Portal:Bartending
Portal maintenance status: (October 2018)
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Introduction
A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, bar chef, tapster, mixologist, alcohol server, flairman or an alcohol chef) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually 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.
Bartenders are also usually responsible for confirming that customers meet the legal drinking age requirements before serving them alcoholic beverages. In certain countries, such as Canada, the United Kingdom and Sweden, bartenders are legally required to refuse more alcohol to drunk customers.
Selected general articles
The olive, known by the botanical name Olea europaea, meaning "European olive", is a species of small tree in the family Oleaceae, found in the Mediterranean Basin from Portugal to the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula, and southern Asia as far east as China, as well as the Canary Islands and Réunion. The species is cultivated in many places and considered naturalized in all the countries of the Mediterranean coast, as well as in Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Java, Norfolk Island, California, and Bermuda. Olea europaea is the type species for the genus Olea.
The olive's fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the Mediterranean region as the source of olive oil; it is one of the core ingredients in Mediterranean cuisine. The tree and its fruit give their name to the plant family, which also includes species such as lilacs, jasmine, Forsythia, and the true ash trees (Fraxinus). Read more...
A whisk is a cooking utensil which can be used to blend ingredients smooth or to incorporate air into a mixture, in a process known as whisking or whipping. Most whisks consist of a long, narrow handle with a series of wire loops joined at the end. The wires are usually metal, but some are plastic for use with nonstick cookware. Whisks are also made from bamboo.
Whisks are commonly used to whip egg whites into a firm foam to make meringue, or to whip cream into whipped cream. Read more...
A beer engine is a device for pumping beer from a cask, usually located in a pub's cellar.
The beer engine was invented by John Lofting, a Dutch inventor, merchant and manufacturer who moved from Amsterdam to London in about 1688 and patented a number of inventions including a fire hose and engine for extinguishing fires and a thimble knurling machine. The London Gazette of 17 March 1691 stated "the patentee hath also projected a very useful engine for starting of beers and other liquors which will deliver from 20 to 30 barrels an hour which are completely fixed with brass joints and screws at reasonable rates." Read more...
Ice cubes in a glass of iced tea
An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produced at home in a refrigerator with an ice tray or in an automated ice-making accessory. They may also be produced industrially and sold commercially. Read more...- A body shot is a shot of alcohol (such as tequila) that is consumed from a person's body, usually from erogenous zones such as the navel or the breasts.
In one version of the body shot, the person taking the shot holds a shot glass in one hand, while the person giving the shot holds a wedge of lime (or lemon) in his or her mouth. The person taking the shot then licks a body part of his or her choosing on the person giving the shot, sprinkles salt on that body part, and then licks the salt off the body part. The person then drinks the alcohol and then takes the citrus wedge out of the subject's mouth using only his or her mouth. Read more...
Salt deposits beside the Dead Sea
Salt, table salt or common salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in its natural form as a crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantities in seawater, where it is the main mineral constituent. The open ocean has about 35 grams (1.2 oz) of solids per litre, a salinity of 3.5%.
Salt is essential for life in general, and saltiness is one of the basic human tastes. Salt is one of the oldest and most ubiquitous food seasonings, and salting is an important method of food preservation. Read more...
A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, bar chef, tapster, mixologist, alcohol server, flairman or an alcohol chef) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually 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.
Bartenders are also usually responsible for confirming that customers meet the legal drinking age requirements before serving them alcoholic beverages. In certain countries, such as Canada, the United Kingdom and Sweden, bartenders are legally required to refuse more alcohol to drunk customers. Read more...
A jigger or measure is a bartending tool used to measure liquor, which is typically then poured into a glass or cocktail shaker.
The term jigger in the sense of a small cup or measure of spirits or wine originates in the U.S. in the early 19th century. It was slang for a small drink of about half a gill or so, or the special cup used for it. Many references from the 1800s describe the "jigger boss" providing jiggers of whiskey to Irish immigrant workers who were digging canals in the U.S. Northeast. Read more...
Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented grapes.
Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol, carbon dioxide, and heat. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts produce different styles of wine. These variations result from the complex interactions between the biochemical development of the grape, the reactions involved in fermentation, the terroir, and the production process. Many countries enact legal appellations intended to define styles and qualities of wine. These typically restrict the geographical origin and permitted varieties of grapes, as well as other aspects of wine production. Wines not made from grapes include rice wine and fruit wines such as plum, cherry, pomegranate, currant and elderberry. Read more...
