Posted on: December 7, 2022

Bartender Quiz: Test Your Bartending Drink Knowledge

bartending drink quiz

Do you consider yourself an expert bartender? Let’s see if you possess the skills necessary to be successful. Take our practice bartending test to find out! 

Successful bartenders must display memorization and communication skills along with agility and efficiency. After perfecting everything, they must also provide excellent customer service and craft delicious drinks.

Find out if you have the skills that it takes to become a bartender, or test your bartending knowledge by answering the bartender's test questions below. The answer key is at the bottom of the page.

Bartender Quiz

  1. Which tool allows bartenders to provide the perfect pour every time?
    • Jigger
    • Mister
    • Snifter
  2. What is a modifier?
    • Syrup
    • Bitters 
    • Aromatized wine, like vermouth or Lillet 
    • A liqueur, such as Cointreau, maraschino or Chartreuse 
    • All of the above 
  3. How do you estimate the proof of liquor?
    • The alcohol by volume
    • Half the alcohol by volume
    • Double the alcohol by volume
  4. Which of the following is NOT typically found in an Aperol Spritz?
    • Simple Syrup
    • Prosecco
    • Soda Water
  5. What type of glass should be used to serve brandy?
    • Shot
    • Highball
    • Snifter
  6. What tool helps bartenders crush fruit?
    • Mister
    • Muddler
    • Jigger
  7. Which ingredient is NOT used to make a classic cosmopolitan?
    • Vodka
    • Triple sec
    • Absinthe
  8. What is the purpose of a dry shake?
    • To aerate fresh lime juice 
    • To emulsify egg yolks 
    • To emulsify egg whites 
  9. What fortified wine is typically present in both the martini and Manhattan?
    • Quinquina
    • Americano
    • Vermouth 
  10. What type of liquor serves as the base for the Manhattan?
    • Rum 
    • Whiskey 
    • Vodka 
  11. Most of the beer sold in the United States falls into which category? 
    • Ales
    • Hybrids
    • Lagers
  12. Which liquor serves as the foundation for a margarita? 
    • Vodka
    • Tequila
    • Sangria 
  13.  Which liquor serves as the foundation for an Old Fashioned?
    • Tequila
    • Vodka
    • Whiskey
  14. Why are shooter drinks mixed in metal? 
    • The ingredients mix naturally 
    • The ingredients need to be chilled 
    • It allows for several shots to be prepared at once 
    • All of the above 
  15. What act, passed shortly after the 18th Amendment, played a role in enacting Prohibition?
    • Volstead
    • Milstead
    • Hampstead
  16. What is the most effective strategy to ensure that your clients receive their drinks quickly if you're extremely busy and ten out of twenty customers request the same drink?
    • Make as many of the same drinks as possible as quickly as possible.
    • Make as many drinks as possible, as quickly as possible.
    • Make as many drinks as possible in large batches, and then focus on the other drinks that need to be made. 
  17. Which three classic cocktails would you make using a julep strainer?
    • Manhattan, Martini, Margarita
    • Martini, Old Fashioned, Mint Julep
    • Martini, Vieux Carré, Negroni
    • Manhattan, Last Word, Margarita
  18. What does it mean if a customer asks for a drink “straight up?”
    • The spirit is served straight, without ice, in a cocktail or coupe glass.
    • The cocktail is chilled and served without ice in a cocktail or coupe glass.
    • The cocktail is served in a highball glass without ice. 

Answer Key

  1. Jigger
  2. All of the above 
  3. Double the alcohol by volume
  4. Simple Syrup
  5. Snifter
  6. Muddler
  7. Absinthe
  8. To emulsify egg whites 
  9. Vermouth 
  10. Whiskey 
  11. Lagers
  12. Tequila
  13. Whiskey
  14. All of the above
  15. Volstead 
  16. Make as many drinks as possible in large batches, and then focus on the other drinks that need to be made. 
  17. Martini, Vieux Carré, Negroni
  18. The cocktail is chilled and served without ice in a cocktail or coupe glass.

Become a Bartender in Your State

Bartending can be a fascinating and fulfilling career. Guests count on you to create an atmosphere where they can enjoy themselves. Establishment owners and managers rely on you to help make your establishment popular and profitable. You may think these are conflicting priorities, but they don’t have to be once you understand how to serve alcohol responsibly and your legal obligations to prevent alcohol-related tragedies.

To learn how to be most effective as a bartender, enroll in the alcohol seller server training courses for your state and pass the TIPS certification exam today.