Bar cocktail rules

A bar is a place where staff interact with guests, different services interact with each other, and of course, interaction between different people.

While in a bar, it would be nice to know at least a minimum set of written rules, with the help of which each person will feel at ease, and the staff will smile gently, realizing that you are in the know.

Service is always conditions and rules; now we can talk about the sincerity, openness and friendliness of the staff. Undoubtedly, these are excellent qualities, but all of them are applicable only in conjunction with the rules of etiquette, serving and service culture.

Rules for serving drinks

Temperature . Each drink served at the bar has its own optimal temperature. This is not just a whim of someone from history, it is one of the most important factors in preserving the taste and aroma profile of the drink. There is a simple rule that can be applied. The higher the strength of the drink, the lower the temperature at which it is served. But there are nuances here, so let’s add some specifics.

Serving temperature for the following drinks:

• White wines are served chilled, usually in a cooler with ice, optimal temperature: +10-12 °C optimal;
• Young red wines +12-15 °C;
• Aged red wines are slightly warmer +15-18°C. In general, for wine, 18 °C is considered the maximum permissible temperature; there cannot be any room or local temperature;
• Cognacs +16-18°C. without additional heating. You need to understand that drinking alcohol very warm, especially strong alcohol, is almost impossible. The taste of ethyl alcohol will drown out everything. But even at low temperatures, serving is impossible, since the bouquet of the drink fades;
• Vodka +4-6°C. It is not recommended to freeze vodka, as it has its own taste. Low-grade vodka is usually frozen to neutralize the bitter aftertaste so that the guest can drink it in one sip;
• Whiskey and rum are usually served with ice.

This is not an axiom, these are recommendations and all advice in this article is for advisory purposes only. After all, there are unique examples of alcohols that can only be tasted from a warm tasting glass.

Wineglass . Glassware helps to reveal all the nuances of taste and serves as a kind of guide in the world of alcoholic beverages. So, vermouth will reveal itself best in a rocks glass, and red wine in a wine glass . Not only the purpose of the cookware is important, but also its quality. The tactile sensation of good, elite glass will almost certainly force you to order a second and third portion.

Garnish . Mixed drinks almost always have garnish . A small accent emphasizing the uniqueness of the drink. Thank God, the days of three-meter-high decorations made of dolphins, bananas, swans and other bad taste are gone. Nowadays, minimalism is at the epicenter of the bar world. A piece of honeycomb or star anise, wafer paper or lime leaves perfectly emphasize the sophistication and sophistication of the drink. The garnish is not meant to be eaten. It is visual, aromatic and aesthetic in nature.

Bar dictionary

The words you hear in a bar are not just a reason to show off your erudition, they are professional terms that help in communication.

Here are a few words that are used in almost every bar:

• Aeration is the process of saturating a drink with oxygen. Often used for wines and cocktails.
• The back is the conventional back part of the bar counter. There is even a whole profession: a barback is an assistant to a bartender who organizes the continuity of the service process.
• Decanting is the process of separating wine from the sediment. Typically, decanting is used in those establishments where there is an assortment of expensive, aged wines.
• Scotch - whiskey. Not duct tape, not masking tape, but good Scotch whiskey is often called a short name.
• Shot - a stack . When a guest shouts: “I’ll have two shots of tequila,” the bartender immediately understands what he’s talking about and pours two miniature glasses.

Features of serving in restaurants and bars

Restaurants are a more formal place, where everything is crisper, stiffer and stricter. If in Turandot someone climbs onto the bar counter and starts dancing, everyone will at least be surprised, and in a minute the security will do their job.

The bar is about freedom. Of course, bars also have different formats, but everything is still simpler in them.

Restaurants usually offer a full service cycle, when all care is taken about the guest.the waiter says. He helps you sit down, puts the menu in your hand, and finishes serving the table, which is already beautifully lined with glasses and cutlery. He carries and brings dishes, adds wine and changes cutlery.

A restaurant is about grace, about some kind of classical rigor and knowledge of a million nuances of table etiquette.

The bar is about relaxation. Almost always this is a place where people relax not only physically, but also mentally. A Friday party or a boring Monday evening is equally easy in the bar, and helps the guest relieve stress. There are much fewer rules here, sometimes there may not even be waiters, and all communication is carried out by a wizard behind the bar.

Average drink service time

Everything is simple here! The faster the better. The kitchen is a different story, this is a world where the product must undergo heat treatment, the chef must assemble dishes from a million components, check everything and proudly serve it. This takes time. Therefore, the wait for a dish often takes more than ten minutes.

Behind the counter everything is more dynamic. It is in order to minimize the return time that bartenders work with premixes. Already in advance they mixed the most complex components, evaporated, dehydrated, infused, combined. All they have to do is thoroughly cool the cocktail, using the shaker beautifully, and pour it into the glass with a radiant smile.

Since the contact between the bartender and the guest is direct, the time to serve the drink should take a matter of minutes, and sometimes even seconds.