A drinking establishment is a business whose primary function is the serving of alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises. Some establishments may also serve food, or have entertainment, but their main purpose is to serve alcoholic beverages. There are different types of drinking establishment ranging from seedy bars or nightclubs, sometimes termed "dive bars", to 5,000 seat beer halls and elegant places of entertainment for the elite. A public house, informally known as a "pub", is an establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises in countries and regions of British influence. Although the terms are increasingly used to refer to the same thing, there is a difference between pubs, bars, inns, taverns and lounges where alcohol is served commercially. A tavern or pot-house is, loosely, a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and, more than likely, also be served food, though not licensed to put up guests. The word derives from the Latin taberna and the Greek ταβέρνα/taverna.
A brewpub is a pub or restaurant that brews beer on the premises. A beer hall (German: Bierpalast, Bierstube) is a large pub that specializes in beer. An Izakaya is a type of Japanese drinking establishment which also serves food to accompany the drinks. A speakeasy is an establishment that illegally sells alcoholic beverages. Read more...- Ye Olde Fighting Cocks in St Albans, Hertfordshire holds the Guinness World Record for the oldest pub in England.
This is an index of drinking establishment-related articles. Read more...
A pub, or public house, is an establishment licensed to sell alcoholic drinks, which traditionally include beer (such as ale) and cider. It is a relaxed, social drinking establishment and a prominent part of British, Irish, Breton, New Zealand, Canadian, South African and Australian cultures. In many places, especially in villages, a pub is the focal point of the community. In his 17th-century diary Samuel Pepys described the pub as "the heart of England".
Pubs can be traced back to Roman taverns, through the Anglo-Saxon alehouse to the development of the tied house system in the 19th century. In 1393, King Richard II of England introduced legislation that pubs had to display a sign outdoors to make them easily visible for passing ale tasters, who would assess the quality of ale sold. Most pubs focus on offering beers, ales and similar drinks. As well, pubs often sell wines, spirits, and soft drinks, meals and snacks. The owner, tenant or manager (licensee) is known as the pub landlord or landlady, or publican. Referred to as their "local" by regulars, pubs are typically chosen for their proximity to home or work, the availability of a particular beer or ale or a good selection, good food, a social atmosphere, the presence of friends and acquaintances, and the availability of recreational activities such as a darts team, a skittles team, and a pool or snooker table. The pub quiz was established in the UK in the 1970s. Read more...- Drinkware, beverageware (in other words, cups) is a general term for a vessel intended to contain beverages or liquid foods for drinking or consumption.
- Beaker
- Beer glassware
- Coffee cup
- Cup
- Jar
- Mug
- Paper cup
- Pythagorean cup
- Quaich
- Sake cup (ochoko)
- Stemware
- Teacup
- Trembleuse
- Tumblers
The word cup comes from Middle English cuppe, from Old English, from Late Latin cuppa, drinking vessel, perhaps variant of Latin cupa, tub, cask. The first known use of the word cup is before the 12th century. Read more...
Liquor (also hard liquor, hard alcohol, spirit, or distilled drink) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruit, or vegetables that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. The distillation process purifies the liquid and removes diluting components like water, for the purpose of increasing its proportion of alcohol content (commonly expressed as alcohol by volume, ABV). As liquors contain significantly more alcohol, they are considered "harder" – in North America, the term hard liquor is used to distinguish distilled alcoholic drinks from non-distilled ones.
As examples, this term does not include beverages such as beer, wine, mead, sake, or cider, as they are fermented but not distilled. These all have a relatively low alcohol content, typically less than 15%. Brandy is a liquor produced by the distillation of wine, and has an ABV of over 35%. Other examples of liquors include vodka, baijiu, gin, rum, tequila, mezcal, and whisky. (Also see list of alcoholic drinks, and liquors by national origin.) Read more...- A beer sommelier, also called a cicerone, is a trained professional, working in the hospitality and alcoholic beverage industry, who specializes in the service and knowledge of beer. The knowledge required for certification includes an understanding of styles, brewing, ingredients, history of beer and brewing, glassware, beer service, draught systems, beer tasting and food pairings. The profession is relatively new but growing. Read more...
Citrus is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops like oranges, lemons, grapefruit, pomelo and limes.
The most recent research indicates an origin in the Himalayas. Previous research indicated an origin in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeast India, Burma (Myanmar) and the Yunnan province of China, and it is in this region that some commercial species such as oranges, mandarins, and lemons originated. Citrus fruit has been cultivated in an ever-widening area since ancient times.
It has also been cultivated for the production and consumption of citrus juice. Read more...
A bouncer (also known as a doorman, door supervisor or cooler) is a type of security guard, employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs, stripclubs, casinos, hotels, billiard halls, restaurants, sporting events or concerts. A bouncer's duties are to provide security, to check legal age, to refuse entry for intoxicated persons, and to deal with aggressive behavior or non-compliance with statutory or establishment rules. Bouncers are often required where crowd size, clientele or alcohol consumption may make arguments or fights a possibility, or where the threat or presence of criminal gang activity or violence is high.
