but more often as a second occupation, or transitional work for students to gain customer experience or to save money for university fees. As such, it lacks traditional employment protections and therefore has a high turnover.

The high turnover of staff due to low wages and poor employee benefits results in a shortage of skilled bartenders. Whereas a career bartender would know drink recipes, serving techniques, alcohol contents, correct gas mixes, licensing law and would often have cordial relations with regular customers, short-term staff may lack these skills. Some pubs prefer experienced staff, although pub chains tend to accept inexperienced staff and provide training.

It is highly irregular to tip bartenders in the UK, unless they have exhibited exceptional skill, diligence, or cordiality in their serving the customer or in the preparation of complicated drinks. Only tip if the bartender has 'gone the extra mile'. The appropriate way to tip a bartender in the UK is to say 'have one for yourself', meaning that the bartender will buy themselves a drink with your money.

United States

The Bureau of Labor Statistics maintains and publishes extensive data on occupations in the United States, including that of bartender. It publishes a detailed description of the bartender's typical duties and employment and earning statistics by those so employed. Bartenders may attend special schools or learn while on the job.

Bartenders in the United States may work in a large variety of bars. These include hotel bars, restaurant bars, sports bars, gay bars, piano bars, and dive bars. Also growing in popularity is the portable bar; it allows a bar to be moved and set up in events and other venues. Therefore, such bartenders are quickly transitioning from the traditional notion such a job, in which one stays put in a single location.

Gallery

• 
  Bartender and two patrons at the Toll Gate Saloon, Black Hawk, Colorado, c. 1897
• 
  Hotel bartenders in Toronto, 1911
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  Bartender in Kharkiv, Ukraine
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  British student working as a barmaid

See also

• Barback, a bartender's assistant
• Hospitality
• Tavern