Having a well-trained bartender is key to providing an exceptional bar experience and creating memorable moments, and a comprehensive bartender training course is the best way to ensure your team is equipped for success.
The challenge is in transforming new bartenders from nervous newcomers into confident, skilled professionals that can do more than just serve. A new bartender will need to master both the technical skills and the human skills. From mixology and crafting cocktails to managing the operations of the bar to providing unparalleled customer service.
This comprehensive guide will walk you through a bartender training plan that focuses on both the technical precision and the essential soft skills needed to turn a new hire into a star bartender for your business.
Laying the Foundation: The First Few Days
The first few shifts are all about establishing a solid base. Before a new bartender even steps behind the bar, they need to understand the "why" behind every rule and procedure. This initial phase is about building a sense of purpose and safety, not just memorising a list of tasks.
Basic legal training requirements for your bartender
Before they touch a bottle, new hires need to complete all necessary paperwork and mandatory training as part of their onboarding. The most critical of these is Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA). Failure to comply with this legislation could result in penalties for venues and the individual.
With the Safe Alcohol Service Practices training course, bartenders learn how to recognise the signs of intoxication, how to manage intoxicated individuals, managing underage patrons and understanding their obligations and legal responsibilities as a bartender. They should also be aware of Drink Spiking Awareness.
Embedding your bar service ethos
Once your bartender has completed compliance training, cover the basics like attitudes for service, the behaviours of a successful bartender, mindful service skills and how to improve the guest experience.
These should be customised with your particular service philosophy. For example, do you pride yourselves on speed, bespoke cocktails, or a warm, community feel? Explaining the brand's identity and core values within your onboarding process and training will help new staff understand their role within the bigger picture and how they can positively impact their guests, every time. This sets the tone for everything from how they greet a customer to how they handle a complaint.
For a comprehensive start for your bartenders, try Introduction to Bartending which covers the standard requirements like attitudes for service, behaviour and managing guests.
The bar layout and inventory
For a new bartender, the bar can feel like a maze. A thorough tour is a must. But it’s not just about pointing out each area, we must explain the purpose and logic behind each station.
Bartenders also need to understand how to set up a bar station. They will also need understand their essential tools for preparing and measuring beverage ingredients, tools for garnishing and tools for service.
Train on the art of mixing drinks
Bartenders will need a thorough grounding in beer, wine, popular cocktails, liqueurs and champagne.
For new bartenders give them a comprehensive understanding for each drink category with a learning plan that covers Beer, Wine & Service Essentials, Spirits & Mixed Drinks, and Cocktail Techniques & Service.
Building your bartender’s technical skills
Once the basics are covered, it's time to get hands-on with deeper technical skills and knowledge.
Perfecting the presentation & pour
One of the first skills to master is the perfect pour. This isn't just about speed, it's about accuracy and consistency. Plus, pouring is a vital skill that will help bartenders reduce waste for your venue.
To develop the perfect pour, there are a series of short, training courses that cover the basics from how to Pour Beer, Pour Wine, Pour Spirits and Build Mixed Drink and Opening & Pouring Champagne. Each bite-sized course will build your bartender’s confidence to measure and pour. This will help them to master optional angles, speed, height, pouring sequences, and ensure the delivery of great mixed drinks every time to impress your guests. These modules will help them understand the different glassware requirements and its effect on presentation, aroma and flavour experience. Bartenders can extend their training with a special course-specific beverage categories.
Build their cocktail confidence
Every bartender needs a strong foundation in Cocktail Techniques & Service.
Aimed at complete beginners, our learning plan helps bartenders master cocktail-making techniques with courses covering the principles of mixology, built cocktails, shake cocktails, stir cocktails and round building.
Each short course covers the recipes, ingredients and garnishes and how to deliver them with quality service.
Once your bartenders have mastered the basics, elevate the bartending skills with more advanced knowledge of spirits, liqueurs, wines and non-alcoholic mixology.
Developing your fully confident bartender
Learning how to deliver exceptional customer service
Training a bartender in customer interaction and confidence goes beyond just memorising cocktail recipes. It's about empowering them to be the face of the establishment and build lasting relationships. By taking a Customer Service 101 course, your bartenders can learn how to develop and maintain strong relationships with customers by engaging them in conversation and remembering their preferences.
This training also helps them identify and investigate opportunities to provide tailored customer service solutions based on individual customer needs, whether that's recommending a new drink or adjusting an order. They'll gain the confidence to communicate with customers, how to effectively and efficiently resolve customer issues or complaints with professionalism and empathy, ultimately allowing them to provide a great customer service experience all round.
Give more experienced bartenders a refresher on connecting with customers and building their confidence with conflict resolution, complaints or providing inclusive customer service.
Developing cocktail menus
Keep building the confidence of your bartenders and teach them how to develop a balanced cocktail menu bespoke to your venue. With the Advanced Bartender Skills course, they’ll learn how to manage wastage in menu development and how to apply the MAYA principle to develop a cocktail menu that appeals to all your guests.
As they take ownership of the menu this will help build their confidence and commitment.