In the United States, civil liability and court costs related to the use of force by bouncers are "the highest preventable loss found within the [bar] industry", as many United States bouncers are often taken to court and other countries have similar problems of excessive force. In many countries, federal or state governments have taken steps to professionalise the industry by requiring bouncers to have training, licensing, and a criminal records background check. Read more...
Drink coasters made of sandstone
A coaster, drink coaster, beverage coaster, or beermat is an item used to rest drinks upon. Coasters protect the surface of a table or any other surface where the user might place a drink. Coasters placed on top of a beverage can also be used to show that a drink is not finished or to prevent contamination (usually from insects). Coasters can also stop hot drinks burning the table surface.
Pubs usually will have beermats spread out across their surfaces. They are used not just to protect the surface of the table, but, as they are usually made of paper, they can also be used to absorb condensation dripping along the glass or serve as an ad-hoc notepad. Beermats are often branded with trademarks or alcohol advertising. Beermats are not to be confused with bar mats, rectangular pieces of rubber or absorbent material used to protect the countertop and limit the spread of spilled drinks in a bar or pub. Read more...
The six o'clock swill was an Australian and New Zealand slang term for the last-minute rush to buy drinks at a hotel bar before it closed. During a significant part of the 20th century, most Australian and New Zealand hotels shut their public bars at 6 pm. A culture of heavy drinking developed during the time between finishing work at 5 pm and the mandatory closing time only an hour later. Read more...
A glass of orange juice
Juice is a drink made from the extraction or pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat or seafood, such as clam juice. Juice is commonly consumed as a beverage or used as an ingredient or flavoring in foods or other beverages, as for smoothies. Juice emerged as a popular beverage choice after the development of pasteurization methods enabled its preservation without using fermentation (which is used in wine production). The largest fruit juice consumers are New Zealand (nearly a cup, or 8 ounces, each day) and Colombia (more than three quarters of a cup each day). Fruit juice consumption on average increases with country income level. Read more...
A typical cocktail, served in a cocktail glass
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink, which is either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits along with other ingredients such as fruit juice, lemonade, flavored syrup, or cream. Read more...
A swizzle stick is a small stick used to hold fruit garnishes or stir drinks. The original swizzle sticks were created in the 18th century at a rum plantation in the West Indies. They were used to stir up Bermudian cocktails called Rum Swizzles and were made from the branch of the Quararibea turbinata (also known as the "Swizzle stick tree"). In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, stir sticks made of glass were created to shake out the bubbles from champagne, whose carbonation caused indigestion for some drinkers. Read more...
The Old Fashioned is an IBA official cocktail
An IBA official cocktail is one of many cocktails selected by the International Bartenders Association (IBA) for use in the annual World Cocktail Competition (WCC) in bartending.
IBA cocktails are specified in centilitres (cl) rather than the more commonly used millilitres (ml). 3 cl are approximately equivalent to 1 U.S. fluid ounce (1.4% more). 0.5 cl is approximately 1 U.S. teaspoon. Read more...- Alcoholic spirits measures are instruments designed to measure exact amounts or shots of alcoholic spirits.
The most common products used today to measure spirits are the thimble measure and the non-drip measure, often referred to as an optic. The terms Optic, Optic Pearl, OpticJade and OpticOpal are all trademarks of Gaskell & Chambers owned by the company IMI Cornelius (UK) Ltd, but the word “optic” has become synonymous with inverted or non-drip spirit measures. Other manufacturers, such as Beaumont TM, also supply this type of measuring device. Read more...
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. The various types of sugar are derived from different sources. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose, and galactose. "Table sugar" or "granulated sugar" refers to sucrose, a disaccharide of glucose and fructose. In the body, sucrose is hydrolysed into fructose and glucose.
Sucrose is used in prepared foods (e.g. cookies and cakes), is sometimes added to commercially available beverages, and may be used by people as a sweetener for foods (e.g. toast and cereal) and beverages (e.g. coffee and tea). Other disaccharides include maltose (from malted grain) and lactose (from milk). Longer chains of sugars are called oligosaccharides or polysaccharides. Some other chemical substances, such as glycerol and sugar alcohols, may have a sweet taste, but are not classified as sugar. Read more...
Tomato juice is a juice made from tomatoes, usually used as a beverage, either plain or in cocktails such as a Bloody Mary or Michelada. Read more...
A beer tower, also known as a portable beer tap, a tabletop beer dispenser, a triton dispenser or a giraffe, is a beer dispensing device, usually found in bars, pubs and restaurants. The idea behind beer towers is that several patrons in a group can serve themselves the amount of beer they want without having to order individually.
The device comes in a variety of sizes, most often double to triple the size of standard beer pitchers that hold around 48–60 U.S. fluid ounces (1.4–1.8 L) of beer. Read more...
