Common Bartending Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

While some may believe bartending is just mixing drinks, it actually involves precision, skill, and a great attention to detail. However, even the most seasoned bartenders can fall prey to common mistakes that can affect the quality of their drinks and their overall efficiency behind the bar. In this blog, we'll explore some of these common bartending blunders and provide tips on how to avoid them.

#1: Not Using Proper Measuring Tools

One of the biggest rookie bartending mistakes is to skip the jigger because free pouring looks cool.

Improper measuring of ingredients can not only ruin a cocktail but also wreak havoc on your bar's inventory. Not to mention, too much variation in the amount of alcohol you serve puts you at risk of overserving patrons.

#2: Wrong Serving Glasses

There’s a reason that cocktail recipes specify the type of glassware to use, and it’s not about aesthetics. The characteristics of a cocktail glass can make a huge difference in enhancing the properties of each drink.

For example, the tall nature of highball glasses, Collins glasses, or zombie glasses will accommodate lots of ice, while the narrow diameter will keep drinks cold. The narrowness also preserves carbonation, which is why it’s used for drinks based on soda or tonic.

Lowball glasses, also called old-fashioned or rocks glasses, are short and broad, which makes them great for cocktails that require muddling ingredients into spirits.

The broad, shallow nature of a coupe glass is best for cocktails served with no ice. People hold them by the stem, which prevents the drink from being warmed by body heat.

Hurricane glasses, with their large volume and tulip shape, can accommodate the many ingredients and mixers used for fruity drinks, while the flared tip highlights aromatic notes before you sip.

This is just one of the areas where learning the science behind the craft leads to avoiding bartending errors. Once you know the why, you’ll never forget the what.

#3: Not Garnishing Drinks

You’ve heard of putting the cherry on top? There’s a reason it’s a saying.

Garnish not only creates a nice presentation but also introduces a pre-sip aroma and brings out the drink's flavor. This is another area where learning the science of why garnishes are added to certain drinks can help you avoid a bar service blunder.

#4: Using Glassware To Scoop Ice

At some point in your early bartending career, you’ll think it must be more efficient to skip the ice scoop and use the glass.

Patience, padawan. You’re not the first to think of it, but it’s considered poor practice for two reasons:

1. It’s a food safety problem. You're bringing your bacteria-laden hands and the outside of the glass that's been touched by many others into direct contact with the ice that someone might consume. Ice will contaminate the beverage, even if the ice itself doesn’t get ingested.
2. You can break it, sending shards of glass directly into the ice reservoir. Some pieces can get so small that they aren’t easily noticeable, which is a huge safety hazard. You could be forced to burn off all the ice during peak hours, killing valuable serving time.

There’s a reason that ice scoops are a staple part of an efficient bar workflow.

#5: Drinking On The Job

Taking the shots offered by a patron may seem part and parcel of customer service in bartending, but it's a good idea to limit your consumption or, better yet, abstain altogether.

Drinking on the job is not only illegal in most states, but it can make it easier to make mistakes on the job. You might mix up drink orders or move too slowly (which can affect your tips), get clumsy and break glassware (which will be taken out of your paycheck), or miss a fake ID wielded by a minor (which can actually land you in jail).

#6: Overserving

Overserving alcohol is another area where the consequences are a matter of legal compliance for bartenders, not just a faux pas. In many states, individual bartenders can be held civilly, or even criminally, liable for overserving patrons if someone gets hurt or suffers property damage.

That’s why many bartenders choose to take online TIPS training. These courses are not only affordable, convenient, and self-paced but also teach you practical strategies for avoiding illegal alcohol sales. You’ll learn how alcohol affects the body, as well as tips for monitoring guests for signs of intoxication and methods for refusing service. Visit our website to enroll today!