The four phases of service
Take training to the next level for your bartenders by working through the four phases of service in the bartender training course. Training on these four phases of service is crucial for every bartender, as it provides a structured framework for delivering a seamless and professional guest experience. These phases, pre-order, order-taking, drinking and dining, and settling-the-bill, are not just a checklist of tasks but a sequence of service that ensures a bartender is proactive rather than reactive.
By understanding and mastering each phase, a bartender can anticipate a guest's needs, manage their time effectively, and maintain control over the service flow, even during peak hours. This structured approach helps transform a potentially chaotic shift into a well-managed operation, leading to faster service, fewer errors, and a more positive atmosphere for both the guests and the staff.
A well-trained bartender who understands this sequence of service can significantly elevate the customer's experience from ordinary to exceptional.
With our Advanced Bartender Skills course, bartenders will get to master the four phases of service, moving their skill set from proficient to pro.
By following a structured approach that balances technical skills with essential soft skills, you can create a training program that not only produces competent bartenders but also fosters a team that is confident, cohesive, and ready to deliver an exceptional customer experience. A well-trained bartender isn’t just an asset; they’re the heart of your operation.
Take a look at our suggested Bartender Training Plan Checklist below on how to structure your training from the first shift to master-bartender.
Bartender training plan checklist
A structured training plan is the key to consistency. Here is a sample training planner that you could adapt for your bar.
Shift 1: Orientation and foundations
- Morning: Welcome and introductions. Review of the service philosophy and brand values.
- Afternoon: Introduction to Bar Operations, RSA recap, Drink Spiking Awareness course and discussion of legal responsibilities. Overview of the POS system.
- Evening: Shadow a senior bartender, observing customer interactions and bar flow.
Shift 2: The basics of the bar
- Morning: Introduction to SOP’s/Checklists and workplace documentation.
- Afternoon: Introduction to Bartending to cover bar service ethos, basic skills, standards and best practices.
- Evening: Practice serving basic drinks for customers under supervision. Focus on one type of drink at a time. Build their understanding of serving and storing basic beverages.
Shift 3: Beverage service essentials
- Morning: Give them bite-sized but comprehensive learning on the fundamentals of serving beverages. Cover the major drink categories with Beer, Wine & Service Essentials and Spirits & Mixed Drinks. These courses also include mastering the pour, setting up a bar station, garnishes, presentation and how to manage glassware.
- Afternoon/Evening: Practice serving these drinks for customers under supervision. Focus on one type of drink at a time. Build their understanding of serving and storing other types of non-alcoholic beverages.
Shift 4: Cocktail basics
- Morning: Cover the essential skills for making Cocktails, to include tools, techniques, cocktail families, throwing and blazing cocktails. Build their confidence in non-alcoholic beverages with our Non-Alcoholic Mixology course.
- Afternoon/Evening: Practice serving cocktails/mocktails from the menu for customers under supervision, focusing on one type of drink at a time.
Shift 5: Cocktail techniques
- Morning: Advanced their knowledge with Cocktail Techniques & Service covering, build, shake, stir cocktails, round building and cocktail methods.
- Afternoon/Evening: Practice serving more cocktails for customers under supervision, focusing on one type of drink at a time.
Shift 6: Advanced cocktail knowledge
- Morning: Reduce overwhelm by teaching the group of cocktails to make it easier for your bartender to master. Learning to master a vast number of cocktails can feel overwhelming. But the Advanced Cocktail Knowledge course simplifies this by grouping drinks into seven core families. This systematic approach, based on shared ingredients, preparation methods, glassware, and garnishes, makes it easier to learn and recall recipes.
- Afternoon/Evening: Practice serving more cocktails for customers under supervision, focusing on one type of drink at a time.
Shift 7: Communication
So now your bartender has built confidence with the technical skills and observed senior bartenders interacting with guests, help elevate their service skills further by developing their human skills. Add in bartender training courses that look at customer engagement.
- Morning: Role-playing scenarios: difficult customers, order mix-ups, and upselling.
- Afternoon: Take the Advanced Bartender Skills course to develop the soft skills of hospitality.
- Evening: Shadow a senior bartender, focusing on their communication style and sequence of service.
Shift 8 and beyond: The road to confidence
- Continuous learning: Introduce new cocktails from the menu each week.
- Mentorship: Pair them with an experienced bartender for ongoing support and feedback.
- Regular check-ins: Schedule brief, one-on-one meetings to discuss progress and address any challenges. Support them with courses to solidify learning in weaker areas. Test their knowledge regularly on signature cocktails/mocktails by providing them with the cocktail specs and tasting notes.
This checklist will ensure you balance the technical skills a bartender needs along with essential soft skills. A well-trained bartender isn’t just an asset; they’re the heart of your operation and taking the time to deliver effective training will see you create a confident, proactive and effective team member.
Check out JERRY bar and beverage training courses, the industry leading, modern beverage learning platform and part of the Allara Global family. JERRY has an extensive library of bartender training courses that will help elevate your bar and beverage service. From Introduction to Bartending to elevating skills with the Advanced Bartender Skils course.
Or talk to us about creating a customised learning pathway for your bartenders, one that is tailored to the specific roles in your restaurant, venue bar or pub.