A soft drink (see Terminology for other names) is a drink that typically contains carbonated water (although some lemonades are not carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a sugar substitute (in the case of diet drinks), or some combination of these. Soft drinks may also contain caffeine, colorings, preservatives, and/or other ingredients.
Soft drinks are called "soft" in contrast with "hard" alcoholic drinks. Small amounts of alcohol may be present in a soft drink, but the alcohol content must be less than 0.5% of the total volume of the drink if the drink is to be considered non-alcoholic. Fruit punch, tea (even kombucha), and other such non-alcoholic drinks are technically soft drinks by this definition, but are not generally referred to as such. Read more...
Celery (Apium graveolens) is a marshland plant in the family Apiaceae that has been cultivated as a vegetable since antiquity. Celery has a long fibrous stalk tapering into leaves. Depending on location and cultivar, either its stalks, leaves, or hypocotyl are consumed and used in cooking. Celery seed is also used as a spice and its extracts have been used in herbal medicine. Read more...
A blender (sometimes called a liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, purée, or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender jar with a rotating metal blade at the bottom, powered by an electric motor in the base. Some powerful models can also crush ice. The newer immersion blender configuration has a motor on top connected by a shaft to a rotating blade at the bottom, which can be used with any container. Read more...
A drinking straw or drinking tube is a small pipe that allows its user to more conveniently consume a beverage. A thin tube of paper, plastic (such as polypropylene and polystyrene), or other material is used by placing one end in the mouth and the other in the beverage. A combination of muscular action of the tongue and cheeks reduces air pressure in the mouth and above the liquid in the straw, whereupon atmospheric pressure forces the beverage through the straw. Drinking straws can be straight or have an angle-adjustable bellows segment.
Plastic straws account for a significant amount of unrecycled plastic waste, and contribute to plastic pollution in the ocean. As a result, numerous campaigns in the 2010s have led to companies considering a switch to paper straws even though 90% of ocean plastic comes from 10 rivers in Asia and Africa. Read more...
Flair bartending is the practice of bartenders entertaining guests, clientele or audiences with the manipulation of bar tools (e.g. cocktail shakers) and liquor bottles in tricky, dazzling ways. Used occasionally in cocktail bars, the action requires skills commonly associated with jugglers. It has become a sought-after talent among venue owners and marketers to help advertise a liquor product or the opening of a bar establishment. Competitions have been sponsored by liquor brands to attract flair bartenders, and some hospitality training companies hold courses to teach flair techniques.
Flair bartending is sometimes referred to as "extreme bartending" or contracted to "flairtending". The word flair became popular among practitioners in the mid-1990s. "Flair" is also used as a verb (e.g. "to flair"), referring to any trickery used by a bartender in order to entertain guests while mixing a drink. Flair can include juggling, flipping (bottles, shakers), manipulating flaming liquors or even performing close-up magic tricks (also referred to as "bar-magic"). Read more...
A swizzle stick is a small stick used to hold fruit garnishes or stir drinks. The original swizzle sticks were created in the 18th century at a rum plantation in the West Indies. They were used to stir up Bermudian cocktails called Rum Swizzles and were made from the branch of the Quararibea turbinata (also known as the "Swizzle stick tree"). In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, stir sticks made of glass were created to shake out the bubbles from champagne, whose carbonation caused indigestion for some drinkers. Read more...- In bartending, the term "straight up" (or "up") refers to an alcoholic drink that is shaken or stirred with ice and then strained and served without ice in a stemmed glass.
There is substantial confusion in the usage of "neat", or "straight up", "straight", and "up". In the context of describing ways of serving a drink, all of these mean "served without ice", but only "neat" implies serving the drink at room temperature. Some bar patrons and bartenders use the terms inconsistently. The terms "straight" and "straight up" can be ambiguous, as they are sometimes used to mean "neat"; "neat" and "up" are relatively unambiguous. Read more...
A cocktail shaker is a device used to mix beverages (usually alcoholic) by shaking. When ice is put in the shaker this allows for a quicker cooling of the drink before serving. Read more...
A sommelier with a tastevin around his neck
A sommelier (/ˈsɒməljeɪ/ or /sʌməlˈjeɪ/; French pronunciation: [sɔməlje]), or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, normally working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food pairing. The role in fine dining today is much more specialized and informed than that of a wine waiter. Sommeliers Australia states that the role is strategically on par with that of the chef de cuisine. Read more...
Grenadine is a commonly used,
non-alcoholic bar syrup, characterized by a flavor that is both tart and sweet, and by a deep red color. It is popular as an ingredient in cocktails, both for its flavor and to give a reddish/pink tint to mixed drinks. Read more...
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Selected images
A bartender pouring some vodka in to the metal cup of a cocktail shaker
Ada Coleman bartending at the Savoy Hotel in London, circa 1920
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